Jaeger-LeCoultre

Hello everyone! With Euro declining against the Canadian dollar, I finally have a window of opportunity to afford a brand new JLC... I am really interested in the Master Compressor Navy Seals Alarm model. Just wish they would drop the whole Navy Seals logo... nothing wrong about testing these watches with the unit, but why print the logo on the back? I am not twelve!

Since the watch is available with a variety of strap and bracelet options, I would like to ask the existing owners for an advice.

I believe the signature look for this series is the articulated rubber bracelet. Unfortunately no dealer in my area has that configuration to see first hand. From the pictures I found on the net, the bracelet looks pretty chunky and probably adds a decent amount of visible bulk and weight to what otherwise is a pretty light watch for its size. Is rubber bracelet really the best look in real life? Is it really worth the extra cost and weight?

Otherwise I would consider just getting a leather strap version. I do not wear suits or any other formal wear to work - just business casual. My feeling is that I can get away with a high quality diving watch in my work environment. After all plenty of people around the office wear watches with diver style bezels - like all the Omega Seamasters and such. However, a hardcore diver watch look in an everyday watch is not my intention. I am very active outdoors and really appreciate the watches strong construction, but there has to be a balance.

With that consideration, would I be better off with the leather strap or does the rubber bracelet look "civilian" enough to wear it to the office?

Thanks a million - I realize this is a matter of taste but will appreciate the owners perspective!

Alex

My advice would be to go for the strap version, more affordable, and to look for several cool straps with the money you'll save.

So, you will give to your watch different looks, different personalities.

Most important, a few words on the NSA...

I said it many times before, so I'll make it short:

The NSA is a super cool watch, with a nice presence, a lot of personality, a strong dial, and a superb bezel.

The crowns don't break the symmetry and balance of the whole watch.

And cherry on the cake, the Alarm!

I recommend it highly!

Best, and please keep us updated.

And...Welcome here, by the way!

Nicolas

Alarm is really my favorite complication. Chronographs, even rattrapante are very common and have to be extraordinary to stand out. Alarms are very rare. I considered a Fortis, however just could not get over the design. Too much stuff going on there. I also feel that wearing a pilot style watch would be pretending something I am not...

So at this time I narrowed down my options to just two watches that are somewhat similar in functionality but rather different in looks. I love them both and have very hard time deciding. One of these watches is of course the JLC that I mentioned and the other one is PAM 98 GMT Alarm with the very fine GP Traveler II motion. There are cons and pros on each side and the Panerai is somewhat cheaper - however I feel that while PAM is not necessarily fragile (in fact it will be much easier to refinish even if it is scratched a bit), it really is a dress watch first and foremost...

Thanks again for your comments,

Alex

The Panerai Pam 98 is a cool watch, but IMO it can't beat the NSA and the tribute to the Past behind this watch, which is much more interesting than the Marketting.

Best,

Nicolas

the JLC over the Panerai.....

The bracelet looks better in my opinion but it is more expensive.....

good luck...

cheers

No message body

I am not disagreeing with Nicolas' advice, but if you have the chance to get the bacelet for a good price, then it is worth considering. I am not so keen on the JLC divers on dressy leather straps -- it just does not work for me.  The articulated rubber and regular titanium bracelets are definitely chunkier than a leather strap would be, but they really suit the divers very well, are very comfortable and add to the overall presence of the watch, whether or not you intend to dive with one of these babies.  For me there was no question but that I had to have a bracelet for mine. The rubber and titanium bracelets each give the watch a very different look so consider that as well.  Perhaps a metal bracelet will suit your needs around the office -- I bet a lot of other guys at your office wear chunky watchs on bracelets, so you might not stand out in a bad way with this configuration.

The diving bracelets are expensive however, so you may want to hold off and decide on that later after you have lived with the watch for a while and perhaps considered other straps as Nicolas has suggested. But if your AD can give you a good deal on the watch on a bracelet, it might be worth considering now.

And IMHO, if you can afford it and truly love the JLC, choose IT over the Panerai.  A JLC Memovox alarm diving watch -- what's not to love????  But I am bonkers for JLCs, so ask the same question over at the Panerai forum to get thePaneristi opinions. The whole Navy SEALs co-branding is a minor distraction, if it bothers you at all, and you will only be reminded of it when you flip the watch over. 

Looking forward to seeing what you choose.

respo  

... for the rubber bracelet version compared to the leather strap was quoted to me as 600 Euro. I guess it is not unreasonable... I did not consider the metal bracelet version simply because a number of watches I own - both steel and titanium are on metal bracelets, so I would like to go for a different look and feel this time around.

I get your point about the diver watch on a leather strap, but this is a REALLY NICE diver watch! So to me having an option to change it to the diving strap when I plan to swim or sweat while wearing is a sufficient compromise...

Thanks for your feedback!

As a proud owner of an NSA on the leather strap, I would just like to add my 5 cents...

I don't see the NSA leather strap as being at all dressy. It is part leather, part rubber on the 'outside' and has a suede-like material on the 'inside'. It fits the look of the watch itself very well.

At the same time, you can get away with wearing the watch at the office without scaring women and young children ;-)

Enjoy it!

Claus

Same issue as you about the bracelet.

I have the watch since 6 month, was thinking about the ar-rubber-br.

It is a really nice feeling to the ar-ru-br, have it on a Squadra.

But I hold of when I bought the watch to see if I liked the straps that came with it.

The Nato-strap was nothing for me, don’t like the unsteady feeling.

The leather has actually a very nice feeling to it.

You might think it’s not good looking – but that is just a matter of taste…

But if you are used to bracelets, then you might get surprised in a good way with this one.

The band is enhanced on the sides to the case, so it feels more like an integrated band then a normal one.

But one thing you won’t have is the double folding clasp.

 

Have a look at these posts if you want to see photos:

 

Some quick pictures and thoughts on the Navy SEALs Alarm

 

Review-JLC: 1959 / 2009, from the Deep Sea Alarm to the Navy Seals Alarm

 

The Q2 report of the NSA  

 

Dan showed the NSA with TI-br, got me thinking…

 

Best

 

Blomman

the leather strap and the articulated rubber bracelet.  Both look and feel great.  The leather strap is quite thick near the lugs so it blends into the watch nicely, and it has a nice comfy backing.

However, I feel that the bracelet is more practical on a day to day basis since you can get it wet as you wash you hands, etc., and the folding clasp is fantastic since it has a quick adjustment on both sides that can extend/contract the bracelet in 2x4mm increments.  This means that you can get a perfect fit all day - my wrist does tend to change during the day depending on what I am doing.  The matt black rubber suits the watch really well too.

stitch

but almost too much so... every watch I owned and ACTUALLY wore in the last 10 years had a bracelet. The reason I was looking at the leather strap is thinking that it would "soften up" the look a little bit. But if the bracelet looks so good it is probably worh considering because it is definitely a feature that sets this watch apart.

Reading one of the reviews on this forum I saw a note about somewhat lower scratch-resistance of the ceramic bezel compared to the case titanium. I actually never considered titanium all that scratch resistent in the first place, unless it was specially coated (e.g. IWC, Ventura Design on Time). My titanium Omegas scratched rather easily.

Is this a major concern with the NSA bezel? Being such a prominant feature of the watch face, looks like this is where most wear is going to occur...

as it is made out of ceramic, in a steel carrier.  No worries about that.

I read this review: jlc.watchprosite.com

If you scroll about two-thirds down, it says "I like that the titanium is not that easy to scratch, but the ceramic bezel on the other hand is fairly easy to…"

Alex

I was the one to write the report – and to clarify:

Yes, you are able to scratch the bezel.

And when I said fairly – I might have been unjust.

I dragged the watch against a metal object pretty hard, yes I know – stupid!

But sh-t happens.

So it left a mark on the finish, but didn’t make any cuts in the bezel.

 

Best

 

Blomman

you may consider the TI bracelet before the articulated rubber one. I find the articulated rubber to get a bit "hot and moist" because of its insulating properties. But then again, the combination looks pretty good with the rubber coating on the crowns. I will probably change between a good NATO and the bracelet myself during summer. A good NATO is probably the most comfortable solution.

The leather strap is also nice, but not very practical for such a sporty and tall watch.

The watch still makes me smile after 6 months so I guess JLC got it right!

Cheers,

Richard

This message has been edited by sw-rick on 2010-03-25 23:31:33 This message has been edited by sw-rick on 2010-03-25 23:32:42