Jaeger-LeCoultre

dxboon
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Happy 1st Anniversary JLC Beverly Hills!

On Thursday, November 12, 2009 the Jaeger-LeCoultre Boutique of Beverly Hills marked the passage of their first year in business in one of America's most glamorous shopping districts with a lively, festive celebration centered around the beautiful and distinct JLC watches that have certainly turned the heads of many watch enthusiasts, myself included.

In this post I'll present a photolog of some of the night's horological stars including:

- The Master Compressor Diving Pro Geographic Navy SEALs -- a watch that defied my understanding when it was released at SIHH this year, but that admittedly has incredible presence in real life.  To me, the watch is the horological equivalent of a champion sumo wrestler; hefty but strangely compelling to watch at the same time.  I know, you're thinking rose gold...dive watch...is JLC crazy?  Maybe they are crazy...like a fox.    It's still not the watch for me, but there was a definite buzz surrounding the piece.

- A rose gold Boutique Edition Master Hometime.  I've always liked the Hometime, but this model is tipping my "like" meter over to "love." 

- The ridiculously attractive IMO platinum Reverso Septantième (70eme is easier to write).  It's so beautiful in person, I could just weep.  I left Thursday night's event dreaming about wearing a 70eme on one wrist and a Duomètre on the other.  When are the doctors going to find a cure for watch collector's syndrome (aka watch geek-itis)? 

- Oh.  I guess I should mention that I also had the opportunity to fondle, er, I mean, photograph some other watches that you might be interested in as well, called the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2, Reverso Grande Complication à Triptyque, and the Gyrotourbillon 1.

Let's get this party started shall we?

The location of our festivities -- the JLC Boutique in Beverly Hills.


Lovely ladies...


...and handsome gentlemen were on hand to help JLC celebrate!

Elegantly plated small bites and champagne were served.

I unfortunately didn't get to taste anything, as I was busy with my cameras!

I. Dive, dive, dive!

Photos of the new Master Compressor Diving Pro Geographic Navy SEALs, and its similarly robust cousin, the Master Compressor Diving Pro Geographic.  What do you think of these two divers?

From left to right: Master Compressor Diving Pro Geographic and the newly released Master Compressor Diving Pro Geographic Navy SEALs limited edition in rose gold.

Brawny and beautiful.



I personally cannot imagine a Navy SEAL wearing this watch, but the heft and sheen of the rose gold, coupled with the black dial is alluring.

The MC Diving Pro Geographic is attractively beastly as well!

Pictured from the front...

...and from the rear of the watch.

The Master Compressor collection's signature compressor keys and rubber-clad crowns.

The Navy SEALs version is no exception!  Compressor keys are in evidence here also!

II. Special Editions that caught my eye!


The limited edition platinum Reverso 70eme.  I completely fell in love with this watch upon seeing it in person!

It's beautiful from the front and the back.  This white gold movement is killer!

I like the juxtaposition of the Cotes de Geneve on the movement and the perlage in the carrier.

Moving on to something different, below are photos of the lovely Boutique Edition rose gold Master Hometime.  In black and rose gold this watch stands apart from the other Hometimes IMO.  Really handsome and elegant.



Below, the Boutique Edition Master Grande Ultra Thin in white gold with a dove gray dial.  For the avoidance of doubt, the lovely wrist pictured is not mine.  I enlisted the help of a JLC team member for this wristshot.



You can see the incredible luster of the dial from this angle.  This is a subtly beautiful watch.

Perfectly elegant in black & white!


What's that old saying?  "You can never be too rich or too thin."  LOL!  I don't know if I agree with those comments, but I definitely appreciate the beauty of this ultra-thin timepiece.

III.  Strap in for something fun!

Another special edition I found at the boutique is the Master Compressor Extreme World Chronograph "Inverssor" which is a great left-handed limited run of 100, I believe.  Everyone knows I'm a sucker for gray dials, so this model's ruthenium one is right on the money for me.  What makes this particular example extra desirable IMO is the perfectly paired custom JLC shark strap that Seth at the Beverly Hills Boutique ordered for it.  I know our cherished TimeOut moderator DRMW recently showed you pictures of other fun custom straps from JLC, so I thought you'd all enjoy seeing this one also.  The stitching and the black/gray striations of the sharkskin pick up the dial colors beautifully, don't you think?





IV. The crème de la crème

Naturally, the true highlight of the evening was a viewing of a trinity of JLC pieces from their Horological Excellence collection, the Gyrotourbillon 1, the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2, and the Reverso Grande Complication à Triptyque.  All three watches are offered in platinum in limited editions of 75 pieces each.  Even if you think a tourbillon is just a useless toy, there is still something marvelous in its movement.  A gyrotourbillon's motion is even more seductive and enticing, as the 3-dimensional characteristics of its multi-carriage movement are, to me, endlessly fascinating to watch.  I took some video of the gyrotourbillon in action, which I'm still trying to clean up and share with all of you, but for now my pictures will have to suffice. 




The Gyrotourbillon 1 is fascinating to me.  There are other multi-axis tourbillons, but this one remains a favorite because I like the layout, and layered look of the watch face.  The blued hands seem to float above the dial, which I find captivating. 



Looks good, doesn't it?



Pictured above is the Reverso Grande Complication à Triptyque.  The dial side of this amazing piece is the only one I really understand.  It displays civil time, a 24-hour indicator, power reserve for the calendar function, and showcases the lovely titanium minute tourbillon equipped with JLC's ellipse isometer escapement.  This escapement uses a silicon blocking-lever arm and escape wheel.  All this is cool, but would you think me a heathen if I admit here that I like this watch more for the fact that it has three faces?  Please don't stone me.  (Please note my photos are of a non-working prototype.)


The second face of the watch is dedicated to astronomical pursuits and timekeeping.  It displays sidereal time, a stellar map displaying the arrangement of constellations according to the hemisphere in which you live, a zodiacal calendar, Equation of Time with sunrise/sunset indices, and a 24-hour civil time display.  I love the oval window showcasing the constellations.  You never have to worry if the day is overcast, because you'll always have the stars on your wrist with this watch!

As if everything on the first two faces of the Triptyque wasn't enough, the carrier houses an instantaneous perpetual calendar with retrograde date and a very pretty moonphase.  Phew!  My head hurts (in a good way)!  For me, these functions are amazing and it is almost unbelievable that all these displays fit inside a wristwatch, but what impresses me more is that JLC has not overlooked the place of the decorative arts in the finishing and layout of this timepiece.  It is a watch which allows its wearer to discern quite a bit of information from its various dials without forsaking the handsome decorative qualities one expects from a JLC. 

Last, but not least.  The Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2.  I had some technical difficulties with my camera so unfortunately only one picture of this watch from the bunch was usable (*crying on the inside*), but I think this photo says a lot.  The watch is airy, and seems to exist in several dimensions at once -- the play of light inside the dial, through the tourbillon cage, against the clous de Paris decoration, is simply breathtaking.  I'm hoping my video of the watch will be ready soon.  There's something both refined and slightly industrial about this piece.  I can't quite place my finger on what I like so much about this watch having seen it in person, but I'd love to get my hands on it again to examine the movement further.  This watch makes me feel like I'm looking through the window of a cathedral into a large open interior structure full of flying buttresses. 

I hope you enjoyed the pictures.  Boutique lighting (any boutique, not just JLC) is really challenging to photograph in (for me at least), so let me just say that the watches are much more attractive in person than in my pictures.  All those little spotlights are great for viewing watches, but they make it hard to get decent pictures!   

Thanks so much to Stephanie, Kate and Seth at JLC.  Without their assistance I wouldn't have been able to experience these marvelous pieces, and subsequently share them with all of you.

Cheers,
Daos


This message has been edited by dxboon on 2009-11-15 00:38:13 This message has been edited by dxboon on 2009-11-15 00:49:41 This message has been edited by amanico on 2009-11-15 13:56:28 This message has been edited by amanico on 2009-11-18 04:10:18