Comments:
My first sampling of a memovox movement was in an IWC GST alarm. It was a great watch, but the cursive International Watch Company printing seemed at odds with the Bauhaus design of the rest of the watch. Then I had the Memovox compressor pictured. The alarm crown pulled out to turn off the alarm just seemed off for a dive watch. Now I have an Amvox 1 with the same movement, and it seems the best of the three to me.
Jaeger Lecoultre Master Compressor Memovox: The power of a picture.
It is very rare I can say that an official picture made a strong impression on me.
Here is one, featuring the Master Compressor Memovox, which made me fall in love with that watch.
I fell for this first modern evocation of the legendary Polaris, with these strange ( at that time ) crowns.
Even if the welcome was quite lukewarm for this family of watches, several years after, it convinced more and more people.
What about you?
Best,
Nicolas
I always thought these crowns were very cool. Reinforces the tool watch status and history.
When this watch came out I loved the look of it and took the plunge and bought one.
It’s a great looking watch and looked fine even on my somewhat thin wrist. I loved the alarm with the bell sound and was very pleased with it at first. Unfortunately, however, after a while I found the compressor crowns really annoying. They were, to me, very fiddly and tended to dig in to the back of my wrist making the watch uncomfortable to wear. Sadly, I decided to move it on but I miss the look of it. But for those damned crowns it would definitely have been a keeper. Regards Kev.
In terms of lack of comfort, the case back was a real problem. Its engraved and domed back scratched my wrist.
I used to own one, too. Sizing is good. The crowns did not bother me. But the marking either red or white can come off. The engraved case back is glued in. That can come off.
The watch itself is quite practical. Other than the alarm, the inner bezel can be used as time event reminder. The location of the JLC logo is odd, though better than its siblings the Dualmatic which looks like everything put on the dial in a random fashion. The Master Compressor remains a milestone in the JLC watches manufacturing history.
True that the dial design didn't please to everyone, but this was a line with a strong and non consensual character.
I have always loved it and never struggled with those complaints...
The crowns never dug into my wrist; the back of the watch didn't bother me - although JLC could have done some smoothing on the design.
The original Compressor design release that the then-moderator, Jaw did was fantastic. The one he did for the EWC was even more impressive. If it was updated and launched today, alongside the Polaris, it would out-sell the Polaris, I believe. But having 2 nice sport options (Patek has Nautilus AND Aquanaut), would bring more people to the table, IMO.
-Dean
I totally agree. Jaw did a great job, as well as JLC with the Master Compressor Line. And there is a place for the Master Compressor and the Polaris line ( along with the Geophysic and the Deep See lines ).
Love the hours font
My first sampling of a memovox movement was in an IWC GST alarm. It was a great watch, but the cursive International Watch Company printing seemed at odds with the Bauhaus design of the rest of the watch. Then I had the Memovox compressor pictured. The alarm crown pulled out to turn off the alarm just seemed off for a dive watch. Now I have an Amvox 1 with the same movement, and it seems the best of the three to me.
I really miss the more adventerous side of JLC
I've been mildly obsessed with the Master Compressor era of JLC every since I bought my MC GMT. They really invested a lot of time, and money into this era and i'm so bummed they went the more traditional route.
The breakdown of the 975h movement: web.archive.org
The 975h movement is what drew me to my watch and also the MC line in general. So many cool features: uni-directional winding, ceramic ball bearings, balance bridge (unusual for a JLC) and the A. Langhe provided hairspring! All this plus a massive 22k rotor is what sucked me.
Hopefully JLC revisits this line soon!
Hopefully JLC revisits this line soon!
