Watches from owners around the world. Please note as owner of this site I cannot verify the authenticity of the builds. Some builds do contain one or more authentic parts. See the page “Owners Gallery” for an explanation what is meant by authentic parts.
The MV with 8 day Angelus 240 cal
- Parts: Nightwatch MV Case and Parts
- Movement: Angelus 240
- Location: Amsterdam
- Authentic Parts: yes
Parts for this watch are now obsolete, these watches are no longer made.
Built in 2016 this watch has the 8 day Angelus Movement. The Case on this watch is the Panerai 372 thats been machined internally so that the large 8 day movement can be fitted. The original engravings between the lugs have been removed so as not to replicate the 372. The movement was deep cleaned, then fully rebuilt with new jewels (were needed), finally it was serviced by a master watchsmith. It is accurate to + or – 7 secs a day, not too bad for a movement that is 60 years old.
What did it take to build?
Movement:
The 240 Incabloc Movement was purchased from a seller in Denmark, the price at that time was $2200 it was one of four on offer and the best of the batch. It came with converted Plates fitted by an elderly now retired watchsmith. It was a very good movement to begin with, yet another $280 was spent on a full strip down, deep clean and service by the same master watchsmith in Denmark (I am told $280 is cheap, a friend paid around $1000 in Switzerland for similar work but the watch was just like new when it was returned). Anything that needed doing was done, the watch was fully regulated and serviced.
Crystal: The watch had a Sapphire Crystal fitted in 2016 which cost $149.00 from WSO in the United States (Wholesale Outlet are also on EBay use WSO as your search). Prices have increased since 2017 and the same sapphire crystal now costs $169.00 not cheap but they are very good and have excellent AR (anti reflection).
Strap: The strap is authentic Panerai Calf Skin and cost $360, again expensive. Prices range on average from $150 to $380 for something that is authentic. But be careful as not all are genuine.
Dial: Made on a CNC Machine the Front section was later anodized. The middle section has a Plexi designed to hold the lume which is very similar to the vintage Plexi’s used in the 1950’s/60’s. The dial text, dial lume are hand finished. The dial feet are hand made and soldered.
Hands have lume to match the dial and the sub dial hand (tube) is hand made with the head of the hand riveted to the tube.
Watch Case: The area between the lugs is shaped by hand (filed) and then the case was polished. The inside of the 372 Case was machined on a lathe and basically made large to accept the Angelus 240 cal.
Bezel: Had to be specially made along with a stainless steel spacer ring.
Finally The Box: The watch is stored in a Apple Wood Box lined in velvet.
What did it cost to build?
They are certainly not cheap to make. Approximately half the costs were spent on the “engine”, the 8 day Angelus 240 cal with Incabloc and Wide CDG (cotes du geneve). Machining, Modifications and all the extras like a Sapphire Crystal (instead of just glass), an authentic Panerai strap (rather than generic) certainly added to the costs. Below is a break-down of the costs in 2017 when the watch was originally built.
Making sense of the costs: Firstly there are no off-the-shelf-parts to aid the conversion. However, if you were to take one 372 Case and machine it in a lathe then make all the additional parts (one-off) there probably wouldn’t be a lot of change (money) out of say $800. The dial is another example, just to anodize can cost over $100 whether its one part or 20 parts there is a minimum fee to pay. Therefore the only sensible way to make this project cost effective is to make the MV Parts along with other parts at the same time.
Below is a price breakdown
- 1) Case – Crown Guard – Special 3 Piece Bezel – Case Back- Machining/Lathe work and Specially Made Parts = $535.00
- 2) Dial 3 Piece – hand soldered dial feet indices and lume = $160
- 3) Angelus 240 cal Hands ($35) – adding matching dial lume ($40) = $75
- 4) Angelus Tall Sub Dial hand (hand made) $65
- 5) Engraving removal: (about 4 hours work) $120
- 6) Specially made Stainless Steel locking ring (sits on top of the Holder stops any lateral movement with the 240 cal). $40
- 7) Build time: Building the project – fitting the crystal – cutting the stem aligning the 240 cal and making a spacer ring. Multiple adjustments to case and parts ie adjusting Crown Guard fit , movement position- re-polishing the case = $350
- 8) Angelus 240 cal movement $2200
- 9) Movement Servicing $280
- 10) Sapphire Crystal $140
- 11) Authentic Panerai Calf Skin Strap $350
- Total: $3,965.00 (not including the Strap and Apple-wood Box)
How many are there? Of this type, there are only two worldwide. One is in Amsterdam the other in the UK. The work around the lug area (hand shaping with a file) proved a little difficult at times. A Brand New Case was destroyed so this procedure was stopped which meant only two watches of this type were actually made. They are both still with the original owners today.
No more will be made: The Case used on this type of watch is no longer available and without it more cannot be made. Even so it was never intended that many would be made. The purpose of the project was to own something a little unique, something that mixes both the old with the new. As good as this watch is, it will never be as accurate at time keeping as the clock on a mobile phone. But its not just about timekeeping, is it?