Jaeger-LeCoultre

Tim_M
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Transparency Still Has Value

Hi,

Personally, there's no good reason why a company shouldn't publish the standards for its internal tests. 

The only reasons would be ones that are a disservice to consumers, namely, the tests are not rigorous, or the results are not impressive.

Rolex COSC certifies most of their sports watch movements, but they still check the completed watches for COSC tolerances before shipment. If they can do this economically even on watches that cost under $10,000 USD, it seems there's no reason others cannot do the same on timepieces costing multiples of that figure.

Most agree that JLC is a fine manufacture and that its standards are rigorous, but it could bolster that reputation and remove all doubt by revealing its standards for each watch under the 1000 Hours Control. Most on these boards have timed their late model JLCs at one point or another, and the reports tend to be very encouraging with respect to accuracy. My own informal timing results bested COSC tolerances in several cases.

We know that different JLC modes at different price points are subject to different MC1000 tolerances, and that's OK, just declare it, JLC.  This way, an owner and his dealer/watchmaker can verify that a JLC is within factory tolerance on delivery and throughout its service life.

For example, my EWA is a mega-tough watch. If JLC told me it's fine for it to run -10/+15, I can accept that in a watch whose principal design focus is to to survive severe uses such as mountain biking (that's what they claimed, and I tested it- confirmed!) . If I find my watch is +15 the day after something like that, I know not to call for repairs.

On the other hand, if something very fine, formal, and designed for supreme accuracy (e.g,, Duometre a Chronographe) runs -7 for a few days, I would like to know whether that's normal and be able to take action if it's not.

In summary, transparency about the 1000 Hours Control would bolster the manufacture's reputation (as it's certainly a set of stringent standards), permit buyers to make informed choices, and give consumers and dealers a reference point for evaluating proper function.

Best,

Tim


This message has been edited by Tim_M on 2014-03-20 05:53:52