Jaeger-LeCoultre

The Watch With A "Secret Code"

 

LOCATION : Singapore
DATE & TIME : 25 June 2008,  12:00 GMT


My mobile rang.  The CLI displayed " Private Number".  I pressed the answer button ... no sound.
After about two seconds...a cracked voice came through.   "Meet me at the extraction point in one hour!"
The line was disconnected...................

I dashed off to the site.  Exactly an hour our anonymous friends appeared with a parcel.

And one of our anonymous friends uttered, " you have 2 days to deliver the content to site!".

Time is running out... dash to a secure place and open up the parcel...............

Unwrapped the protective paper...

My mind was screaming, "What is inside?"

Darn...a box within a box!  Both are neatly marked. 

Got to open it fast...

Wow! It is the High Jewelery range - Master Twinkling Diamonds, in a limited series of 100 worldwide!


Got to examine, and retrieve the hidden codes.  Time is ticking away....

This is the 18K WG Shiny Night (Day View) version.

Beautifully pave-set with 89 diamonds (of F-G Top Wesselton WSI diamonds) on the bezel and the star-rehaut.
The casing diameter is 36.8mm.

The crown adorned with an inverted diamond adds an elegant touch. 

The JLC logo is reverse-transfered giving a 3D effect.

A clearer view of the perfect pave-setting.

The Arabic hour-markers are also floating, casting a shadow on the whitish chapter-ring (at certain angle, looks like mother of pearl).
Notice the rehaut... three-team-stars are placed on the 12, 3, 6 & 9 o'clock position.

Hey!  What happend?
Am I seeing things?

The 12 o'clock position has shifted (directly below the crown) !! 

The rehaut and the hour-dial are one-piece construction.  A slight move of the watch, the hour-rehaut ring will SPIN !!

Very interesting and captivating. 
Really fascinated and mesmerized by the glittering twirl...the rehaut ring suddenly transformed to a carousel.


Hold on!  So how to tell the time if it whirls??






Very smart design....using the rotor concept & gravity. 
The mass is the highest at the point of 6'o clock...when you tilt your hand to read the time (need not be perpendicular, just a slight 5 to 10 degrees tilt),the mass will automatically position the hour-markers back.

If somehow the JLC logo is marked onto the moving hour-rehaut ring, this watch could be worn with the crown facing inward, thus will not make a mark on the lady's delicate wrist.

Time is passing by fast.... where is the code?

Got to expedite.......

See through caseback displaying the well-finished Calibre 960S.
28,800 vph and a power reserve of 42 hours.

Also marked the limited series of 100 and the name of the model.

The caseback is also 18K WG... it is marked clearly by the stamp.

Well-matched with silky white satin straps and a secure with a 18K deployant buckle.

Where is the code?

Is it something invisible? 

I subject the dial to a white LEDs torch for a while...




The Superluminova on the hands illuminated, as expected.

BUT something faintly glowed on the whitish dial below the Arabic hour-markers !

Eureka!!!


Perhaps required some CSI technique....

Subject it to UV light and voila.......inscription appeared...still could not see what was the message!

More surprises ....some of the diamonds fluoresced ! 

Another view of the fluorescent diamonds (those pieces which were greenish under the UV light)....

Change the camera setting and try to see if the inscription could be clearer....

A zoom-in view confirming there was definitely something there!

How in the world could I remove the obstructing rehaut-hour dial to see the hidden message?!

Suddenly my heart is beating very fast...so close yet so far....wow...it's really warm now....perspiring profusely.

Walk over to switch on the fan. 
Starring on the ceiling trying to think but my mind is blank. 

There must be a way to crack the code !
I move my glare towards the direction of the pleasant cool wind.... hey....  I could see though the fan...when the blades are spinning. That's it!!

Fired up now, and I charged the Superluminova for a longer time.



And then work to spin the dial and  the secret message revealed itself !!

"Toutes nos passions refletent les etoiles"

A beautiful verse by the French poet, Victor Hugo.  It means " All of our passions reflect the stars" .


Remarkable piece of Master Twinkling Diamonds...just remarkable.

Alas....mission accomplished



Kong


PS :  I wish to thank the anonymous friends who graciously allow me to take pictures of their Shiny Night.





A short clip showing the spinning dial, the auto alignment, the fluorescent diamonds and secret message. 
Enjoy.

Please wait for about 10 to 15 seconds for the video to load.

This message has been edited by Kong on 2008-06-28 03:43:10