The Bite Magazine - Autmn/Winter 2020 - Issue 28

bitewatches The quartz crisis in the 1970s caused an upheaval in the industry due to the advent of quartz watches replacing mechanical watches around the world and affected many prestigious Swiss watch brands, including Angelus, who had to halt their production. Thankfully, in 2011, they were revived by the highly innovative mechanical movement specialist Manu- facture La Joux-Perret SA in La Chaux-de-Fonds, en- abling them to return to high-end watchmaking and develop the next generation of Angelus timepieces. Angelus has created some exceptional timepieces through its Urban Collection. The U10 Tourbillon Calavera is a piece of mechanical art, with an image of a colourful skull with a full set of teeth, paying tribute to some of the influential and forward-think- ing designers. With the U10 Tourbillon Lumière, the watch brand returned to the forefront of contempo- rary high-end watchmaking and equipped this make with a radically deconstructed movement. Designed with the classic round case, the U20 Ul- tra-Skeleton Tourbillon watch in a combined palette of blue, black, and grey is conceived as a beautiful mechanical haute horlogerie sculpture. Made of sapphire, carbon, and titanium, this model is the forefront of cutting-edge watchmaking. Similar in design in striking black and rose gold, the U21 Tourbillon Carbon-Gold revisits the precise move- ment, and streamlined design focused on structural optimisation. Angelus’ aim for the U22 Tourbillon Carbon-Ti- tanium in black and grey with a hint of red was to showcase the splendour of the movement’s architec- ture and tourbillon, while the U30 Tourbillon Rat- trapante, built like a supercar, has three coveted complications: the tourbillon, fly-back double column-wheel chronograph and split-seconds, and automatic winding with a power reserve display. A more straightforward design is the U40 Racing Tourbillon Skeleton which was designed for ultimate performance. The U50 Diver Tourbillon with the dial in black and white edging and a black granite-like dial reached new depths far below sea level as the watch brand’s first diver’s watch. It expanded the range with the U50 Diver Tourbillon Black Edition into the deep, dark infinite, allowing this limited edition to blend into any situation. Very similar to the U50, in colour and looks, the U51 Diver Tourbillon allowed Angelus to reach new chronometry achievement. The latest design from Angelus is the U23 Carbon Cocktail, a colourful series of eight unique pieces that draw on an ultra-technical carbon-titanium case and an impactful flying tourbillon movement. This model is reminiscent of eight cocktails straight from the Angelus shaker and takes the spirit of exclusiveness and dynamic aesthetics to its pinnacle. Each timepiece features skeletonised PVD-treated