Jaeger-LeCoultre

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Here you go...

[Image Source and note: the images are not mine; I took them from the web for this referential purpose after a search!] I have a theory. The original sapphire requires drilling two precise holes, and my guess is that this is not only expensive, but over time, the crystal between the two holes--which is not a wide expanse to begin with--could be structurally compromised through wear and tear, especially with the transmitted alarm gong vibrations. One single larger hole is probably cheaper to produce, and it also eliminates the hypothesised problem, and aesthetically, it may be more pleasing to some eyes (for my eyes, at least, too!). Another theory is that the machines, tools or expertise that produced the original crystal are no longer available; two fairly small holes in such close proximity probably required some skill expertise. Based on my scanty observation in a few visits to Swiss watch-making houses, the newer generation of expertise are really quite young, and the older ones are either near retirement or have retired. So certain expertise in relation to older technologies are surely lost (and surely of course, some newer ones gained with digital fabrication or robotic manufacture). My two-cents theory.

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