This Watch

We are big fans of the Jaeger-LeCoultre watches and this piece is no exception.  The original, two-tone dial has aged evenly and the inner ring has a stunning patina.  Unusual, painted. Art Deco style, Arabic numerals are mixed with applied, gilt baton markers that sit outside a railway-style minute track.  In the centre at gilt, Dauphine hour, minute and central seconds hands and the dial is simply signed 'Jaeger-LeCoultre' at 12 o'clock, giving the watch a gorgeous sense of symmetry.

We love the solid 18ct yellow gold case.  It has a certain lustre to it that you cannot replicate on modern watches.  The case itself is in excellent condition and the edges are still sharp, suggesting that it has only ever been lightly polished in its lifetime.  The teardrop-shaped lugs give a certain sophistication to the watch, too.  At 36mm, the watch is slightly oversized for its age but is a very comfortable wear.  The case back is stamped with '291601,' the watch's reference number and 'A,' which is the JLC code for 18ct gold.  Inside is the mechanical manual wind, in-house caliber P450/4C with 17 jewels, fully serviced by us and running strongly.  We've paired this watch on a brown, crocodile grain strap, but it looks stunning dressed up on black too.

Antoine LeCoultre founded LeCoultre in 1833 in the small village of Le Sentier, Switzerland. By 1866, the LeCoultre workshop had grown from a home-run manufacturer to installing modern steam-driven machines to power the tools of watchmakers moving them from their homes and bringing them together, in one central unit. Newly named LeCoultre & Cie, the company became the very first manufacturer in the Vallée de Joux, Switzerland. Antoine and his son, Elie LeCoultre, employed more than 500 in-house watchmakers. In 1903, Edmond Jaeger, a watchmaker in Paris making watches for the French Navy, challenged the Swiss manufacturers to produce an ultra-thin movement. Jacques-David LeCoultre, Elie’s son, rose to the challenge and created the world’s thinnest pocket watch, equipped with the LeCoultre 146 calibre, measuring just 1.38 mm thick. Over the following years, Jaeger and LeCoultre kept in touch, building a strong friendship and in 1937 Jaeger-LeCoultre was founded. The company has produced many iconic timepieces, including the Reverso, Memovox, Atmos clock, military wristwatches such as the Mark VII and, in 1948, the first automatic watch to have a power-reserve indicator. Since 2000 they have been a fully owned subsidiary of the Swiss luxury group Richemont. This group includes Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, IWC Schaffhausen, Panerai, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Montblanc, Dunhill and Chloé.

This watch comes fully serviced by our on-site workshop and with a 12 month, non-waterproof service cover.

What we think

A true masterpiece of mechanical horological workmanship, we always get very excited when we get a JLC in stock!  This is one for the purists - a fully mechanical wristwatch in fantastic, original condition from one of the top makers of in-house mechanical movements!  We're tempted to keep it for ourselves...

Spec Stuff