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Restoration of my grandfather's watch: an update
As some of you may remember, in February 2025, I sent my grandfather's watch to Jaeger-LeCoultre for a complete restoration.
The service started on February 21st, 2025 and was supposed to last 55 weeks, which meant a delivery on March 12, 2026.
March 12th having passed without me receiving any news, I went to my online account, where I found the following message:
I have since requested confirmation of this date, but I have not yet received any response to my email, which dates back about ten days.
In any case, the wait shouldn't be too much longer: fingers crossed!
My grandfather's watch, a Jaeger-LeCoultre Uniplan Etrier: the crystal, crown and hands are wrong and the center seconds hand is missing.
The only photo of the restoration in progress I have been able to get, dating from May 2025.
Thanks for looking.
Best, Emmanuel
Restoration of my grandfather's watch: an update
As some of you may remember, in February 2025 , I sent my grandfather's watch to Jaeger-LeCoultre for a complete restoration . The service started on February 21st, 2025 and was supposed to last 55 weeks , which meant a delivery on March 12, 2026 . March ...
Such an ambitious endeavor for your late relative’s vintage piece!
Do you plan to wear it much after restoration?
Yes, I do plan to wear it fairly often, that is if I like the way it has been restored.
I know that it's a rather small watch, but it doesn't bother me. Experience will tell, but my plan is definitely not to keep it in a safe. Best, Emmanuel
Very true, dear Tony!
The arrival of this watch will be enchanting, like Christmas! Best, Emmanuel
Thank you for this update!
Such an amazing timepiece, and priceless history! Very exciting to see the outcome to the restoration!
I'm also eager to see the final result!
I'll keep you posted, of course. Thank you. Best, Emmanuel
Its such a beautiful watch.
I’m sure you will have a blast with it and we look forward to your final assessment of the project 😊 I think this kind of waiting time is normal for such a project from what I hear.
Thank you for giving me the idea for this post with your kind and thoughtful question, dear Christian.
I imagine the restoration workshop is small, with only a few skilled and dedicated watchmakers. And the restoration involves making a new crystal, three new hands (hour, minute, central second), and a crown. So, quite a bit of work. In any case, the wait ...
I too am eager to see the result, but I agree: the wait is well worth it.
Thank you, Steve. Best, Emmanuel
Thank you so much.
In all likelihood, the wait shouldn't be too much longer! Best, Emmanuel
You're absolutely right. And the availability in only delayed by 6 weeks,
which is, well, let's say “acceptable” for this type of work that isn't urgent. Best, Emmanuel
Absolutely! I'm thinking light brown.
And I've already purchased the 14 mm gold pin buckle (lug width is 16 mm)! Best, Emmanuel
I think a “smaller” texture
Will work better. Solid doesn’t do it and large grains (ostrich, alligator etc.) overwhelm these and make them look old.
You may be right. I was thinking
simple calfskin with hand stitching, but a refined texture could be very nice.
Patience!
This will be incredible when you get it back fully restored. It will be gorgeous! What a beautiful watch. A true treasure!
Thank you so much. In fact waiting a few more
weeks isn’t really hard because I’ve already been waiting for more than 55 weeks. So a few weeks more isn’t huge! Best, Emmanuel
I’m very happy for you!
It’s nice from a brand to be able to restore this rare old pieces, however very disappointing that they can’t keep the self estimated timelines… I had lots of similar issues with other brands(except Rolex). But as you said there’s no rush and good things ...
Thank you so much. I can’t wait too,
but I’ll be patient! 😇 After all, they have to make three beautiful hands, a crown and a crystal! Best, Emmanuel
Again a super interesting post from you!
If you feel comfortable saying a few words about the history of the watch I for one would be very interested! For example, when did your grandfather buy the watch? Was it brand new? Was it first passed on to your father and after that to you? Why did your...
Thank you so much, dear Pelle.
Here's what I can tell. My grandfather passed away in 1977 at the age of 69 a couple of monts before I turned five years old. So, even if I have a few specific memories of him, I didn't know him very long. My mother inherited his watch and treasured it. A...
Many thanks for sharing these details with us that adds further dimensions to this unique story
To me a wrist watch has more intimacy to it versus many other material things. Perhaps it is because you wear it so close to your skin. May I ask if you have given any thoughts on how to pass the watch on to the next generation when the time is right? Ver...
I completely agree with you on the specific intimacy carried by wrist watches.
I have three children who will be very happy to wear this watch and my other ones too. I don't know how they will divide them, but for now they are very close and get along very well: so I am quite confident that they will find a fair distribution that is...
Very interesting thoughts dear Emmanuel
Some time ago I passed on a Spiral Breguet Remontoir, pocket watch, to my son (he is my only child). When passing it on to him I had his name engraved and by having this done it became the seventh generation to be engraved on the watch. The name of the ot...
Thanks a lot for sharing your story and thoughts, dear Pelle.
This seven-generation pocket watch is a true and wonderful treasure. Could the names of the next descendants and heirs be engraved on the original box? Or could a special box or stand be made, on which the future names could be engraved? Concerning your g...
My guess is that there are
no more parts readily available, and JLC needs to custom made the parts for the watch.
Absolutely, I'm almost 100% certain that is the case.
And of course it's a good reason why the restoration takes a lot of time: they have to custom make three hands, a crown and a crystal. I'm also convinced that the restoration workshop is fairly small, with only a few skilled and dedicated watchmakers. Bes...
Calibre 438
The repair of the movement would take months to make many worn parts-which as from the photo only the base plate is shown. This would be done by a different dept from the ‘furniture’. Have they indicated any movement worn or broken parts that need replaci...
Here's the complete list of work to be done featured on the initial quote:
Necessary intervention(s): Complete service Complete disassembly of the watch Movement: cleaning, replacement of defective components, reassembly, and lubrication Watch casing Final checks Case/strap cleaning Crystal replacement Hand replacement Seconds h...
have a word with Amanico-nicolas the jlc moderator
see if he can get more details about the movement and time scales as i am sure he has the right jlc contacts . was the movement working before being sent off for overhaul or was it dead ? defective components within the movement would also need new jewell...
The movement was functional, but probably not working very healthily.
I'll see what I can do. Thanks for your support! Best, Emmanuel