Jaeger-LeCoultre

Dr Bill
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JLC Master Chronograph

I've had this one for a little over a week now, so I thought I'd share my initial impressions.

The case is highly polished stainless with an impeccable finish.  The highly polished surfaces do show every finger print, smudge, etc. and will probably show all the 'character marks' from normal wear.  The size is perfect for me.  I applaud JLC for not jumping on the wrist clock bandwagon (at least with this model).  At 40mm diameter and only 12.6mm thick the proportions seem right too.  While certainly not a dress watch, it would fit under cuffs easily.  The back is secured with four screws - much more elegant than a screwed in back.  The 50m water resistance should be fine for a daily watch.

I love the chrono pushers - the rectangular style just looks so much more classy than the round ones IMHO.  I also really like the new crown design.  It seems a bit easier to grasp than the older style.

The strap is of very high quality and well padded.  I do think the stark black is a bit too formal for the watch.  It would look better on a dark blue, perhaps with contrasting stitching.  Maybe even a dark brown.  The stainless deployant is nice.  I may be the only one, but I actually prefer the older single fold deployants.  Much less fiddling around to put the watch on.  And the double fold design seems to bend the strap a bit more.  And has many more parts and possible points of failure.  I would much prefer a push-button clasp however.  The friction fit designs seem less secure and somehow less elegant.  Grasping and yanking as opposed to pushing a couple buttons?  I've never had a problem with one, but still.

The dial is a beautiful silvered one with a somewhat granular texture and several different levels.  The central part of the dial is slightly domed.  Really a great job by JLC here!  The main hands and the indices on mine are gold.  I recently saw the regular version with silver hands and I think the gold is easier to see against the silver dial.  Not the greatest contrast, but very legible.  The heat blued chrono hands are wonderful!  I would love a version with all blued hands and blued indices!  The separation of the chrono and time functions is a nice touch.

The date is very legible.  I believe it's a new font and it really stands out.  The pulsation scale is about useless without magnification, but I do like the fact it is so unobtrusive.

Then there is the new Master Control logo on the back.  Very nice and very legible with the frosted finish.  However, I think it's a huge step backwards from the inset gold logo.  I know the cost of gold is crazy, but this isn't a mass produced timepiece!

The lume is almost a joke.  There are two thin strips on the hour and minutes hands and two tiny dots at 3 & 9 o'clock.  Why bother at all?  I know some folks just can't live without it, but if you are going to take the effort, it should be noticeable to humans!

Other than a few minor quibbles, I really like this watch.  If you get the chance, check one out in person!

The beautiful dial and hands:

A better view of the chrono pushers and new crown design:

The new Master Control logo:

Nice, but which looks better?