ReviewHow To Save A Life: Presenting The Angelus ‘Chronographe Médical X Massena LAB’

In 1960, Angelus created their most noble timepiece, and their swan song for the 20th century—a monopusher chronograph for doctors, with scales to measure breathing and pulse rate marked around the periphery of the dial. For almost four decades after that, the brand went into hibernation of sorts caused by the quartz crisis, and was revived in 2011, when Manufacture La Joux-Perret took over. Now, 63 years later, at the behest of watch collector and aficionado William Massena, Angelus is releasing a 99-piece limited edition of their Chronographe Médical X Massena LAB.

The First Cut Is The Deepest

The first Angelus medical watch followed the 1950s’ and 1960s’ trend of customising the chronograph function to suit a particular profession. Medical chronographs by Universal Genève, Longines, Angelus and Omega were in high demand. However, even back then, Angelus were way ahead of the competition, with both pulsometer and asthmometer built into the clean, easy-to-read dial. The pulsometer between 12 and three o’clock was marked in green for the lower scale, black for normal readings and red for the upper limits, suggesting the need for immediate action. Moreover, the pulsometer was highlighted by a magnifier built into the glass. With the minute track pushed to the inside of the dial, and an asthmometer in red nestled within this track, the two scales were highly legible, making this medical chronograph essentially a life-saving tool.

Like most great vintage timepieces, the old Angelus medical chronograph found its way to the pre-owned luxury watch market, and over time, the value of this rare icon skyrocketed. The high demand for this vintage timepiece is probably what prompted the relaunch of the medical chronograph. “When talking to Bertrand Savary (CEO, Angelus), we discussed Angelus’ spectacular heritage,” explains Massena, founder of Massena LAB. “We hit on the idea of creating a capsule collection that would revive one of the most perfect tool chronographs of the 1960s.” The first of many tribute editions to see the light of day within this ‘capsule collection’—or the La Fabrique collection—is the limited-edition medical chronograph.

Tribute To The Most Noble Profession

The new ‘Chronographe Médical X Massena LAB’ pays homage to its ancestor, retaining all that was good about the original masterpiece. While the original Angelus medical chronograph was in a 38mm case, the reissue is in marginally larger, at 39mm. Only, this new case is made from surgical 316L steel, ‘naturally befitting a doctor’s watch’.

How To Use The Pulsometer And Asthmometer

The dial layout of the Chronographe Médical X Massena LAB remains the same as the Angelus Medical—why change something that’s perfect? The outer track on the silvered, opaline dial is marked with the most important function of this timepiece—the pulsometer is in the same green, black and red as the original medical chronograph. The font used to mark this scale is particularly wide, clearly and neatly setting it apart from the rest of the markings on the dial, with an arrow indicating the scale and base. This pulsometer—between one and three o’clock—is based on 10 beats, so once the chronograph is started, the doctor simply needs to count 10 beats before pressing the pusher again, and the chronograph hand indicates the number of beats per minute, with the colours corresponding with the severity of the reading.

The outer track on the silvered, opaline dial is marked with the most important function of this timepiece—the pulsometer is in the same green, black and red as in the original medical chronograph

The font used to mark the pulsometer scale is particularly wide, clearly and neatly setting it apart from the rest of the markings on the dial

The asthmometer is marked in red on the inside of the minute track, and graduated from 40 to 10, which displays the respiratory rate per minute. A cool, curved arrow cuts across the minute track to indicate the asthmometer scale and its base

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Next on the dial of the Chronographe Médical is a neat and narrow minute track, with numerals in intervals of five embedded on it. Between two and six o’clock is the asthmometer marked in red and graduated from 40 to 10, which displays the respiratory rate per minute. This is based on five breaths, so after starting the chronograph, the doctor needs to count five breaths before stopping it, and the chronograph hand indicates the number of breaths per minute on the red scale. A cool, curved arrow cuts across the minute track to indicate the asthmometer scale and its base.

On the inside of this scale are the hour markers, with indexes marking odd numbers and Arabic numerals for even numbers. Dauphine hands filled with Super-LumiNova keep the time, with the small seconds within a sub-dial at nine.

Chronographe Médical X Massena LAB: Dedicated To Diagnosis

The chronograph function on the original Angelus Medical’s Valjoux 22 movement was modified to omit the minute counter, making the medical chronograph a targeted tool-watch. Similarly, inside the ‘Chronographe Médical X Massena LAB’, is a modified version of Angelus’ A5000 calibre, with timekeeping, small seconds and a central chronograph hand—the only feature needed for both medical scales.

Inside the ‘Chronographe Médical X Massena LAB’, is a modified version of Angelus’ A5000 calibre, with timekeeping, small seconds and a central chronograph hand—the only feature needed for both medical scales. The movement is visible through an exhibition caseback

On the inside of the dial are the hour markers, with indexes marking odd numbers and Arabic numerals for even numbers. Dauphine hands filled with Super-LumiNova keep the time, with the small seconds within a sub-dial at nine

Dedicated to diagnoses, this modified A5000 movement operates at a rate of 21,600vph, and is visible through the exhibition caseback. This is another feature that sets the ‘Chronographe Médical X Massena LAB’ apart from the original Angelus Medical timepiece, which had a stainless steel screwed-down caseback. The manual-winding feature of the calibre is a reference to the original Angelus Medical. Mounted on a golden brown Novonappa calfskin leather strap with hand stitching, Angelus’ ‘Chronographe Médical X Massena LAB’ is limited only to 99 pieces. After all, don’t all doctors warn us against excesses?