Introducing the Jaeger-LeCoultre Duomètre Unique Travel Time

Aug 04, 2015,11:03 AM
 

Endowed with all the aesthetic codes and horological content of the Duomètre collection, the new Duomètre Unique Travel Time by Jaeger-LeCoultre asserts its personality by embracing a rare decorative technique. This model with its finely chiselled dial embodies the elegance of an exquisitely hand-crafted skill. Travelling with such a creation on the wrist epitomises an authentic art of living.

 

Duomètre Unique Travel Time

The refinement of a rare craft

(Métier Rare®)

for travelling in style.


 

A rare craft (Métier Rare®) at the heart of the dial

Jaeger-LeCoultre has chosen to endow this new creation with a finely chiselled dial. This subtly textured watch face represents the distinctive, individualised and ‘touch of madness’ characterising the Duomètre Unique Travel Time. Each tiny bump or ridge bears the imprint of the master artisan who has lavished such dexterity on creating it. This distinctive technique belongs to the art of hand engraving. It consists in removing material by performing movements in all directions using a special graver, so as to create an astonishing, finely granular and shiny surface. The dial is unique in terms of its appearance that is at once rough and delicate, as well as because the work of the artisan is entirely free, guided only by personal talent and never exactly identical. Contemplating this chiselled dial naturally makes one picture the master engraver literally holding his breath in sculpting this landscape of relief effects that gives the watch its true personality.

 

Minutes tailored to personal desires

On the Duomètre Unique Travel Time, the combination of the reference and destination time zones is adjustable to the nearest minute. Thanks to the Unique Travel Time system, the traveller can set the time-zone display to all

continents and countries, whatever the time difference. In practical terms, this means he can de-synchronise the minutes to create his own time.

 

Despite the complexity of the mechanism, Jaeger-LeCoultre wished to emphasise the pleasant, user-friendly nature of the watch so as to release it from any handling difficulties. As part of this desire to ensure smooth, simply operation as on all Duomètre models, the same crown serves to wind the two barrels. Turning it counter-clockwise winds the timekeeping barrel, while a clockwise rotation winds the travel time-zone barrel. Once the basic setting

has been made, adjustment is purely intuitive.

 

Beautiful through and through

After the pleasant blow of the first visual encounter, the eye is drawn to the overall harmony of the watch, as the seductive nature of the Duomètre Unique Travel Time unfolds through an infinite series of details. The latter will delight all those for whom such an object makes time stand still. In a cleverly orchestrated sequence of operations involving countless hours of patient attention, successive stages have led to the birth of this watch imbued with a studied aura of sophistication.

 

The domed globe representing the earth is a playful reminder of the kind of globe people love to spin on its axis. The gaze lingers pleasurably on the satinfinish counters creating a delightful contrast with the chiselled dial and the

appliques that provide a certain sense of volume.

 

In addition to the case, the movement is also the object of refined finishes, including hand-bevelled german silver bridges and the exclusive “côtes soleillées” developed by Jaeger-LeCoultre. This concern for both outer and inner decoration is inspired by the grand tradition of pocket-watches by the Grande Maison and confirms the innate kinship of the Duomètre Unique Travel Time with the spirit of Haute Horlogerie. Finally, the back of the watch springs

an attractive surprise, since it reveals the engraved names of the cities corresponding to the 24 time zones. An authentic invitation to travel the world.

 

ORIGIN OF THE DUAL-WING® CONCEPT

There is a ‘before and after’ the unveiling of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Dual-Wing® concept, which has proved a watershed event.

Not so long ago, requiring that a traditional calibre reliably handle an additional complication as well as indicating the time implied the risk of jeopardising the precision of the movement’s operation. Such an apparently insoluble situation in light of physical laws and micromechanical limits was bound to spur the inventive instincts of the Jaeger-LeCoultre teams. Working at the heart of the Vallée de Joux, the watchmakers of the Grande Maison adopt a rigorous approach. Rather than seeking to improve existing options, the teams of the Manufacture thus opted to start from scratch. The blank-page option gave rise to a twin-type architecture exploring uncharted territory in reconciling the smooth running of the watch, with both complications and precision.

 

Duomètre, combining functions with uncompromising precision

The culmination of months of careful thought is named Dual-Wing®. It stands for two separate and independent mechanisms united within a single case: one dedicated to precision and the other to functions, both linked to a single regulating organ ensuring extremely accurate running. Introduced within the Duomètre à Chronographe, this decisive invention gave rise to the first chronograph maintaining the same degree of accuracy whether or not the chronograph is activated.

 

MANUFACTURE JAEGER-LECOULTRE

Since its founding in 1833, the Manufacture has been an inventive protagonist in the field of Haute Horlogerie. The keyless watch, silent regulators for repeater watches, the Calibre Jaeger-LeCoultre 101 weighing barely one gram, the iconic Reverso, as well as unprecedented concepts such as the Dual-Wing®, all contribute to the wealth of the Jaeger-LeCoultre heritage. The 1,249 mechanical calibres developed and the 413 registered patents illustrate the creative passion that continually drives the men and women of the Grande Maison.

 

Heirs to the inventive spirit of the Manufacture’s founder, Antoine LeCoultre, our artisans pool their expertise so as to delight and enthral devotees of beautiful objects. The unique story of each of our watches begins in the Vallée de Joux workshops and comes to vibrant life on the wrist of the men and women who wear it and make it their own.

 

www.jaeger-lecoultre.com

 

 

Jaeger-LeCoultre Duomètre Unique Travel Time

 

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Movement

• Mechanical manually-wound movement, Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 383

• 2 barrels

• 50-hour power reserve for each of the two barrels

• 498 parts

• 54 jewels

• 7.30 mm thick

• Casing diameter: 33.70 mm / Total: 34.30 mm in diameter

 

Dial

• Hand-chiselled, silver-toned finish

 

Hands

• Leaf-type

 

Functions

• Reference time: hours, minutes, central seconds

• 2nd time zone: jumping digital hour, minute (may be set to the nearest minute in relation to the reference time), worldtime

• Indication of the two power reserve

• Indication of the various time zones visible on the back

 

Case

• Extra White 18-carat white gold

• Thickness : 13.6 mm

• Diameter : 42 mm

• Polished lugs and satin-brushed case middle

• Water resistance: 5 bar

 

Strap

• Alligator leather, high-end white gold pin buckle

 

Reference

• 606 35 40

Limited series of 200






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