{"product_id":"dodane-type-21-chronograph-tropical-as08712","title":"Dodane Type 21 Chronograph 'Tropical'","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAmong collectors of military watches, the Type 20 is certainly one of the most sought after. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eA pilot’s chronograph, the Type 20 was designed according to a standard that the French \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAéronautique Militaire\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e 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, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eretour en vol \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e— that enabled the pilot to stop, reset and start the chronograph again by depressing the bottom pusher just once. Several \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003emanufactures\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e produced the Type 20 including Breguet, Vixa, Auricoste, Airain, and Dodane.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eOf 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. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003ePowering 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. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eWatches 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! \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eVersatile, simple, and timeless in its design, this makes for an excellent entry point into not only vintage chronographs, but vintage full-stop!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dodane","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40243422429271,"sku":"40991425","price":5850.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0809\/1255\/files\/DSC_6832.jpg?v=1730490472","url":"https:\/\/www.analogshift.com\/products\/dodane-type-21-chronograph-tropical-as08712","provider":"Analog:Shift","version":"1.0","type":"link"}