Venus cal. 206

Photos would be a great start for making this a reference thread.

One of the rarest watch movements I have. Information on this is hard to come by. Most searches return the smaller 203. My plates on mine are double marked with 180. In reality this is more like a V-200 which is a chronograph. The calendar is the same as the chronograph calendar which is why the correctors are on the side opposite the 203. The best I have been able to do is collect these data sheets. There is some info in the Bestfit catalog, which is helpful. Especially the cross reference charts. I think this was one of the last movements made under the old Venus name, which is why the datasheets seem to have fallen through the cracks. Some parts are also shared with the V-150.

edit: The B Humbert "modern calendar watch." has the setup guide for the V-200 calendar.

Took forever to get a proper long pivot wheel for the sweep seconds. I had to get one out of Australia. By the time it arrived I was into a different project.

Over the years I have found photographs of the mechanism, from auction listings and such.



My movement is still pretty much a collection of loose parts. So I find these types of photographs useful. Interesting how large the date corrector buttons are. Usually these are recessed so as to not be accidentally operated.

I still need a case, for my movement. I tried using the laser to cut the back out of a cheap goodwill case. Since a display back would be interesting. Most likely I will have to turn the inside of the case out so the movement will fit. and drill holes for the correctors.

I have not had time to look it up yet. May be a couple more days.

I think this is the month/day corrector lever, and there may be one for sale on eBay Austrailia.

I have spent years researching this caliber, and have had the parts for decades. It is pretty rare. The best info is from the B Humpbert book Modern calendar watches where it is identified as Caliber 200.

Seems pretty rare. Eventually I will get back to mine. It is stuffed in the drawer while I navigate through some other stuff.

For the most part, As noted this is a mashup of a bunch of different calibers. Mostly 180 and 200. So one has to look through those parts list and see what is compatible or not. The sweep seconds wheel and bridge seems to be the main difference. Calendar, is the same as the 200.

Part numbers are standard, so the 200 part number of the lever will probably be the same as the 206. 203 is the smaller version also built on the 180 wheel train, so sometimes one has to take a chance. Some of this requires leg work. Calling and emailing material houses with guesses at the part numbers. Or use the Bestfit part numbers. Which is how the material houses sort by.

Here is a screen capture of the calendar mechanism. It is not that hard to find.




I still suspect this came from the end of production years. Where they were simply trying to get stuff out the door and compete with the looming quartz and pin lever crises. Valjoux 90 is a similar reduction of parts to just provide a calendar mechanism.

Parts do turn up from time to time. As noted mostly in Australia. Missed out on a bunch of sweep wheels, that went as a job lot. Forgot to bid or raise a bid. Did not really need them as I already got the one.

Also remember, sold listing can be helpful to.

Sometimes one has to go into books like the B. Humbert Modern Calendar watches. Not everything is online. This is a text used in training programs like WOSTEP. Which is why one really needs to have in person connections. Even visiting for a day and taking a tour can be most informative. Anyone can buy these textbooks, and even in translation.

Old trade magazines can also be useful. These sometimes serialized such coursework. These were things like American Horologer and jeweler, or Swiss Horology. Not to mention the British Horological Journal, and the hobby oriented NAWCC and AWI.