This particular Dodane Type 21 is really special given its excellent condition and especially its amazing tropical dial.
Powering the watch is the Valjoux Calibre 23 manually-wound movement with flyback capability — a classic, highly venerated movement if ever there was one.
Its screw-down caseback is typical with the “FG” for Fin de Garantie engravings, followed by a date.
Creating a free account will allow you to become an Explorer member of the Club (access to our newsletter, to the wishlist feature, and possibility to submit your watches for sale). For more exclusive services, explore our 2 other tiers of membership – Connoisseur or Collector – with a larger range of benefits and special offers.
This particular Dodane Type 21 is really special given its excellent condition and especially its amazing tropical dial.
Powering the watch is the Valjoux Calibre 23 manually-wound movement with flyback capability — a classic, highly venerated movement if ever there was one.
Its screw-down caseback is typical with the “FG” for Fin de Garantie engravings, followed by a date.
Among collectors of military watches, the chronographs Type 20 and 21 are certainly among 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.
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.
This manufacture was founded in 1857 by Alphonse Dodane in La Rasse in the Doubs region, France. After WW I, the company specialized in on-board chronographs equipping combat aircraft. In the 1950s, the French Ministry of Defense published specifications for wristwatches with special features and functions, such as a black dial, a rotating bezel and above all a flyback chronograph: the Type 20 was born, updated in 1956 as Type 21. Several brands have been certified, including Dodane.
The purpose of this document is to determine whether the constituent parts of the watch are conform to the model reference /period or not, and to value their condition and importance.
All the watches are provided with a digital certificate (the Watchfid-ID), that will be uploaded on your protected and anonymous digital wallet.
This document presents each watch in the most objective and detailed manner possible, thanks to a substantiated analysis, high-resolution photos designed to highlight all elements of the watch and an innovative rating system. Available in printed and digital versions.
On request and when available, an extract of the archives from the manufacturer can be obtained.
Please fill out the form. We’ll be back to you shortly. Thank you.
