So I recently inherited an Angelus Chronodato from my father. The story behind this watch is that his uncle, my great uncle, was a naval officer during WWII. While overseas in the war, he bought this watch in a store from somewhere in Europe (I'm guessing France or Spain considering the day dial seems to be in French/Spanish). At some point (likely in the early 50's) he gifted it to my father (my father thinks it was for a high school graduation gift). Now, my father is in his 80's and doesn't remember much but he doesn't think he wore it all that much and it has lived in his dresser since the mid-late 50's. At some point though, it got pretty beat up and lost it's crystal and at least 1 and a half of the hands (seems to be missing the hour hand and part of the chrono hand). I'd like to get it fixed up. It sounds like the movement still works to some degree because I can wind it and the seconds dial still moves. The other thing that bothers me a little is that after several days of research I cannot find a dial that looks the same as this. The fact that it has the single line under "Angelus" combined with the fact that 8 of the 12 hour indices are circles and not squares makes me wonder if this is a seldom seen model or some kind of rework was done to it. Though the rework would have had to been prior to 1955 as my father feels confident he never had it worked on and pretty confident his uncle gave it to him for a high school graduation gift (graduated in 55). My parents got married in 1961 and my mother says he had the watch before they got married in this same condition. Can anyone tell me much about this watch? Impressions? Estimates on what a new crystal will cost?
I'm not concerned about the dial. The "A" with the rounded top goes with the single-line outline around the ANGELUS. The edges of the sub-dials are sharp, alignment is good. Legitimate, worn dial in my opinion. Replacing the crystal is cheap and not a big deal for most experienced watchmakers. The hands could take more effort. BTW, you will probably get more responses if you embed the photos in the thread itself, instead of asking people to click on links. That's more conventional for this forum.
Thank you. That is reassuring. I tried to embed and the pictures would not work. Any guidance would be appreciated Edit: Nevermind. I figured it out. Thank you Dan You say you aren't concerned with the dial, but I have not been able to find a dial like this one. Was this brand known for several different dials? I've looked at the frotello articles and every piece of advertisement I've seen as well as other watches that are out there does not match this dial.
I don't know all the dial variations, but a quick Google images search shows at least a dozen. Square markers, triangular markers, circular markers, Arabic numbers, lumed, un-lumed, Roman numerals, mixed markers and numbers ... Some are more common than others, and for every one of the older-logo dials, you find ten of the newer-logo dials (pointy "A", double outline). I can't swear to you that it's legit, and I understand your desire to find an identical dial, but my gut feeling is that it's fine. Let's see what others say.
Thanks Dan. I appreciate that. The rounded A single line logo does seem much less common today than the double line.
I love it. I would take care not to damage the dial further by handling it too much with no crystal. hopefully you can get it to a local watch maker so he/she can install a new acrylic for now and then you can hunt around for a suitable hand replacement.
Haha I understand. I was able to get the case back off tonight and get some pics of the movement. Will post tomorrow.
Here are some pics of the movement. I don't really know what I'm looking at. Anyone see any issues? I had wound it up when I took the pics so the one wheel is in motion.
after comparing it to some other photos it looks like one of the wheels may be missing? How difficult will that be to replace?
I am pretty sure I have the hands you are missing or are broken on this watch. I also have 4 spare movements so its likely I would have any other parts you might need. I am also fairly confident that the dial is ok. I have a few dials so I will also have a look through them.
I have done some research on the dial. All the evidence I have seen indicates it to be original. Below is a picture of one of mine. The same watch appears in an Angelus print add (I cant seem to find it) so I am sure its correct. You might also want to check that the pinion that the "missing wheel" fits onto is not broken.
Yes. My concern was that I hadn't seen a dial with the old logo and round indices like this one. Though unless my great uncle bought a fake one in the 40's I don't see how this one could have possibly been faked. I feel better now that several of you have chimed in and said your feelings are that it is authentic
Congrats and should be a fun project to resurrect it to wearable condition! My dad’s old 806 Navitimer is what got me into watches a few years back. Crystal was cracked, missing a pusher cap, and had an incorrect crown. Took some time to source all the correct parts and have it serviced, but has since been a nice heirloom to wear.
I wouldn't worry about the dial being a fake or anything like that. It's genuine. It's quite possible that the wear occured due to the lack of a crystal which would normally keep it safe and seal the internals of the watch inside the case (not entirely as dust, humidity, etc. could also enter through the pusher/crown holes but it's better than nothing). Yes you are missing a wheel. That wheel will turn in rhythm with the small seconds hand on the other side in the left sub-dial. Won't be hard to find but they can cost a few tens of $. It's important for when you turn on the chrono function and won't work because the missing wheel basically connects the movement to the chronograph wheel train. As @oinkitt said you should check whether there's an arbor/pivot coming out of that jewel, if that one is broken or missing you'll have another piece to replace.