News: The Watchmaker’s Watchmaker Shows Us All How It’s Done
The new Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra-Thin Tourbillon Moon costs £79,500. With tourbillons becoming more and more accessible—thanks to advancements in machinery and manufacturing—should brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre be worried?
Well, the short answer is no. Think of it like this. Brands like Aventi—which can offer you a tourbillon watch for a few thousand pounds—are like a BMW M4. It’s a good car, it will get the job done, but the Jaeger-LeCoultre: well, that’s more like a Ferrari F8 Tributo. The Ferrari has the pedigree, the good looks, but most importantly, the quality and performance—much like the Jaeger-LeCoultre. So, if it’s a tourbillon you are after, the Aventi isn’t a bad shout; but if it’s something special, with better execution, the Jaeger-LeCoultre is the way to go.
Jaeger-LeCoultre was founded in 1833, Le Sentier, Le Chenit, Switzerland
Right, now that all those wanting an Aventi have left the room, let’s talk about the Master Ultra-Thin Tourbillon Moon. A 41mm “Le Grand Rose” gold watch, it comes complete with moon phase, tourbillon, date and is powered by the Calibre 983—an adaptation of the legendary Cal.978, which won the Horological Museum of Le Locle’s International Chronometry Prize.
The first thing to catch your eye with the Calibre 983 is the pink gold rotor—because this is an automatic watch—but looking past that you are greeted with Côtes de Genève, circular graining, chamfered bridges—oh, and the tourbillon.
Jaeger-LeCoultre was founded by Antoine LeCoultre
Turning the watch over reveals an elegant, simple dial design with high legibility. Amongst the moon phase—which features a ring with applied Southern Hemisphere moon phases on the left, and the Age of the Moon on the right—and the tourbillon, you will notice the pointing date hand.
We’ve seen the pointing date hand before—like on the Master Calendar—but what makes the Master Ultra-Thin Tourbillon Moon’s different is the gap between the 15th and 16th day. At midnight on the 15th of each month, the date hand will jump across the dial so that the view of the tourbillon is not obscured.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra-Thin Tourbillon Moon retails at £79,500
Expensive? Of course. Over-engineered? Well, you don’t get the title of watchmaker’s watchmaker for nothing. Overpriced? Definitely not. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra-Thin Tourbillon Moon is a watch worth every penny—it will be on my Christmas list, that’s for sure.
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