Montre de Souscription 5 – Monochrome
Angelus Chronographe Tachymètre
PRESS RELEASE | 1258 WORDS | 10 MINUTE READ
After the successful sale of the fourth Montre de Souscription, MONOCHROME is launching its fifth MdS edition. And this time, the collaboration is with Angelus, with a timepiece based on a monopusher chronograph with a superb movement.
Photo Courtesy: Angelus
The new Montre de Souscription 5 ticks all the boxes, at least according to what they love at MONOCHROME: vintage inspiration, elegant proportions, classic design meant to last, haute horlogerie finishes and a superb movement, a meaningful complication, an exclusive take on the dial that reflects our own passions and, last but not least, a calibre with a pedigree that is hard to beat.
Meet the MONOCHROME Montre de Souscription 5 Angelus Chronographe Tachymètre. This thin, compact, hand-wound chronograph with a mono-pusher architecture is released as a limited run of 20 pieces maximum, under our signature subscription campaign.
A MOVEMENT WITH GREAT PEDIGREE
Inside the Montre de Souscription 5 is the Angelus Calibre A5000, an incredible movement with a fantastic track record. The story of this thin, hand-wound mono-pusher can be traced back to the time when François-Paul Journe created in 1989 a joint company with Denis Flageollet (De Bethune) and Vianney Halter, THA or Techniques Horlogères Appliquées, responsible for the conception of several movements, including a very particular hand-wound, monopusher chronograph known as the calibre 045MC, housed inside a now-cult watch, the 1999 Cartier Tortue Monopoussoir, part of the Collection Privée Cartier Paris (CPCP).
Following the closure of Techniques Horlogères Appliquées, Manufacture La Joux-Perret acquired the rights to the movement. And this is how this calibre, conceived almost three decades ago, found its way into the case of modern Angelus watches, of course, after it underwent multiple modifications to meet modern standards.
The movement now known as the Calibre A5000 retains most of the elements of the classic architecture described above, with a compact timekeeping base running at 3Hz, 23 jewels in total and a 42h power reserve. Looking at the movement through the caseback, you’re first treated with a classic layout. In an era of automatic chronograph movements with a vertical clutch that leaves no space for imagination, it is simply delightful to look at this calibre. All gears, levers, springs and the column wheel are clearly visible.
The finishing is also appealing, with bevelled bridges, Geneva stripes, chamfered levers with straight-grained surfaces, circular-grained golden wheels and polished screws. Traditional, not overly demonstrative, elegant. For their MONOCHROME Montre de Souscription 5, they decided to use a version of the A5000 with 3N gold-finished main plate and bridges, contrasting with the stainless steel chronograph mechanism.
A TACHYMETER DIAL IN 2N GOLD
Let’s now talk about the looks of this new MdS 5, which shares its base architecture with the Angelus Chronographe Télémètre, yet with several twists to make it theirs. As indicated by its name, Angelus’ version (available in three limited editions, two in steel and one in gold) features a so-called telemeter scale. Their watch, the MONOCHROME x Angelus Chronographe Tachymètre, changes this, as it links this watch to their passions for cars and motorsport in general.
A tachymeter is designed to record average speeds. This feature is mostly used on racing and pilot chronographs. For example, when driving a car over a distance of exactly 1 kilometre or 1 mile, the tachymeter will enable you to calculate the average speed (in kph or mph) that you're driving. And since they, at MONOCHROME, are equally passionate about watches and cars, they believed that the tachymeter scale would be far more befitting.
They have, together with Angelus, created a snailed scale, a tribute to vintage watches. The scale is indeed graduated from 500 to 30 units, with a double coil at the periphery of the dial. A rare feature, as snailed scales are often found in the middle of the dial. The addition of a tachymeter scale isn’t the only unique feature of the Montre de Souscription 5. While they initially wanted to opt for a salmon dial, as a tribute to their first Montre de Souscription, a closer look at vintage Angelus chronograph watches resulted in the creation of a gold-coloured dial. The matte, lightly grained dial is here coated in a pale 2N gold tone and paired with black printings and polished applied markers and luminous hands.
COMPACT PROPORTIONS
This Angelus Chronographe comes in a 37mm stainless steel case that is only 9.25mm in thickness, a case designed by Angelus as a nod to its vintage 1950s chronographs. Due to relatively thin and long lugs, the watch wears slightly larger than you'd suspect based on the 37mm diameter. However, it really remains a relatively small wristwatch. Refined, elegant, thin, and with a beautifully finished case that combines brushed surfaces on the flanks and top with a refined polished bevel on the side, adding an elegant touch to this watch.
The right side is where everything happens, since the Montre de Souscription 5 Tachymètre is a mono-pusher chronograph. The pusher to start, stop and reset the stopwatch function is indeed integrated within the crown, resulting in a watch that’s balanced, restrained and elegant. Consistent with the retro inspiration of the watch, the dial is protected by a box-shaped sapphire crystal and the back, engraved with the name of the watch and its individual number, also features its own sapphire crystal to admire the movement.
Complementing the MONOCHROME Montre de Souscription 5 Angelus Chronographe Tachymètre is a grey nubuck strap, closed by a signed stainless steel pin buckle. The watch will be delivered in a presentation box with an additional leather travel pouch inside.
AVAILABILITY & PRICE
The MONOCHROME Montre de Souscription 5 Angelus Chronographe Tachymètre is offered as a subscription watch in a maximum run of 20 watches, all individually numbered. It will be for sale for a period of 10 days, starting on the 29th of January 2026 at 3PM CET, or until all 20 pieces are sold. Deliveries are expected in April 2026, according to Angelus’ production schedule.
Available (on the 29th 3pm) from this page at the MONOCHROME Shop, the MONOCHROME Montre de Souscription 5 is priced at EUR 18,500 excluding taxes and potential import tariffs to the US. The price includes free insured international shipping and a 2-year warranty by Angelus. When ordering the watch, they will ask for a non-refundable deposit of EUR 5,000 (excl. taxes). The remaining amount will be charged when the watch is ready to be shipped.
ABOUT MONOCHROME
MONOCHROME was founded in 2006 by Frank Geelen and has become one of the world’s largest media focused on watches, and has always been dedicated to fine watches. What sets MONOCHROME apart is that they love to explain, educate and share the passion for technically complex aspects and the beauty of hand-finished mechanical movements. Not everyone understands the nitty-gritty of a constant force mechanism, a tourbillon or a perpetual calendar. That’s why they explain everything in a way that makes it easy to understand. It’s their passion, and explaining the beauty and technical marvel of mechanical wristwatches is what makes our horological hearts beat faster.
For further information visit https://shop.monochrome-watches.com/
ABOUT ANGELUS
Founded in 1891 in Switzerland, Angelus has been one of the most influential horological manufactures of the last century. Watchmaking connoisseurs universally hailed Angelus' pioneering, in-house developed movements and timepieces, which continue to be coveted by collectors all over the world. Today’s Angelus is fully equipped to design, produce, finish, assemble, regulate and test all its movements and timepieces in-house. The Angelus collection blends the very best of vintage high watchmaking with contemporary design and materials.
For further information visit https://angelus-watches.com/