Ladies Jaeger-LeCoultre Cal.895 18ct 1950

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Jaeger-LeCoultre, in addition to producing movements for its own watches, has also produced movements for many other famous watch houses, such as Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet and IWC. In the early part of the 20th Century, Jaeger-LeCoultre even supplied movements to the great firm of Patek Philippe. Then as now, Jaeger-LeCoultre has always been considered one of the very finest Swiss watchmakers.

In addition to producing some of the very finest Swiss movements, Jaeger-LeCoutre is certainly among the most inventive and avant-garde watchmakers in terms of watch design. Throughout its history, it has managed to create distinctive original designs from every period. There are countless examples of this from the earliest Duoplan and Reverso watches of the 1930s through to the Memovox and Triple Calendar Moonphase watches of the 1950s, each of which continues in production to this very day. Its technical superiority in making very small movements for women’s watches also allowed Jaeger-LeCoultre to develop collaborations and to supply other famous brands and French jewellers such as Hermès, Cartier and Chopard.

Description

Here we have a very stylish example of an 18ct yellow gold Jaeger-LeCoultre dress watch from 1950. The watch is in superb all round original condition and as can be seen, the movement is looking spectacular. This dial has been previously restored and as you can see, looks simply beautiful. This watch also has flying articulated lugs which we feel adds something spectacular to the look of this watch on the wrist.

The Dial

The beautiful slightly off-white dial is very clean and simple. The yellow gold ‘dauphine’ hands and ‘pencil’ hour indices make this watch much more easily read than many ladies cocktail watches of a similar size. This dial also has beautiful unrestored ‘6’ and ‘12’ Arabic numerals.

The dial is simply signed ‘Jaeger-LeCoultre’ at the very top, just below the ‘12’.

This is the original dial which has been previously restored to a very high standard and as can be seen in the accompanying images, is in tip-top condition.

The Movement

Jaeger-LeCoultre movements are rightly held in very high regard for their accuracy and reliability and this watch carries its original, very high quality Jaeger-LeCoultre Cal.895, 18 Jewel hand-wound movement which as can be seen, is in spectacularly clean condition.

The movement is signed ‘Jaeger-LeCoultre’, ‘Swiss’ and ‘Eighteen (18) Jewels’, along with the Calibre number 895. It has been fully overhauled and serviced and is in beautiful condition, running beautifully and keeping accurate time, within +7 seconds per day, which is is excellent for any smaller diameter watch.  The watch also has a runtime of 40 hours when fully wound. We are therefore very happy to offer this watch with our 12-month warranty on the movement*.

This watch movement also carries the serial number 763212 which dates this watch 1950.

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

The Watch Case

At 18mm in diameter, including the correct unsigned crown, this watch sits beautifully on the wrist and appears very elegant and unique. The 18ct yellow gold two-piece watch case is in excellent condition, having received a careful inspection and very gentle, sympathetic clean and polish. This was all that was required to bring it back to the condition you see here as the watch has obviously been very well cared for. There are no dings, scratches or other marks visible to the naked eye.

Inside the case-back is all correctly marked as expected with Swiss 18ct hallmarks, ’18ct 0.750′, ‘SWISS’, and with the Firtree LC Jaeger-LeCoultre branding. Importantly, the case-back is of full thickness, has never been engraved and carries the external serial number 538387. This number is clear, indicating the watch case has not been over-polished.

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

The Strap & Buckle

The strap fitted is a new high quality black lizard strap with a plain gold-plated buckle. We feel the strap suits the watch nicely, however, if you wish to dress up the watch with a different colour or style of strap, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige free of charge. We carry a number of colours in stock, but 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 on their website if you wish and we will order your choice for you.

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 1950.

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 high quality hardwood presentation box shown in the photographs is included.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no quibble sale or return policy.

In Conclusion

This is an iconic and totally original vintage watch and even though it is now over 70 years old, it is still completely fresh, reliable and practical to wear as a daily watch. It is an item of beauty, from one of the most prestigious names in Swiss watchmaking and a superb example of 1950s contemporary watch design, in superb fully restored condition.

If treated with care, this watch will remain a simply wonderful timepiece, to use, wear, treasure and enjoy, providing excellent reliability as well as a sound financial investment – as long-lasting as the watch itself. As each year goes by and the world market for vintage gold Jaeger-LeCoultre watches grows, limited supply and high demand from around the world will mean 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.

We are happy to accept PayPal as this is the quickest method of payment. However, if you would like to pay by UK cheque or by UK bank transfer we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for the 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. 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 that happen to visit the UK 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 your watch directly to you there.

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 0207 727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.

We await your call.

Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.

Thank you.