JLC Master Calendar Cal.889/2 18ct Pink Gold 2004

Jaeger-LeCoultre

In 1937, after 30 years of marketing the same watches under their respective names, Jaeger and LeCoultre formally merged in the marketplace and the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand was born. In most markets from this point forward, watches were sold as Jaeger-LeCoultre, but with two notable exceptions. The name Jaeger remained in use until the 1980s, particularly for instruments, some chronographs and sports watches and to a large degree in the French Domestic market. The US market remained as LeCoultre from 1931 until c1985, mainly due to the regulations and taxes surrounding the import of watches into the U.S.

Since these early beginnings, the company has had an incredibly inventive history, developing over 1,250 mechanical calibres, registering over 400 patents and playing a tremendous role in the development of the industry as a whole. Jaeger-LeCoultre is also the most creative of the top Swiss watch manufacturers, having produced the widest range of distinctive and groundbreaking watches, many of which are of particular interest to collectors. These are the Duoplan (1925), the Reverso (1931), the Triple Date Moonphase (1945), the Powermatic (1948), the Memovox (1949), the Futurematic (1952), the Geophysic (1958), the Geomatic (1962), along with many more. This is in addition to its wonderful chronographs and huge range of military watches.

Jaeger is also, of course, a very familiar name to vintage and classic car enthusiasts, as in 1921, LeCoultre of Switzerland and Jaeger of France formed a company in England, Ed. Jaeger (London) Ltd to make instruments for prestige car manufacturers. The company was also highly successful in providing instruments to the manufacturers of aeroplanes and marine craft.

Description

We have here a wonderful looking gentleman’s Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Calendar from 2004. This piece represents JLC’s expertise in classical watchmaking and complicated timepieces, with a design that balances functionality with elegance. These watches were particularly noted for their reliability and the smooth operation of their calendar mechanisms. This incredible example of the Jaeger-LeCoultre carries the original, unrestored and untouched silver dial along with an extremely high quality Camille Fournet lizard strap and 18ct solid gold Jaeger-LeCoultre Deplyant Clasp. This watch comes complete with the original Jaeger-LeCoultre box, original JLC guarentee certificate, JLC Master Calendar booklet and pusher tool.

This watch is exceptional, not only for is quality, size and condition, but also due to the fact that this is an 18ct pink gold Master Calendar, which makes this a very rare watch indeed.

The Dial

The rare, original, unrestored and untouched silver dial is in top grade condition. The light reflects against the silver dial wonderfully and complements the mixed, applied pink gilt ‘arrowhead’ hour indices and ‘3 – 9 – 12’ standard Arabic numerals and original pink gilt ‘dauphine’ hands. The silver sweep date hand features a red moon on the very end which frames the day of the month perfectly. The outer date track in black, which looks superb against the silver dial, pink gold case and hands. The day of the week and month are also shown in red in English which are perfectly placed in the top half of the dial with the moonphase in the bottom half of the dial. Simply Stunning!

Setting this watch is very simple and straightforward. Setting the day of the week is done first. This is achieved by rotating the hands until the correct day is shown. The month is then set via a small pusher on the edge of the case at 2 o’clock. The date of the month is then set via a pusher at 4 o’clock. Finally, the moon phase is set via a pusher at 8 o’clock. An important point to remember is never to advance any of these functions while the hour hand is anywhere close to the number 12, as this can harm the movement. Another point to note is that the month does not auto advance at the end of each month. This is done manually with the small pusher tool that is included with this watch. As long as one remembers these points, the watch will perform faithfully and reliably.

The dial is simply signed ‘Jaeger-LeCoultre’ below 12 along with ‘Automatique’ which can be found within the moonphase window and ‘Swiss Made’ at the very bottom of the dial below 6.

Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however, we decided in this case, due to its unique condition, to retain its originality and charm for the many collectors who prefer this. This watch has a clean original dial with a very even patina. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored.

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 see here 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

The watch is complete with its all original ultra-high quality, Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 882/9 automatic movement. The Cal.889/2 is particularly respected for achieving a balance between technical sophistication and practical reliability while maintaining an exceptionally thin profile.

This movement has had a life of being serviced by Jaeger-LeCoultre themselves. This involves completely dismantling the movement to each of its component parts, ultrasonic cleaning, microscope inspection and replacement of parts as required. only with new JLC originals, then careful reassembly and oiling ready for final testing and careful calibration. As can be seen in the images, the movement is in superb sparking condition.

This watch is now running perfectly having been calibrated and timed at -2 seconds per day which is truly outstanding for any watch of this age! The watch has a runtime of 45 hours from its fully wound state which shows the movement is particularly strong and running well within expected parameters. It is now ready for many more decades of faithful service and we are therefore more than happy to offer this watch with our 12 months’ warranty and to assist with servicing again in around three years time.

The movement is signed ‘Jaeger-LeCoultre’, ‘Master Control’, ‘1000 hours’ with the calibre number 889/2.

*Note – The 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.

The Case

The three-piece 18ct pink gold case measures a large 37mm in diameter, excluding the correct Jaeger-LeCoultre signed winding crown, this incredible watch carries an exhibition case back showing the super high grade automatic movement without having to remove the case back.

The case, as we would expect from JLC, is very solid and well made and is screwed down with 4 screws, indicating the case has been impeccably built and maintained. 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.

On the exterior of the case back is correctly signed with ‘Jaeger-LeCoultre’ along with the the correct 18ct hallmarks ‘750’ and the case serial number can be found, 140.2.98.S.

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

The Strap & Buckle

As mentioned above, this watch is fitted with an extremely high quality Camille Fournet black lizard strap, along with a Jaeger-LeCoultre 18ct pink gold deployant clasp. 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. We can also obtain most types and colours 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

This watch comes complete with the original Jaeger-LeCoultre guarentee certificate that date this watch correcly to 2004.

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, 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”.

This watch comes complete with the original Jaeger-LeCoultre presentation box, as shown in the photographs.

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 very impressive Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Calendar 18ct pink gold automatic wristwatch, which is ready to wear and very practical for everyday use. If treated with care, this watch will make an excellent investment or heirloom piece. JLC has always benefitted from a first class reputation for the superb quality of their watch movements and just as in the case of Longines, which have been undervalued in the past, this is beginning to show in the way JLC watches are increasing in value.

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.