Jaeger-LeCoultre Asprey Automatic Cal.K880 9ct 1963

Jaeger-LeCoultre

It is not commonly known that Jaeger-LeCoultre, in addition to producing movements for its own watches, also produced watch 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. Then as now, Jaeger-LeCoultre has always been considered one of the very finest watchmakers in Switzerland and so of course, the world.

Since the founding of Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1833, the brand has had a very 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 keyless watch, the calibre 101, or the iconic Reverso, it would be difficult to imagine a historical account of watchmaking without the mention of Jaeger-LeCoultre.

The company has always been a true ‘Manufacturer’ of the finest quality watch movements. This is unusual because more often than not, high-end brands such as Rolex, Patek Phillippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin would buy 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

A simply stunning, fully original, unrestored and untouched Jaeger-LeCoultre gentleman’s automatic dress watch in 9ct yellow gold from 1963. As can be seen, the dial design is highly elegant and typically from the 1960s with beautiful hour indices and original hands. Its Calibre K880 automatic movement is very highly regarded for its accuracy and reliability, being one of the highest quality automatic movements made by JLC at the time. This was on par with the very best available from any Swiss manufacturer.

The Dial

The simple, classic, understated and beautifully well-balanced dial is pure elegance and style. All in fact that Jaeger-LeCoultre has always represented.

The original, unrestored and untouhed silver dial is furnished with ‘baton’ hour indices matched by original unrestored ‘index’ hands. The silver of the dial contrasts beautifully with the case and hands. This is classic vintage dress watch dial design at its best. Simple, elegant, and just right, something many contemporary watch dials fail to achieve.

This dial is rare due to being double signed not only by the manufaturer, also by one of the most prestigious jewellers in the UK.

The dial is simply signed ‘Jaeger-LeCoultre’ and ‘Asprey Automatic’ with ‘Swiss Made’ at the very bottom of the dial.

As this dial is in original, unrestored condition, 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

This watch contains its all original, very high quality Calibre K880 automatic movement. This movement was so well designed and engineered, a development of this calibre became the Calibre 881G which was fitted to the JLC Geomatic Chronometer, a highly prized watch among collectors which now often sells for two to three times the price you see here. Furthermore, a development of this calibre, the K888, is still manufactured by Jaeger-LeCoultre today! So good was the Calibre K880 that regular production models routinely achieved the chronometer grade standard of its day.

Indeed following its overhaul by our vintage Jaeger specialist watchmaker, the example you see here is now running at +9 sec per/day when tested on our electronic timegrapher. This is as good as any vintage watch we have seen this year! It is likely, the only reason the Master Mariner was not retailed as a ‘Chronometer’, is that Jaeger-LeCoultre, unlike Rolex and Omega, were not in the habit of submitting its watches out of routine, for independent Chronometer testing. Apparently some were occasionally sent to one of the Swiss Observatories for publicity purposes and to demonstrate its accuracy and reliability, but Jaeger-LeCoulture perhaps felt, in line with Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantine, that as anyone purchasing a Jaeger-LeCoultre would be already sufficiently assured as to the quality of the watch movement, they did not need the word Chronometer written on the dial!

This is the original movement, which as can be seen, is in sparkling condition having just been fully overhauled and serviced by our Master Watchmaker. This involves complete disassembly of the entire watch movement, close inspection of all critical parts under high magnification and then replacement where necessary, using only original manufacturer parts. The following stage is lubrication using individually specified lubricants for differing parts of the movement and careful re-assembly before regulating / timing. The watch winds and sets smoothly and is currently keeping accurate time, consistently, to within +9 seconds per day! This is outstanding for any vintage watch of this age. We therefore we have no hesitation in offering this watch with our 12 months warranty*.

The movement is signed LeCoultre Co, with the calibre number K880 and ’17 jewels’ along with the movement serial number 1578810.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.

The Case

This large sized 34mm multi-faceted watch case is of exceedingly high quality, being constructed in two pieces with a screw down case back. This is quite a slim case at 10mm in depth and at the time it was made, would have been one of the slimmest watches available to accommodate the automatic movement. Due to the sophisticated case construction with multiple edges and elegant acute profile, the watch sits beautifully on the wrist and looks every bit the quality piece it is. The watch case is in incredible condition with no signs of wear visible to the naked eye.

The inside of the case is correctly signed ‘DTE’ and also carries the correct London UK hallmarks. This is a British market Jaeger-LeCoultre watch. British market watch cases were made for Jaeger Le-Coultre by De Trevars, who were the British importers and case-makers for JLC during the 1950s and 1960s. This is the reason the case is signed ‘DTE’.

As ever, our standard advice applies: vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap and Buckle

The watch is fitted with a high-quality brown leather strap with a Jaeger-LeCoultre gold plated buckle. 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 burgundy and black straps in stock, in plain, padded leather, alligator, crocodile or lizard skin.

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 1963.

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 also 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 Jaeger-Lecoultre presentation box shown in the photographs is included in the sale.

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 wonderful vintage gold Jaeger-LeCoultre watch which is much more stylish than a modern equivalent. Even though it is over 60 years old, it is still completely fresh, reliable and practical to wear as your everyday watch, should you wish. Most of all it is a thing of beauty – some may say a ‘work of art’ from one of the most prestigious names in Swiss watch-making. However you wish to view it, this time-piece will make an excellent investment and heirloom piece, as well as be something to treasure, use 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 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.