A new JLC for me

[nrhiture]

A long time ago I discovered a 60’s “LeCoultre” Futurematic, it turned out to be my first eBay bid and purchase. The second vintage watch on my long journey with mechanical watches. I loved the style, power indicator, and most importantly, the bumper movement. It seemed like such a delicate watch, but it being 25ish years old at the time, it was reliable and ran very well, the deception hides a solid and well built watch. I loved it but eventually sold it for the next watch, a vintage Breitling, not realizing how much I would miss it over the years. Like many it’s “the one that got away” in my collection.
Over the years I’ve come back to JLC thinking I’d like to add an iconic Reverso but when I’ve tried them on ready to buy I just never feel the excitement and connection needed to pull the trigger. Still, all respect to that model, it’s a beautiful and amazing reference, just not for me I guess.

This past year I set my sights on a dressier watch, after several years of acquiring sport bracelet watches, following a lot of hype watches like we all have. Something that fit the business casual, networking events, and Sunday dress, side of my life. Omega, IWC, Moser, Glashutte Original, and of course JLC were all on the list. I looked at great references from all, tried on many, but after considerable thought and evaluation of what was being offered when compared to value I focused in on a few from JLC in the Master Ultra Thin and Master Control collections. Then narrowing down to the Geographic and Calendar references and finally settling in on the Calendar.

Why did I go with this particular JLC? Well, to say it’s perfect would be a lie, many of us enthusiasts would admit that perfect doesn’t exist, the differences and compromises of what we acquire versus leave behind is balanced in what we want at the time. For my curated collection a complete calendar watch is the perfect addition. The whiteness of the dial, glimmer of the silver arrow and Arabic numeral indices, day and month close together (opposed to earlier versions), the delicate seconds hand over the deep blue sky on the moon phase, and case polished in all the right places, make this a watch that I love looking at. The truly spectacular aspect of this watch is the jumping date, a complication I don’t stay up to witness but love to have.

With two very different straps, it looks wonderful on both and fits the casual and dressier side I was hoping for. The movement is robust and amazing to look at. It contributes to the voodoo that JLC seems to possess by making delicate generational watches without feeling heavy or combat ready.





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