Dodane Type 21 Chronograph 'Tropical'

Among collectors of military watches, the Type 20 is certainly one of the most sought after. 

A pilot’s chronograph, the Type 20 was designed according to a standard that the French Aéronautique Militaire issued in the 1950s. Aesthetically, the watch — with its stark black dial, bold Arabic numerals, and stainless steel case — resembled other military chronographs of the era. But the Type 20 had to have a flyback function — or, in French, retour en vol — that enabled the pilot to stop, reset and start the chronograph again by depressing the bottom pusher just once. Several manufactures produced the Type 20 including Breguet, Vixa, Auricoste, Airain, and Dodane.

Of all those out there on the market, those made by Breguet command the most respect. However, that heightened desirability comes with a price tag to match, making other variants mighty promising. Dodane, for its part, produced approximately 5,000 examples of the Type 20 — and its more common successor, the Type 21 — from the 1950s to the 1980s, making theirs among the most attainable. 

The particular Type 21 from the 1960s is extra special given its excellent condition and patinated dial. Housed in a 37.5mm stainless steel case with ‘holey’ lugs, an acrylic crystal, an unsigned crown, barrel pushers, and stainless steel, bidirectional, rotating 12-hour bezel with black fill, it features a gloss black, tritium ‘tropical’ dial that is slowly turning brown — a trait that collectors prize highly. With its outer 1/5th-seconds scale, tritium Arabic indices, dual-register chronograph display with white subsidiary rings, and matching ‘sword’ handset, it’s one hell of a handsome design.

Powering the watch is the Valjoux Calibre 23 manually-wound movement with flyback capability — a classic, highly venerated movement if ever there was one. Paired to a vintage-style brown leather strap, its screw-down caseback is home to more intrigue: Flip it over and you’ll notice two sets of numbers beginning with “FG” for “Fin du Garantie,” or “end of guarantee,” followed by a date. 

Watches such as these with genuine military provenance don’t surface often — especially super clean examples like this gorgeous Type 21. Strap it on and soar back to the heyday of flight! 

Versatile, simple, and timeless in its design, this makes for an excellent entry point into not only vintage chronographs, but vintage full-stop!

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