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amanico
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2013 SIHH Preview: The Duometre Unique Travel Time.

Jaeger-Lecoultre decided to unveil the latest Duometre, the Unique Travel Time, for the official inauguration of the all new Paris Boutique, which as a coincidence is today.

Before introducing you the new " opus ", I tnink it firstly is the moment to have a retro look at the Duometre Family, which, till now, counted 4 members

The Duometre à Chronographe:



The Duometre à Quantième Lunaire:



The Duometre à Spherotourbillon:



The Hybris Mechanica à Grande Sonnerie, which is also a Duometre:



Let's now have a look at their respective movements:

The Cal 380 ( A Chronographe ) :



The Cal 381 ( A Quantième Lunaire ) :



The Cal 382 ( A Spherotourbilllon ) :



The Cal 182 ( Hybris Mechanica à Grande Sonnerie ) :



Now that you have the while Duometre Family well in mind, it is time to discover the Fifth Member, the Unique Travel Time, which we'll familiarly call " U.T.T ":



The Duometre lovers and fans won't be lost with the U.T.T, as it is, conceptually and aesthetically, a real Duometre.

1/ THE MOVEMENT: Cal 383.



As for the Dual Wing concept, let's briefly summarize it:

ONE balance wheel animates TWO barrels which feed their own gear train.

One barrel and its own gear train is dedicated to the time, while the other is destined to the complication, each of them being independant, to preserve the accuracy of the time function against the pollutiion of the chronogaph, when it runs.

Thus, on the " A Chronographe ", the second barrel is used for the Chronograph, on the Grande Sonnerie, for the " Sonnerie ", when on the " Quantieme Lunaire " and on the " Spherotourbillon, it is intented for the.... Regulating organ.

On the U.T.T, the second barrel is devoted to the second time zone.

It is a movement made of 498 parts, with 54 jewels, beating at the pace of 21 600 vibrations per hour, 7, 25 mm high and 34, 30 mm big, offering a double autonomy of 50 hours ( 50 hours for the Time function, 50 hours for the second Time Zone function, to be clear ) featuring the:

- Local Hour, Minute and Seconds.

- The Second Time Zone ( Jumping Digital Hour, Classic Minute Hand )

- Day / Night Ring and World Map.

- Independant hands of the two Power Reserve Indicators.

As with any Duometre movement, the Cal 383 has received a special care in the finish, with the traditional ( for this family ) techniques of decoration, such as the hand chamfered bridges, gear trains or moving parts, and the polished sinks.

2/ THE CASE:

The case of the U.T.T won't disorient you.

You will find the usual finish provided on the Duometres, with the typical polished lugs and satin brushed caseband, which makes it so desirable.



Still there was a pending question: What are the dimensions of this new Duometre, since we had several: 42 mm for the Chronographe, the Spherotourbillon and the Quantième Lunaire, 44 mm for the Sonnerie, and 40, 5mm for the " small " Quantième Lunaire.

JLC opted for the " classic " size, here, with a 42 mm diameter case, which is 13, 65 mm thick.

The thickness is a bit surprising, because there is a gap of 6, 45 mm between the height of the movement and the height of the case. Same observation for the other Duometres, by the way, even if it more logical on the Sonnerie, due to the 1300 parts and the 26 complications housed in, or on the Spherotourbillon, because of the... spherotourbillon, which needs some space to move.

I still think that there is some room to make a slimmer case, at least one millimeter less.

Anyway, while the other Duometres have a monopusher, the U.T.T has two, located on the left side of the case ( The Sonnerie has, two, too, but on the right side ).

This is one originality of the case.

The second originality is that the bezel is not flat anymore, but round.



The case back is made of sapphire, and lets show the movement, as well as the curious 24 cities of the world, which are engraved on the outside part of the case back, thus, which doesn't turn.



3/ THE DIAL:

The grained dial, seen on the Duometre à Chronographe, is back.

The " face " of the U.T.T is familiar, as you find the same architecture than on the two first Duometres.

Two main dials, one for the home time, the other for the time zone, of course, and a thrid subdial, for the 24 hours and the world map.

Classic, clear, clean... And legible, at least the home time and the time zone.



The color of the hands change according to the function, which is a great idea with which we are familiar, too. Blue for the Time Zone, silver for the hme time.

The second hand is painted in dark ( the pictured watch is a prototype, its color will change ) and is linked to the home time.

The jumping digital hour is painted in black, and are red for the 5th and the 7th hours.... A " clin d'oeil " to the address of the Paris Boutique, which is located 7 / 9 Place Vendome.



The world map turns. As well as the Night and Day ring.

The grained dial is made of silvered brass.

You will notice that there is no foudroyante hand anymore in the subdial located at 6 o' clock.

4/ STRAP AND BUCKLE:

On the U.T.T, as on any other Duometre, by the way, you have an alligator strap, which is tappered ( 21 mm between the lugs, 18 mm at the buckle ).

The buckle is a pin, not a folding one. In white gold, and with the same design than the one goes on the Quantième Lunaire in white gold.

Pretty appealing... And more comfortable on the wrist than the folding buckle which pinches my wrist each time I close it.



5/ HOW DOES IT WORK?



The subdial at 2 o clock shows the home time

The subdial at 10 o clock with the jumping digital hour tells the time zone.

The subdial at 6 o clock displays the Night / Day information, through the inner ring which turns, as well as the world map.

To wind the home time, you turn the crown ( which is not pulled, of course ) clockwise. To wind the time zone, you turn the crown in the opposite direction, which is a familiar system to those who well know the Duometres.

To set the time zone, pull the crown to position 1, and to position 2 for the home time.

While pulling the crown on the second position, the second hand will stop.

As for the two pushers on the left side of the case, they will allow you to set the GMT of the country you live in. The one at 10 o' clock sets the GMT forward while the one located below does it backward.

The first thing you will have to do is to properly set all the functions of your watch, in this order:

A/ Put it to the right GMT zone ( + 1, + 2..... - 1 / - 2.... by using the pushers at ten or eight o' clock. The small triangle below 6 o' clock is your repere.

B/ Then, set your home time, with the crown pulled at level 2.

C/ To end, choose your time zone, with the crown pulled at level 1.

6/ GENERAL THOUGHTS.

The Duometre U.T.T provides an interesting complication for those who travel through the world: The possibility to set the time zone to the minute, in some countries where the difference in time is not in hour(s), but in minutes, is a really friendly detail.

For example, there is a difference of half an hour in India, Afghanistan, Birmania, Marquises Islands, and of three quarters of hours in Nepal.

A classic world time watch, or even a Travel Time won't allow you to set the precise time zone if you travel in these countries.

You will have to check on the 24 hours ring, then on the ring of the cities of the world, and finally on the minutes hand to know what time it is.

With the U.T.T, you have an immediate reading of the time it is in the part of the world you are travelling. Which is, undisputably, a plus.

Now, the question is to know if you have, with the U.T.T, a World Time, or a Travel Time watch...

Indeed, you have the 24 cities of the world on the back side, but is it enough to call it a World Time?

I would risk a personal take on that, and say that the U.T.T is somewhere between the Travel Time and the World Time.



First because this Duometre is called Unique Travel Time, and not Unique World Time.

By the way, is is also interesting to try to guess why it is called UNIQUE.

After speaking with the JLC Team, I felt there were two explanations:

- Because it is the first time a world time can be read and set " At tne minute ".

- Because, and I love a lot this explanation, what makes it unique is the fact that you can set your OWN time.

If, for example, you want to set your time zone 10 minutes forward, for you to not miss an important appointment, a flight, a train, a phone call or what ever you want, you can do it without changing the correct time in your " home time ".

It is YOUR time, and yes, I really like this idea.

But it is also a world time, with the 24 hours ring, and the world map which turn.

I only regret that for some tired eyes ( such as mine ) it is not that easy to read, to be honest.

Therefore, locating the 24 cities on the back side is not really practical if you want, in a glimpse, to know what time it is in the rest of the world.

Less charming or romantic than a Patek 5110 / 5130 which is THE reference in the World Time category, but more " tool " and sophisticated than the Patek, the U.T.T is also a competitor of the Parmigiani Hemispheres.

The Parmigiani has beeen as far as I remember, the first to introduce the possibility to set the travel time within the minute, but the U.T.T offers more, since it has the world tine indication as well as the travel time.

Therefore, some will prefer the manual movement and the concept of the Cal 383, over the automatic movement of the Parmigiani Hemispheres.

So, all in all, a clever and original offer from JLC, for the Travel Time and World Time Lovers...

A last detail: This U.T.T will be available at the Paris Boutique only, in a Limited Edition of 100 pieces,  only in white gold, and the first pieces will be delivered on April 2013.

If I had few doubts that other versions will come, Jerome Lambert himself assured me that it will be the only white metal one.

The retail is 37 500 Euros, VAT included, for this version.

Looking forward to reading your thoughts and opinions on that new watch,

Best.

Nicolas This message has been edited by amanico on 2012-11-20 01:01:22 This message has been edited by amanico on 2012-11-20 01:20:35 This message has been edited by amanico on 2012-11-24 01:02:33

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