Often, watch manufacturers strive to surprise the enthusiast community. Just to attract attention, rekindle interest and trigger new desires. So engineers, watchmakers and designers are creatively onslaught to constantly come up with new case shapes, original dials, daring colors or developments in terms of complications. And we regularly witness the launch of watches that enrich the existing offer. However, astonishing at all costs is not a panacea and many amateurs remain sensitive to maintaining traditions, respecting codes and preserving good habits. This is precisely the positioning of the Master Control Chronograph Calendar in pink gold with black dial just unveiled by Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Chronograph Calendar watch. 18k rose gold case. Diameter 40mm. Caliber 759 automatic movement. Power reserve 65 hours. Water resistance 50m. Black alligator strap. €35,200. © DR
A simple look at this watch is enough to realize that it expresses itself in a register combining distinction, refinement and classicism. On its own, one could consider that the new Jaeger-LeCoultre symbolizes traditional fine watchmaking. No superfluous stylistic effect, not the slightest fault of taste: we are in the simple pleasure of the eyes. However, there is no question of minimalism or purity since the dial is largely occupied by multiple indications: hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph with pulsometer function, complete calendar (day, date, month) and moon phase. But this bloated display does not prevent the dial from retaining its chic. Naturally, the choice of a black color with a sunburst finish contributes a lot to the elegance of the room, this dark shade matching perfectly with the reflections of rose gold.
Close-up of the black sunburst dial and the display of the various indications: hours, minutes, small seconds, day, date, month, moon phase, chronograph with 30-minute counter and pulsometer. © DR
Beyond the specificities just explained, the new watch remains above all a component of the Master Control line, essential within the Jaeger-LeCoultre range for three decades. “Sober, with its harmonious proportions, the Master Control collection is inspired by the iconic round Jaeger-LeCoultre watches of the 1950s and 1960s, such as the Memovox and the Futurematic. The new Master Control Chronograph Calendar model and its black dial subtly evoke watches with colored dials from the middle of the last century, both vintage and resolutely in tune with the times,” says the Swiss manufacturer. .
The refined finishes of the automatic movement and openworked oscillating weight in gold are visible through a sapphire crystal caseback. © DR
As its name suggests, the new Master Control Chronograph Calendar benefits from the company’s own certification called “1000 Hour Control”. This is a rigorous testing protocol (not only of the movement, but also of the cased watch). First applied to the Master Control collection when it first appeared, this long series of checks has since become standard for all Jaeger-LeCoultre timepieces. We thus find inside the watch an automatic movement with integrated chronograph as precise as it is robust: the automatic caliber 759 entirely developed and produced within the Manufacture du Sentier, in the Vallée de Joux, like all the Jaeger-LeCoultre calibers. Another way for the brand to show its attachment to traditions and stay true to its history…
