Jaeger-LeCoultre

Greetings!  I'm thinking about getting a Reverso Grande GMT and I had two questions:

1) Are the hands and numerals luminescent on the black face side (any night time photos?)?

2) How robust is the watch?  I'm not planning on playing football (soccer that is) with it on but will it stand up to everyday wear and taking my boys to the park?

Thanks a lot,

Jonathan Bar-on

jrbar_on at yahoo dot com

This message has been edited by jrbar-on on 2009-02-19 07:21:31

Yes, the hands and numerals seem luminescent, AFAIK.

Note that that's my guess, from what I see from the Catalogue.

About the robustness of the watch, if you don't play soccer with, you won't have problems with, if you plan to wear it everyday.

I am not aware of any kind of problems with this Grande GMT.

As some here own it, I'm pretty sure they will confirm you ( or infirm ) the luminescent material on the hands and numerals, but for me, YES, they are luminescent.

Best,

Nicolas

Hi Jonathan Yes, it's lume on the back. No, it won't keep you up at night. Remember the dial area swept by the hands is quite small, and so are the hands. I had my watch for 2 years before noticing the lume. As far as ruggedness goes,

No offense, but it's not really very waterproof nor is it very dirt-resistant.

If I were you I'd use another watch for rough-housing, jumping in the pool, etc. This is a fine dress and casual watch, it just isn't a sport watch. In My Humble Opinion. Cazalea This message has been edited by cazalea on 2009-02-19 09:50:30

Cazalea (and Amanico),

Thanks for the great photos and the information.  I am going to get the GMT and I'll post photos later this weekend.

Jonathan.

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Always a pleasure to welcome a new face, here!

As for your question, this is a great classic.

We often sopke about water resistance, here, and there.

To sum it, and to make it short, let's say that this is more a problem of pressure than depth.

It is recommended to not swim with watches which are less than 100 meters WR.

When you swim, your arm " breaks " the water, or when you dive, the pressure of the water is more than 5 ATM.

50 meters WR is a good etancheity, but not for water activities.

Best,

Nicolas

Regarding the 50M WR not being suitable for swimming... that's quite a dissapointment as I was trying to convince myself to get a Reverso Squadro and wanted to use it as my unique day to day watch. But not being able to swim with it not what I wanted to hear about the Reverso.

I don't have a collection and I don't plan to have one, that's why I thought the Reverso Squadra(ref# 701868P) would be a good fit since it's kind of sporty but can be worn with a suit as well.

There is another watch I like very much: OMEGA SEAMASTER 300M AUTOMATIC CHRONOGRAPH (ref#  2225.80.00).

Both watches are within my budget, therefore I was trying to make a decision looking for pros and cons.

Since I like both very much, I wated to just walk into an Authorized Dealer and try them both to see how they fit my hand, and I'll probably feel which one is for me. (or would probably also depend on the skills of the seller and which one he will try to convince me to buy

The Omega is more "my taste" but at the same time I'm thinking that maybe Omega is too common as a brand and also those metalic bracelet watches are quite common as well. (eventhough I like this particular bracelet very much).

And while the Seamaster would be quite common, I think the Reverso is more "special" with it's unique design, not to mention that JLC is superior as a brand.

Suggestions and opinions are welcome.

Javier from Barcelona

But, first, it is my personnal take, and 2d, I would also suggest you the Master Compressor Diving GMT, which seems to be also in your budget, and is really a nice and tempting watch for an every day use, and some water activities...

Best,

Nicolas

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Nor in the same category.

Best,

Nicolas

my Grande GMT has failed...... I only owned the watch for less two months, wore it five times and I always be gentle with it.
Last night I noticed one of the date discs isn't rotating (the 0, 1, 2, 3 disc) and now it's stuck half way in between 1 and 2. I was going to wear it on my trip in several weeks to Hong Kong, but now I guess I will have to choose another piece with me... I also noticed the GMT indicator needle on my sample isn't exactly aligned on several numbers.

I still love this watch, it's a great piece for either casual or formal. The design is timeless, especially the silver dial side.

As mentioned, it's just that I am unlucky to purchase a defective piece, which I am sure it's quite rare from JLC... You'll love this watch.

Happy Friday,
Andy

But I'm sure that JLC will solve your problem in a perfect way.

Keep us updated, please.

Best,

Nicolas

...will keep everyone posted.

Can anyone recommend a trustworthy AD in Hong Kong for repair under warranty? (since I will be back there for about 1.5 months, so I am thinking about bringing the watch back to do the repair). Or should I just do this in California where I live?

Thanks for any advice.

Andy

with the date disc stucked. Andy

You should bring it to your nearest AD in California...

Go to the JLC Website, and you will find where is your nearest AD, my friend.

Best,

Nicolas

I went to the nearest AD today and they wanted to charge me $250-300 for shipping and insurance cost, does that sound reasonable?

Thanks,
Andy

I think it's unfair to charge you $300 for the shipping/insurance since the watch is still under warranty.
You did nothing wrong why should you pay $300 to have the watch repaired.
It would be more normal if this shipping thing would be covered by the warranty, you should just let your watch in their custody and pick it up a few weeks later fixed. How they ship it to JLC should not be your problem.
Try to phone another AD, or yet better, try to deal with the AD who sold you the watch.

will do a little research and keep you posted.
Andy

I am on a trip to Hong Kong, so I brought the watch with me and left it to the JLC boutique (in Pacific Place.) They sent it to the service center, after a few days, they said there are two parts that needed to be ordered from Switzerland to finish the repair, and it will take 12 - 15 weeks, which is too long since by that time I should have already headed back home to the states. So, i told them I will pick up the watch from the boutique and they said "no problem, we will leave the watch untouched then, it'll be ready for you at the boutique for pick up." After I picked up the watch, I was expecting it in the same defective condition like I brought in, but to my surprise after letting the date discs run, they are working as it is supposed to. Also, the GMT indicator which I told them that is not accurately pointing to all the numbers, is now very aligned to all of them. I called the boutique up and asked them to get a report from the service center, and they said they didn't even open the watch... I was surprised to hear that because that cannot be true since both problems are now fixed. Well, but I am a happy owner once again.

Thank you all again for your kind input. Just an update I thought I'd share to you.

Andy

Well, they certainly did something on your watch.

I can't find any other explanation.

Let us know, my friend.

Nicolas, a bit amazed...