Jaeger-LeCoultre

While browsing watch related stuff online - I guess I am not alone in that affliction - I accidentally stumbled across the 145.8.31 that entered the JLC portfolio in 1993 if I am not mistaken and was still on sale in 2003 (maybe even later).

Whether it is one of the more elegant chronographs of the decade may be in the eyes of the beholder but it appears to be one of the thinnest ones. 34mm x 8mm would count as ultra thin for a time only watch today, let alone a chronograph.

Already part of the 1000 hour Master Control generation (seen some with the appropriate golden logo on the case back and some with a display case back) it hides a feature not much in vogue at JLC today - namely its Cal. 630, 25 jewel movement. An example of the mecha-quartz developments from the time, with a quartz base but a mechanical chronograph operation (to amongst other things ensure an almost instantaneous reset), it probably forms an era Swiss brands would rather forget nowadays.



Picture from: Touch of Modern

Still I have to say I find it extremely convincing visually, the slender profile and classical size, combined with some lovely details like the red tipped chrono and running seconds hands, the red date font or the patinated lume dots definitely work for me. As for the movement, it may be the red headed step child but in a way it adds an interesting chapter to the story of the watch, too.

What do you think?

Have a great Sunday!

But,
-quarz combined with
-34mm case (even for me simply too small) and
-too narrow chronograph layout for such a small watch,

is simply too much to take... 😉

That 34mm and quartz were going to raise dissent I was pretty certain about

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Just did not feel they were that close. Many much more myopic looking chronographs out there

But I agree that balance in that respect is very important for a chronograph to look good 👍🏻

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Although I perfectly understand MCG's point of view, I find it a beautiful chrono and I think it deserves some space on PP. Obviously from a today's point of view it has no sense to produce such a hybrid movement.

I personally own its cousin, the IWC "Fliegerchronograph", ref 3741. The first of its IWC family.
I bought it in 1991 and still today I love to wear it. I usually wear it when travelling for work, when I need a watch that goes under the radar.

If I'm not wrong at that time IWC and JLC already belonged to the same group, i.e. VDO.
So these two watches shared the same movement, made by JLC.
Also an IWC Portofino was available, recognisable by the date between 4 and 5.

Honestly, I was not aware about this JLC version, so thank you KMII for this interesting post. I must admit that it is even nicer than my IWC version.

I tried to attach a picture of the IWC version, but for some strange reason I it does not upload it.

Best,
René

By the way, this version has a 36 mm case.

Thanks for the picture! Just out of curiosity, do the running seconds and the chrono seconds hand move in one second intervals?

A quartz module for time keeping and a mechanical chronograph module.
The running seconds move in one second intervals, but the chrono moves constantly.

When putting back to zero, the chrono second hand is moving counter-clockwise if stopped between 0 and about 35 seconds, after the 35 seconds mark it moves in clockwise direction back to zero. So, like a mechanical chrono movement.

Extremely difficult to find out stuff about mecha-quartz movements. I remember trying to find out stuff on a Chopard mecha-quartz and giving up finally, as details were so hard to come by.

Thanks for this!

I was happy to give back some information.

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Great post, Rene1!

Quite curious to see what other gems you have in your collection 👍🏻

Unfortunately, not many vintage watches:
- JLC Memovox E855 with black dial
- JLC Deep Sea Master Mariner (see my yesterday's thread)
- Rolex GMT Master II 16760, my first watch purchased in 1988

5513 is on my radar, but I'm a little bit concerned about the vintage Rolex world in terms of authenticity, but also prices.

Best,
René

We cater to both after all

Some truly interesting pieces btw. Looking forward to seeing more on them!

A Radiomir PAM 514, Oris Diver 65 (Topper Ed.) and my son's Speedy.
As you can see I'm ranging from 36 mm (IWC) to 47 mm of the Panerai.

When I have all them together I will post some pictures.

Definitely interested in the Topper Edition Oris - the nicest of the Sixtyfives IMHO 👍🏻

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Definitely a great piece 👍🏻

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I have mine since 1988 and it had about 70% of my wrist time.
In 2004 unfortunately some water entered the watch and I sent it to Rolex for a service.
Only some years later, when I stared to look more deeply into the world of vintage watches, I discovered that they changed the dial. So, mine has a non-tritium service dial.
Honestly, this was very disappointing! 😡
Since then my first glance when I see a 16760 is for the dial and believe me, there are many with this service dial.
Best,
René

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At least JLC's present date position between 4 and 5 has some history, albeit bad history at that.

The mechaquartz is a deal killer for me. Just no interest unless I was hard-pressed to complete a collection of JLC chronographs. And 34 mm is simply too small for my wrist.

But hey, perhaps this JLC electric hybrid was just ahead of its time. Think of all the carbon emissions saved by not having to power human fingers/motion with calories!

Cheers, and thanks for posting. An interesting watch, even if not for me.

Cheers,
John

Luckily not all watches are for all of us - the hobby would be quite boring otherwise

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