Angelus Cal. 215 L.E. Hungarian Air Force, 1950s

Dealer description — S.Song Watches

Back in the 20th century, there were only a few brands in the world that produced their own chronograph movements as it was a highly complex and costly thing to develop. Brands such as Omega, Minerva, Longines, Universal, Zenith, Movado and of course, Angelus were part of a handful of manufacturers that did such a thing. Often with their own style and in a much higher quality than the mass-produced Valjouxs or Venuses, today, chronograph brands such as Angelus are some of the most collectible vintage pieces around. To give you some perspective, even brands like Patek Philippe, Rolex and Audemars Piguet used outsourced movements. The Angelus 215 is perhaps the brand's most iconic and desirable chronograph, with a hugely oversized 38mm stainless steel case (for the era) and a beautiful black gilt printed, gloss dial, it is not hard to see why vintage collectors highly regard these pieces. Furthermore, the Cal. 215 is considered one of the great movements of the previous century and taking one look at it, you will be able to see its beauty and complexity. Furthermore, what makes this example so special is that while most examples were sold to the public, some were military issued to the Hungarian Air Force, denoted by the ‘L.E.’ engraving on the case back. While the Angelus archives were destroyed a long time ago, we have been able to establish that ‘L.E’ stands for Legi Ero, or Air Forces in English. In fact, the fact that these pieces were used by pilots explains the oversized case as legibility was of utmost importance during flight. With this Angelus 215, what you get is a very attractive watch with a historically important movement from one of the premier chronograph makers in the 20th century, and also a significant piece of military memorabilia.