Jaeger-LeCoultre

A recent post on the MUT made me search for my own and having found it tucked really deep away (!), I wore it for a week and it was like having an old friend in company. Today, I realized that I have not yet placed all my MC series together for a photoshoot and to re-appreciate them not only from a 'blast from the past' perspective, but also to examine their design similarities and differences. Super-wearability and attention to details are two of the most immediate commonalities. Not by design, it so happened that I have three different colored dials; each nevertheless represents a different horological achievement (and substantive statement) from the manufacture at Le Sentier. By today's standards, these are really quite modest watches--but nevertheless a genuine testimony to a time when 'horological innovation' was expertly crafted and honestly manufactured--with integrity. I noted that all three still have their original straps; none has been serviced so to speak and still going strong (and very accurate...or accurate enough for my use). The straps, buckles and deployanst have all held up, like the movement, and far, far exceeded the 1,000 hours of quality assurance. Truly, kudos. These works of 'everyday horology' speak for themselves. 

I own 2 and my wife 1 of them.

Great watches, all three and it was a lovely line for sure. I simply wish there was more innovation of the non dial color type that still took place at this level 🤞🏻

What impresses me the most is that despite being all in the same MC series, each expresses a different forte impressively well. If it is MUT, then it was about elegance and finesse; if it is the triple calendar, then it is rearranging a classic proportion of 32mm into a 37mm--not a straightforward task when the movement, case and dial were all larger by a few scales. Yet nothing appeared lost, and people came to accept this classic watch in the new proportion. And if it is the alarm, how to integrate some of the high-end MR mechanics into a far more accessible alarm watch while providing a display crystal for admiring that feat at a 37mm size. These are serious considerations to details and horological expressions that have somehow been lost across time. 

The attention to detail in the watches lower down has somehow gotten less - or at least it feels this way. Which is unfortunate. Up to quite recently I felt JLC tried at least partially (the movement for the Geophysic line) and I hope under Jerome Lambert they will try again 🤞🏻

I love the Master Control series from that era, and owned a few over the years.

Yes the MM is Pt version. It is a tad thicker and heavier but other than these, superbly wearable. 

I especially like the Ultra Thin.

I owned that triple calendar for a while--the regular steel version with silver dial. I kept thinking that there's another, non-insane-collector life, in which that was my only watch. I think that was my response to, as you say, its craft and integrity!

So many good JLCs came out of that era

But then I might be biased - I'm lucky enough to have these two







Cheers JML