Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Minute Repeater

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KIH provides an exclusive first look at several Jaeger-LeCoultre novelties from a special event in Tokyo. His detailed photographs and initial impressions offer readers an early glimpse into new models, including the Master Grande Tradition Minute Repeater. This post is particularly valuable for its candid, hands-on perspective and the inclusion of a sound recording of the minute repeater.

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Today I had a pleasant lunch with JLC senior marketing manager in front of four of the novelties. When Olivier Laurian left Tokyo, he told her to take care of me, I assume (this is where you LOL)

.

Sorry, I forgot to take photo of the delicious foods and desert!

1. Master Grande Tradition Minute Repeater in Red gold 44mm

It is chunky, but I like the curvy bezel. The lever is from top to bottom.

Again, see the curvy bezel.

Quite a thick one.

Because the hammer is on the dial side, there is not much to see from the back.

As with the previous models, Torque meter and 15 days Reserve meter.

The center is the governor.

As always, beautifully done skeleton dial.

Except for the thickness, I can wear it in the shirt sleeve

Red rose looks nice...

But, not in this shirt sleeve....

Do you want to hear how it sounds?

Here you go!

Crystal Gong is louder than other type of MRs. And we can hear the governor, too. YMMV and there are always many camps when it comes to the taste for the sound of MRs, but I think this sound is good.

2. Master Ultra Thin Tourbillon in Rose Gold 40mm

See the dial is pink-ish ivory color to match the rose gold case?

Notice that the sapphire glass is sticking out above the case and the section is cut and polished in oblique, like a trapezoid.

And the rounded and curvy case center and lug line.
Those are very fine and small change, but very detailed improvement, I say.

Rounded case center gives more elegant impression.

Again, see the section of the glass.

Ah, I can't complain

Thin enough. Could be thinner if manual winding?

But very thin for automatic....

Now just the video of the tourbillon...

3. Master Ultra Thin Réserve de Marche in Red Gold 39mm

As with the Master Ultra Thin Tourbillon, the dial color is slightly pink-ish ivory to match the case color. Subtle, but very effective design.

Also, rounded case center and the lug.

Again, the same work on the sapphire glass.

Gorgeous....

Very wearable.

Rounded case gives totally different impression from the previous models.

4. Duometre Quantieme Lunaire Rose gold 40.5mm

Brushed side looks nice. The side and the lug look similar to Lange's but Lange's pink gold cases never have side brushed.

The bezel is cut straight.

As always, beautiful display back of Duometre.

Still prototype, I assume.

A bit thick, but wearable enough to me.

Let me show you the move of the hands.

I missed a few more heavy-weight novelties, but I am grateful enough for those four Ms. Furusawa brought to show me. All in all, they are, as with last year, impressive novelties and the improvement or change is very meaningful while it may be small.

Many thanks to:
Ms. Rachel Furusawa, Senior Marketing Manager, Jaeger-LeCoultre Japan, for inviting me to lunch and showing these novelties.
and
Mr. Olivier Laurian, my friend, who must have spread good words about me within JLC Japan

. Best wishes to your new assignment. PuristS in Benelux and Scandinavia, he is the guy who you should come to when you think of JLC. A great guy.

Thanks for reading.

Best,

Ken

Key Points from the Discussion

The Master Grande Tradition Minute Repeater in rose gold is particularly impressive, with its curvy bezel and beautifully skeletonized dial, making it a preferred choice over other materials like Tivan.
The new Master Grande Tradition RDM in rose gold features sublime case and dial refinements, potentially surpassing the original design in timeless perfection. The steel version is noted to have a sunburst dial, which might influence preference for the eggshell rose gold dial.
The Crystal Gong in the minute repeater is notably louder than other types of minute repeaters, and the sound of the governor is also audible, though sound preference is subjective.
The author looks forward to more in-depth reviews of these novelties from other forum members, indicating his post serves as an initial impression rather than a comprehensive review.
The minute repeater and the moon phase on the Duomètre are highlighted as particularly appealing features among the novelties presented.

The Discussion

amanico

Feb 9, 2012

Thanks for the general presentation of SOME of the 2012 novelties, Ken.

Of course, we'll come back to some of the pieces you showed us, here. We already did it for the Grande Reverso Skeleton, the Red TTR 1931, the Reverso Calendar, The Quantieme Lunaire 40, 5 mm, the Deep Sea Vintage Chrono and the Duometre à Spherotourbillon. We'll have to get a deeper view on the other novelties, at the pace of one per week. And maybe keep one or two surprises for the good cause. On all the pieces you showed, I must say that I was impressed by the Master Grande Tradition in rose

KIH

Feb 9, 2012

Yup, please, I am looking forward to your more in-depth review, too!

I just had a pleasure meeting these pieces and couldn't help showing the pics and my impressions. And the main event was the lunch Best, Ken

Mostel

Feb 9, 2012

Yes! Thank you Ken

I especially enjoyed seeing the new RDM in RG. The refinements of this case and dial are sublime--and I feel, even more timelessly 'perfect' than the original, Godfather 2 anyone? Already on my wrist, just a matter of one being available---only real question is, RG or steel? I read that the steel has a sunburst dial--and it sounds very nice--but if that is true, I will prefer the cool, eggshell RG dial. I prefer sunburst dials on vintage watches. Also, this is a first for me: I like the RG tourb

fernando

Feb 9, 2012

The tourby looks good on you Ken :) [nt]

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grigo

Feb 10, 2012

I never get tired of viewing pictures of the 2012 line up.

Thanks for sharing these pictures with us. It looks like you had a grand time. Best regards, George

MichaelC

Feb 10, 2012

Thanks Ken, great photos!! nt [nt]

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