The rebirth of Swiss watch brand Angelus
After lying dormant for more than 30 years, Angelus has now been revived by Manufacture La Joux-Perret, which has spent four years developing the next generation of visionary timepieces. The Angelus’ manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds is just a stone’s throw from where the Stolz brothers established their original manufacture.

Today’s Angelus manufacture is fully equipped with a highly-skilled workforce allowing Angelus to design, produce, finish, assemble, regulate and test all of its movements and timepieces in-house.  For non-movement components, e.g. cases, dials and hands, Angelus partners with the best suppliers in the Swiss luxury watch industry, many of which are close neighbors.

Like an Angelus timepiece, the Angelus manufacture blends the very best of classic haute horlogerie with ultra-modern watchmaking production methods. While the Angelus manufacture employs a number of skilled artisans who use time-honored techniques and tools to delicately craft and finish components using traditional methods, it also boasts a state-of-the-art production facility featuring semi-automatic machines – lathes, milling
machines, drills, pointing and centering tools – and CNC machines programmed and operated by experienced technicians, engineers and watchmakers.

The seeds of a new Angelus movement and timepiece are typically sewn in the bureau technique, where the latest Computer-Assisted Design (CAD) programs are used by Angelus movement constructors to design and model the latest concepts and ideas.

The manufacture embraces horological tradition by working classic materials such as precious metals, steel and brass, as well as the challenges and possibilities presented by modern materials, e.g. maraging steel, copper alloys, aluminum, titanium and carbon fiber.

Where necessary, components and materials undergo thermic treatments – tempering and annealing, for example – to make them more resistant.

The skilled craftsmen of the Angelus decoration department provide an inimitable, personal touch to Angelus creations by adorning plates and bridges with artful, traditional finishes including Côtes de Genève, circular graining, snailing and sunray guilloches using traditional watchmaking tools guided by experienced human hands. Spectacular modern finishes can also be achieved using the latest technology such as laser engraving.
Hours are dedicated to beveling and polishing pieces by hand. Such fine-finishing draws the very best qualities from the materials, with the resulting plays of light and glinting reflections highlighting their beauty. The steady and dexterous hands of the watchmakers then painstakingly assemble the final timepiece.

Meticulous quality control checks are performed during each process, between operations and, of course, on the completion of the finished timepiece, using a variety of measuring equipment – digital sensors, microscopes, binoculars, photo-cameras, gauges and projectors – to conduct a battery of checks including precision, torque, strength and water resistance tests.

Throughout, the Angelus manufacture team strives to continually innovate and is always researching and investigating new techniques, as well as keeping abreast of developments in other fields of fine mechanics.