Master Grand Tourbillon

Jaeger-LeCoultre celebrates the opening of its Heritage Gallery with the release of the Master Grand Tourbillon, an exclusive series equipped with a fascinating tourbillon mechanism. Made up of 78 parts weighing barely 0.28 grams in all, the grade 5 titanium tourbillon carriage spins elegantly on its axis once a minute. The date indication is adjustable in both directions and makes a bigger jump between 15 and 16 so as not to spoil the view of this magnificent technical accomplishment. In addition to the prestige of the standout complication, the automatic movement also features a dual time-zone display.

Reflecting 175 years of tireless striving for horological perfection, this watch issued in a platinum limited edition of 300 embodies the inventive spirit that has pervaded the entire history of Jaeger- LeCoultre. In tribute to Antoine LeCoultre, a technical pioneer who devoted his whole life to the quest for peerless accuracy, it comes in an imposing presentation box containing a piece of stone from the original workshop set up by the founding father of the Manufacture.


For Jaeger-LeCoultre, a tourbillon worthy of paying homage to the spirit of invention bequeathed by Antoine LeCoultre naturally had to meet all the demands of a high-prestige precision instrument. The engineers of the Manufacture were equally uncompromising in their determination to endow the Master Grand Tourbillon with superlative performances in terms of precision, reliability and sturdiness.

In tribute to the rich legacy of the Manufacture’s founder, this exceptional watch is delivered in a dedicated presentation box featuring a special recess housing a real fragment of the wall of Antoine LeCoultre’s workshop. This wall fragment – which was knocked down to built the entrance to the Jaeger-LeCoultre Heritage Gallery – represents a concrete reminder of the pioneering technical work of Antoine LeCoultre. This brilliant self-taught inventor, who learned the rudiments of his trade at his father’s blacksmith’s forge, devoted his whole life to the quest for absolute precision and reliability. His achievements have left an indelible imprint on watchmaking history and his spirit lives on more strongly than ever in the men and women of the Manufacture who continue to create exceptional models such as the Master Grand Tourbillon.


A tourbillon geared towards precision and sturdiness
For this limited edition, Jaeger-Lecoultre has devised a balance with a 11.5 mg x cm2 inertia capable of supplying the automatic movement with the energy it needs to keep the carriage in motion and to perform the characteristic 28,800 vibrations per hour expected from a high- precision movement. Among the screws arranged around its rim, four of them serve to make adjustments. This technique ensures constant adjustment over time that is unperturbed even by shocks. Any losses in energy due to friction are also reduced by the use of spyr-type gear-wheel teeth with a profile specially designed to ensure regular transmission of force. The lever is also more compact so as to fit into the limited space of the tourbillon carriage. Finally, the automatic movement is wound in one direction only, in harmony with lengthy research that has shown that, once on the wrist, a watch winds twice as fast this way than in the bidirectional mode.

Exceptional decoration for an exceptional movement
In keeping with the firm conviction that consummate artistry is expressed through even the smallest details, the decoration of the movement visible through the sapphire crystal case-back is worthy of the beauty of the complication. The exquisitely hand-crafted bevelling, drawing, snailing, circular-graining and buffing make a perfect match for the going-train bridge adorned with Côtes de Genève.

For the feather-like tourbillon that weighs in at just 0.28 grams, the engineers of the Manufacture opted for a carriage made from an ultra-light, precision-enhancing titanium alloy that is harder to work with because of its exceptional hardness. Tremendous care has been lavished on this noble mechanism with its polished sinks and fine sandblasted surfaces. The cambered escapement bridge cleverly follows the curve of the carriage. The single-piece oscillating weight in 22-carat pink gold is embellished with a stamped medallion motif adorned finely engraved matt and brilliant raised effects.

A time-honoured mechanism paired with unique functions
The genius of the inventive spirit consistently cultivated by Jaeger-LeCoultre has also found expression through associating the tourbillon with the home time/travel time principle – one of the refined technical features that has forged the reputation of the Manufacture and enables at- a-glance comparison of reference time and local time.

In the upper part of the dial, a 24-hour subdial maintains the time reference, or can indeed be used at any juncture to represent the second time zone. To ensure a fast display of the travel time zone as the main function, the local time is read off in the centre and can be adjusted either forward or backward in one-hour jumps, while automatically driving the date accordingly. This innovative date indication, adjustable in both directions, jumps between the figures 15 and 16 so as not to spoil the view of the impressive technical feat that is the main highlight of the dial.

The seconds display also testifies to the accuracy of this watch. It appears in the circular tourbillon opening by means of a three-arm hand including an arrow-tipped spoke that indicates the passing seconds in step with the revolving tourbillon carriage. In this way, reading off the smallest standard unit of time constantly draws the gaze to the hypnotic motion of the most fascinating horological complication of them all.

Movement : Mechanical automatic winding Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 978, crafted and decorated by hand
28,800 vibrations per hour
48-hour power reserve
302 parts
33 jewels
7.05 mm high
22-carat single-piece oscillating weight, openworked and decorated with relief engravings
Functions : local time enabling fast adjustment on both directions (travel time zone)
date hand synchronised with local time, adjustable in both directions
24-hour reference time indication
minutes
tourbillon regulator with seconds indication
Dial : sunburst black base with applied rhodium-plated gold numerals and hour-markers, 11 luminescent dots
Hands : hour and minute: Alpha type in rhodium-plated brass, luminescent
date : rhodium-plated brass with double red-varnished triangle
reference time : rhodium-plated brass
Crowns : 1 crown to start the watch and to adjust local time, reference time, minute and date
Case : ø 43 mm in 950 platinum cambered sapphire crystal, hardness N°9
sapphire crystal case-back revealing the movement
water-resistant to 50 metres
Leather strap : 22/20 in matt alligator leather and 18-carat white gold folding clasp
Reference : platinum 950: Q166 64 70

Jaeger LeCoultre Master Compressor Automatic

Jaeger LeCoultre Master Compressor Automatic Watch # 172.84.70. Mechanical automatic movement, Brown calfskin leather strap with folding clasp, Stainless steel case, Brilliant black dial with Arabic numerals and indexes, 28,800 vibrations per hour, Power.

Watch Series: Master
Model number: 172.84.70
Band length: Mens standard
Clasp: folding clasp
Case material: Stainless Steel
Dial Color: Brilliant black
Crystal material: Cambered sapphire
Movement: Mechanical automatic
Water resistant depth: 200.00 Meters

Jaeger Lecoultre Master Hometime

Jaeger LeCoultre Master Hometime Watch # 162.84.20. Mechanical automatic movement, Matt Alligator leather strap with folding clasp, Stainless steel case, Silver dial with Arabic numerals and indexes, 28,800 vibrations per hour, Power reserve to 50 hours.

Watch Series: Master
Model number: 162.84.20
Band length: Mens standard
Clasp: folding clasp
Case material: Stainless Steel
Dial Color: silver
Crystal material: Cambered sapphire
Movement: Mechanical automatic
Water resistant depth: 50.00 Meters

History of Jaeger-LeCoultre

Today, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is one of the most famous watches ever produced, but were you aware that the company got its start producing ebauches for other companies? A little known fact about Jaeger-LeCoultre is that in addition to producing movements for its own watches, the company has also produced movements for famous watch houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, and IWC. As a matter of fact, in the early part of the 20th Century, Jaeger-LeCoultre even supplied ebauches to the great firm of Patek Philippe. Then as now, Jaeger-LeCoultre was considered one of the finest watchmakers in Switzerland.

The year was 1833 when thirty-year-old Antoine LeCoultre, son of Vallee de Joux watchmaker Jacques LeCoultre, opened a small factory in the town of Le Sentier. Amazingly enough, the current Jaeger-LeCoultre factory is only a few feet away from the site of the original factory. In any event, LeCoultre soon proved himself to be a gifted watchmaker, but an even more brilliant inventor. In 1844, LeCoultre revolutionized the watch industry with the invention of the millionometer, an instrument with which measurements of up to one thousandths of a millimeter could be made accurately. As a result, precisely finished components could be manufactured, resulting in greatly improved accuracy in timekeeping. Likewise, the metric system became the universal measuring standard in watchmaking, while other systems were rendered obsolete.

LeCoultre's motto -- "we must base our experience on science" - was particularly true when it came to manufacturing precision movements and tools. The artistry came later at the hands of a master watchmaker, who assembled, decorated and regulated the movements. In short order, LeCoultre became the leading supplier of movements, parts and tools to the watchmaking industry in Switzerland.

LeCoultre movements were so highly regarded, in fact, that until 1910, the company provided Patek Philippe with most of its raw movements. It was only in later years that Patek Philippe built its own movements from scratch. In the meantime, other companies had come to rely exclusively on LeCoultre's products, from which they would create finished watches. LeCoultre's success was so great that between 1900 and 1919, 40,000 raw movements were produced. Movements sold for between 100 and 400 francs each, not an inconsiderable sum of money back then.

In 1925, the grandson of the firm's founder, David LeCoultre, merged his company with that of Edmond Jaeger, the exclusive supplier of watch movements to Cartier. This is when the modern company known as Jaeger-LeCoultre first came into existence. Incredibly enough, up to this point, Jaeger-LeCoultre had not sold any watches under its own name. The merger, however, prompted further technical innovations, not the least of which was a case made from stainless steel, as well as the creation of the smallest mechanical movement in the world, which weighed less than one gram.

The year 1931 saw the introduction of the Reverso, a wristwatch that could be turned 180 degrees within the case, thereby protecting the crystal and dial. It was a fantastic creation and one that was enthusiastically received by the public. Unfortunately, the worldwide economic crisis and World War II conspired to prevent the Reverso from achieving its full potential. Changing fashions coupled with the advent of waterproof watches might have forever doomed the watch to obscurity, had it not been for an Italian dealer who visited the factory in the 1960's and noticed a number of unused Reverso cases sitting in a watchmakers' drawer. The Italian dealer bought the cases and fitted them with movements. The finished watches were an instant sell-out and the rest is history. Today, the Reverso is by far Jaeger-LeCoultre's most popular model.

Another interesting story concerns David LeCoultre's bid for Patek Philippe. In 1932, Patek Philippe was in major financial straits and looking for a white knight. LeCoultre, whose company manufactured movements for Patek, wanted to acquire a majority interest. He came close to finalizing a deal, but the Stern brothers, whose company supplied the dials used in Patek Philippe watches, ultimately acquired the company. Although Patek Philippe has certainly prospered under the Stern family's management, it is nonetheless interesting to contemplate what effect a Patek Philippe/Jaeger-LeCoultre merger may have had on the Swiss watch industry.

Needless to say, the company has continued to thrive, introducing such innovations as the Memovox, Futurematic, Atmos Clock (which in and of itself could be the subject of an article) and strikingly original movements such as the world's thinnest automatic with a thickness of just 2.35 mm, just to name a few. The thin automatic movement in particular was an incredible success, as both Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet featured it in wristwatches advertised as being the world's slimmest self-winding timepieces. During the 1970's and early 1980's, Jaeger-LeCoultre produced a 36 jewel, self-winding calibre for Patek Philippe. Once again, both companies had come full circle.

On a final note, it is worth noting that Jaeger-LeCoultre is one of the few companies in Switzerland that still produces its own movements, cases, dials, hands, and bracelets. Virtually every single component in a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch is hand-finished, produced in-house, and this in turn results in strict quality control. As a result, Jaeger-LeCoultre watches are recognized as being among the very finest hand-crafted watches available and evidence of this can be seen in the fact that Jaeger-LeCoultre regularly produces such masterpieces as the Reverso Tourbillon and Reverso Minute Repeater. There is also the Master Control series of watches, which boast 1,000 hours of testing and assembly at the patient hands of a master watchmaker.
In any event, if you are contemplating the purchase of a Jaeger-LeCoultre wristwatch, you've made an excellent choice. It's a highly prestigious and respected brand with a long and wonderful history, as well as a proven track record.