Vixa Type XX Flyback Chronograph, 1960s

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

Amongst collectors of military watches , the Type XX is certainly one of the most sought after A pilot’s chronograph, the Type XX was designed according to a standard that the French Aéronautique Militaire issued in the 1950s. Aesthetically, the watch — with its stark black dial, bold Arabic numerals, and stainless steel case — resembled other military chronographs of the era. But the Type XX had to have a flyback function — or, in French, retour en vol — that enabled the pilot to stop, reset and start the chronograph again by depressing the bottom pusher just once. Several manufactures produced watches to the Type XX specification including Breguet, Auricoste, Airain, Dodane, and Vixa. Founded in the 1930s in the small town of Pforzheim nestled along the northern edge of the Black Forest in Germany, Vixa produced approximately 4000 to 5000 examples of the Type XX chronograph in a single run at the hands of their German horological compatriots, Hanhart. Dating to the 1960s, this Vixa Type XX features a 38mm stainless steel case with a domed acrylic crystal, a rotating ‘coin edge’ bezel, ‘holey’ lugs, barrel chronograph pushers, an unsigned crown and a screw caseback that bears its incredible service history with 10, count’em, 10 service engravings. Absolutely fantastic. Inside and out, this piece has all the hallmarks of a classic Type XX. It features a matte black dial with large Arabic numerals, a 30 minute sub-register at 3 o’clock, a constant seconds sub-register at 9 o’clock, a matching handset and a center-mounted, feuille chronograph seconds hand. Powered by a hand-cranking Hanhart Calibre 4054, this piece is outfitted with an Analog:Shift Hollis Brown Montone Strap with contrast stitching and a matching stainless steel pin buckle. When it comes to vintage military chronographs — our type is the Type XX. This one happens to be a battle-tested chrono with the service caseback stamps to back it up — and at an incredible value to boot!