lot 14

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Master Grande Tradition

Estimate CHF 30 000 / CHF 40 000
Starting bid CHF 30 000
Fixed price CHF 70 000

Hammer price CHF 48 000
Total bids 9
Buyer’s premium will not be charged

Specification

CaseRose gold case 750/1000 with a sapphire caseback, date corrector at 8 o'clock
StrapOriginal black Alligator strap, with a original rose gold pin buckle
DialWhite dial with applied rose gold indices, year & month indication at 12 o'clock, moonphase & weekday indication at 3 o'clock, date indication at 9 o'clock, Tourbillon display at 6 o'clock
MovementRhodium-plated automatic movement, with engraved 22k rose gold rotor, perpetual calendar, one-minute Tourbillon, helical balance spring
Cal.985
Ref.Q5042520 / 186.2.20.S
Case No.2962304
D=42mm

Condition report

Case:Very good, small signs of wear
Strap:Very good, small signs of wear
Dial:Mint condition
Movement:All functions working properly
Amplitude (Dial on top/Lift angle 52):Approx 260°
Accuracy (Dial on top):Approx +2 sec/day
Box:Yes
Papers:Yes

Details 

A rare, unusual and attractive rose gold tourbillon and perpetual calendar wristwatch of the famous Swiss watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre, founded in 1833. Reference launched in 2014. Case made of 18k rose gold, diameter 42mm, 13.1mm thick, sapphire caseback. Caliber 985, self-winding, 22k gold oscillating weight with a reproduction of the 1889 Paris Universal Exposition gold medal awarded to LeCoultre manufacture, flying tourbillon with helical hairspring, power reserve up to 45 hours. Two-level light-grey silvered dial with grained finish, slightly recessed sub-dials. Functions – indication of time in hours and minutes, three-pointed small seconds hand on the tourbillon shaft, perpetual calendar with date at 9 o’clock, day of the week and moonphase at 3 o’clock, month and 4-digit year displays at 12 o’clock, and day/night indicator aperture just above the axis of hour and minute hands. Jaeger-LeCoultre brown leather strap, Jaeger-LeCoultre 18k rose gold pin buckle. 

Lot essay 

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s caliber 985 of the present reference features combination of traditional complications – tourbillon and perpetual calendar, albeit they are far from to be straightforward. The tourbillon features a non-classical design, it is a flying tourbillon (Jaeger-LeCoultre calls it cantilevered), its carriage is machined from grade 5 titanium, and it features a large 14k gold balance and helical (cylindrical) hairspring made in-house. The perpetual calendar, in addition to the mandatory indicators, offers a 4-digit year display and an almost imperceptible day/night indicator aperture just above the axis of hour and minute hands – it seems that everyone has forgotten about it, including the brand itself, in the description of the watch on its site. Also unusual is a solid 22k gold skeleton oscillating weight with a fine relief reproduction of the Paris Universal Exposition gold medal awarded to Fabrique d’Horlogerie LeCoultre & Cie in 1889 (the brand Jaeger-LeCoultre was officially registered and used since 1937). 

A rare watch featuring a complicated caliber of a renowned brand, classical aesthetics, embedded with traditional finishings and metiers d’art features.

Caliber 985 was launched in 2013 as an upgraded version of caliber 987 of 2009, the first Jaeger-LeCoultre watch movement to associate a tourbillon with a perpetual calendar, with the upper bridge for the tourbillon (experimental version of caliber 987 additionally featured silicon escapement parts). Caliber 985 powered by Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Cylindrique à Quantième Perpétuel Jubilee, one of the models of the anniversary collection created for the company’s 180th anniversary in 2013. The gold oscillating weight and the prominently textured silver-plated dial give both the platinum model and the pink gold model that followed a year later (the present reference) collector’s status due to a rare combination of decorative finishes and highly complicated caliber. 

The design and finish of the caliber 985 is of a high standard. The layout of the movement, which is exposed on the side of the sapphire caseback, is symmetrical, which is fully consistent with the symmetrical layout of the dial. Caliber 985 parts are decorated according to haute horlogerie standards, using traditional techniques including a côtes circulaires striped finish, circular brushing, sphere-polished shafts and pins, blued screws, flat-polished screw heads, the traditional polishing of the bridges’ bevels, the engraved and gilt inscriptions, guilloché and fine relief decoration of solid-gold rotor, as well as branded radiating côtes soleillées finish of the bridges. The finishing of such kind is an extremely costly operation for a watch brand, where a lot of time and effort is required even without taking into account that needed in the process of handcrafting, finishing, assembling and adjusting watches. 

Reasons to bid 

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Cylindrique à Quantième Perpétuel Ref. Q5042520 is a rare, unusual and attractive rose gold highly complicated watch from a world-famous watch brand, one of the traditional market leaders in haute horlogerie and complicated timepieces. The undoubted advantage of the present lot is the combination of the outstanding technical characteristics of its caliber 985, comprising a combination of traditional complications – tourbillon and perpetual calendar, embedded with rare features as flying tourbillon with helical hairspring, perpetual calendar with 4-digit year indication, and automatic winding. It appears to be an attractive purchase for a collector and haute horlogerie afficionado as a rare watch featuring a complicated caliber of a renowned brand, classical aesthetics, embedded with traditional finishings and metiers d’art features.