Jaeger-LeCoultre
Since its founding in 1833, Jaeger-LeCoultre has had a highly inventive history, developing over 1,249 mechanical calibres, registering over 400 Patents and playing a tremendous role in the development of the industry as a whole. Whether it is the world’s first keyless watch, its Calibre 101, the Futurematic, the Memovox, or the iconic Revers,o it would be difficult to imagine a historical account of watchmaking without the mention of Jaeger-LeCoultre.
It is not commonly known that Jaeger-LeCoultre, in addition to producing movements for its own watches, has also produced movements for a number of famous watch houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet, and IWC. Indeed for most of the 20th Century, Jaeger-LeCoultre even supplied bare movements to the great firm of Patek Philippe. The company has always been a true ‘Manufacturer’ of the finest quality watch movements and Jaeger-LeCoultre has always manufactured all its own movements. This is unusual because very often, high-end brands such as Rolex, Patek Phillippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin would buy in movements for particular needs. For example, in 1967 when Patek Phillippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin needed an ultra-thin automatic movement, it was to Jaeger-LeCoultre they turned, to produce one for them. Furthermore, the exquisite Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 920, is still in production and in use today by both Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet.
Description
We have here a wonderful looking gentleman’s Jaeger-LeCoultre Odysseus Perpetual Calendar produced around 1988. This completely original, unrestored and untouched white dial is absolutely immaculate, along with the beautiful 18ct yellow gold case and super high grade movement, all of which are in ‘museum condition’. This watch is simply divine!
A Perpetual calendar watch gives the date, day, month and moon phases, while automatically taking the number of days in the month and the cycle of leap years into account. This means this perpetual calendar will not need resetting until 2100. It is a masterpiece of architecture and incredible craftsmanship.
The Dial
Some dials are overly busy and can be difficult to read, but this has to be one of the most elegant and beautiful we have seen. It is a model of simplicity, beautifully symmetrical and well proportioned. The dial itself in white, contrasts wonderfully with the yellow gold case and original gilt ‘index’ hands and hour indices, and is neatly signed with the Jaeger-LeCoultre signature, along with ‘Automatic’ and ‘Swiss Made’. In essence, this is a highly sophisticated and v elegant dial. All in fact which Jaeger-LeCoultre represents.
This is, of course, the more sought after Odysseus Perpetual Calendar. These registers measure the month of the year at the 12 dial position, the date of the month on the 9 dial position, the day of the week at the 3 dial position and the wonderful moonphase at the 6 dial position. All of these smaller dials, along with the main dial, carry wonderful black stick hands,
As this dial is original and unrestored, this has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original untouched condition.
Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.
The Movement
Just like the rest of this watch, the movement is amazingly clean and well cared for. Generally, a watch movement of this age will begin to show some tarnishing on some of its surfaces caused by moisture, but this movement has been kept in tip-top condition through regular servicing and proper care and attention. Again, like the rest of the watch, the movement indicates this watch has been treated with all the proper care it deserves.
The original Jaeger signed Calibre 889/1/440, 33 Jewel movement has been given a thorough overhaul and service by our vintage chronograph specialist watchmaker. This means the movement has been completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected and rebuilt using only the correct original parts where required, before careful calibration and testing. Upon return to stock, the watch is now running to within +8 seconds per day! This is truly outstanding for any vintage watch of this age! We therefore have no hesitations in offering this watch with our 12 months’ warranty* With proper care and attention, we can see this watch lasting another lifetime of faithful service.
Please note – This watch should not be set after 9pm or before 2am as this may damage the watch (*see booklet) .
Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the full list price is paid.
The Case
The two-piece 18ct yellow gold case measures 34mm in diameter, excluding the correct JL signed winding crown.
The case, as we would expect from Jaeger-LeCoultre, is very solid and well made and has a screw-down case-back which requires care and attention to open, indicating the case has been impeccably built and maintained. Importantly, it is of full-thickness and has never been engraved.
Having been cleaned, carefully examined and lightly hand-polished by our case-maker, the case is totally immaculate, being very crisp with no scratches, dings or other blemishes visible to the naked eye. This, along with the superb general condition of the rest of the watch, indicates this watch has received an excellent level of care and only light use.
As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.
The Strap & Buckle
This watch has been fitted with an original Jaeger-LeCoultre brown Crocodile strap and gold-plated JLC buckle, which we feel matches the watch perfectly. However, if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige, free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown and black in stock in plain padded leather, crocodile skin or lizard skin, but we can also obtain most types and colours of strap from our partners at ‘Watch Obsession’ within 48hrs. Please take a look at their huge range of straps if you wish here.
Box and Papers
Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to c1988.
Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.
The original Jaeger-LeCoultre presentation box shown in the photographs is included, along with the *instruction booklet which gives you full information on how to wind and set this watch.
Payment and Delivery
If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.
Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.
We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.
For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.
As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.
In Conclusion
This is a simply beautiful vintage gold Jaeger-LeCoultre Odysseus Perpetual Calendar and one which we have been very fortunate to acquire, own and admire, if only for a short while! However, we are very proud to offer this superb example here, in completely immaculate condition. It is many more times more stylish than a modern equivalent watch, it is still completely fresh, reliable and practical to wear as an everyday watch, should you wish to do so. However you may look at it, this timepiece will make an excellent investment and heirloom piece, as well as be something to treasure and enjoy. As each year goes by and the world market for vintage gold watches grows ever larger, the limited supply allied to high demand means prices will inevitably climb ever higher!
A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring them to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post-sales care and service. This approach means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly successful charging between two to three times the price you see here. We, therefore, consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.
Please note, we also welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or a small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.
We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.
If you have any questions please call us on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.
Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.
Thank you.
Andrew M via feefo 
3rd December 2024 
JLC1891 
