Venus Caliber 178

Venus Caliber 178

Venus Caliber 178

ManufacturerVenus
Caliber Number178
Based OnVenus caliber 175
Movement TypeMechanical, manual wind
Diameter14”’ (31mm)
Height7.9mm
Jewels17
Power Reserve~45 hours
Beat Rate
18,000 vph
Lift Angle52 degrees
Shock SystemIncabloc
Chronograph SystemColumn wheel
HairspringBreguet
Hands2mm / 1.2mm / .25mm / 3 x .18mm (needs confirmed)
FeaturesCentral hours; central minutes; central chronograph seconds; small seconds subdial at 9:00; 30 minutes counter at 3:00; 12 hours counter at 6:00
Hacking Seconds?Yes
Country of ManufactureSwitzerland, Swiss made
Known ModelsVintage Breitling Navitimer 806 (Please add yours to comments below…)

The Venus caliber 178 is a 17 jewel manual-wind mechanical movement produced in the 1950s -1960s. The example shown here was found in a vintage Breitling Navitimer 806 AOPA model.

Venus 178 vs Venus 175:

The Venus caliber 175 was the first in version of this movement family and later evolved into the caliber 178 shown here. The only difference between the two being an hour counter located at 6:00.

Brief History of Venus:

Venus became part of Valjoux- the maker of the widely popular modern automatic chronograph caliber 7750 .

17X Variations:

There are many variations of the 178 movement each adding a different layout or readout of the chronograph complication. Each variation has the same diameter and same jewel count.

Column wheel:

One of the things that makes the Venus 178 so popular among vintage chronograph watch enthusiasts is the column or pillar wheel mechanism for controlling the chronograph start stop function.

178 Chronograph Operating Instructions:

  • Top button: Start/Stop
  • Bottom button: Reset

Button sequence: Top, top, bottom.

Chronograph Hand Lining Up:

Unlike quartz powered chronograph movements, mechanical watches do not have the luxury of using a reset sequence to get the chronograph hand to line up to 12:00. If your caliber 178 powered watch has a hand that is not lining up, it could be a mechanical problem and should be inspected by a professional watchmaker. Your watch may need serviced or the hand might need to be reinstalled.

Other Brands:

Although the desirability of vintage Breilting Nativimer watches has increased over the past few years. This caliber is found in various chronograph models (add yours below).

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Comments & Questions:

Keep comments respectful and on the topic of Venus Caliber 178. For off-topic or general watch questions, post in the member's forum.

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DON PROCKO
DON PROCKO
3 years ago

Zodiac on dial, Clebar on movement

ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΟΣ ΑΞΑΡΛΗΣ
ΧΑΡΑΛΑΜΠΟΣ ΑΞΑΡΛΗΣ
2 years ago

greetings from greece. i would like to ask about the venus chronograph calibers. it seems. that venus, they were providing their chronograph movements to various makers all around the swiss market. have you ever seen a venus chronograph sold with the venus brand on ? i mean , a chronograph made from them, for them. not made for breitling or , i don’t know who .

Venus178fan
Venus178fan
2 years ago

Can anyone tell me, when changing the hands on the Venus 178, can it be done without a special movement holder? Will I need to press the jewel from the bottom to put the chronograph hand back on? Or can I just do it from a hard and flat surface. I can’t find a Venus movement holder anywhere.

Robert
Robert
1 year ago

28,800? I think, 1,800 b/h

Robert
Robert
1 year ago
Reply to  calibercorner

No worries. I got it wrong as well. Of course, it’s 18,000, not 1,800!

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