Question for Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm Tribute owners: Has anyone swam with it?

[daOnlyBG]

Originally Posted by psv

I had the US dial version, it is a lovely watch in many aspects, but let's face it, it is not really a dive watch by modern standards. It is a fun retro-piece to wear, but it is overpriced for what it is.

Yes, the US dial is the one I'm after- and yes, I do think $10-12K seems excessive. I'm guessing that has something to do with the limited availability.

Originally Posted by psv

There are a number of issues design-wise that keeps it from making a serious dive tool, e.g. the crowns are not screw-down, nor are they protected by any crown guards; the crystal is acrylic which feels a bit less safe than a sapphire one, also more prone to scratches, etc.

Hey, fair enough.

Originally Posted by psv

Lastly, you are going to dive down to 50-60 meters? That is some serious diving, I'd much rather take down a Sea-Dweller as a backup to my dive computer.

In all honesty... no, I probably wouldn't dive that deep. I'm thinking 10-20 meters, tops. Like, it'd be cool to swim with it in the ocean/sea, maybe snorkel, or some pretty novice/elementary scuba diving.

Do you think it'd be OK for that? (sorry if this seems like such a naive question- again, I ask it out of conflicting things said in the manual)

Originally Posted by psv

Net/net: if you like the design and size of the JLC, and don't mind spending $10K on a tribute piece, then by all means, go ahead and get one - and enjoy it. To me, the tribute pieces never last because they aren't the real thing. Either I buy modern or I buy vintage, tribute is a bit half-baked/in the middle.

See, as Rolex enthusiasts/lovers/WIS, we naturally gravitate toward "tribute pieces," they're just not called tribute pieces- and to be fair, they're upgraded in some way. The 6-digit Sub is an improvement on the 5-digit Sub, which in turn is an improvement on the 4-digit Sub. But the overall aesthetic and functional design is still there.

Here, it seems like the JLC reissue/tribute is simply not as good as the original (which was, if I remember correctly, pressure rated to 200m. How ironic.) However, it is substantially cheaper than an original and the lume plots work.
So yeah, I'd probably get one- heaven knows I'd love an alarm function- but I do hope I'd be able to... you know... take it into the water while I'm on vacation and not worry about a water leakage.