Jaeger-LeCoultre

The Duometre in one of the most exciting and interesting offer, from " La Grande Maison ".

First introduced in 2007, the Duometre revisited the Chronograph, and opted for a Foudroyante.

It came in Yellow Gold, Rose Gold and Platinum.

In 2009, another fantastic creation from JLC: The Hybris Mechanica à Grande Sonnerie, which, as its name doesn't suggest it, is another Duometre, dedicated to the strking complications.

In 2010, JLC came to the SIHH with a more " intellectual " offer, the Duometre à Quantieme Lunaire.

Shortly, as I prepared a dedicated topic to this watch, the Duometre à Q.L is not an homage to the moonphase, as we could think, but to the precision:

One barrel is used to feed the time functions ( hour, minute, second, date, and moonphase ), the other is here to feed the escapement, as to avoid any pollution from the time functions.

It was first introduced in rose gold and yellow gold, but surprisingly, not in white metal ( white gold or platinum, as the Duometre will never see anything else than a precious metal, for its case ).

So, this year, the question wasn't to know if there will be a white metal Duometre, but WHICH precious metal will be used, and what dial will be chosen.

Here is a picture of the rose gold version:



And there, the yellow gold:



If there was some suspens on the new Duometre à Q.L to come, it is because, last year, JLC released a short batch of White Gold Duometres à Chronographe, with a black dial.

So, there were chances that if JLC opted for the white gold, we'd have the black dial, and if platinum was chose, we'd get the beautiful grained dial, seen on the rose gold or platinum versions...

The White Gold Duometre à Chronograph, released in 2010:



The answer came: White Gold, black dial:



What I observed is that JLC, but not only, took some distances with Platinum, as only one watch came in this metal, in the whole collection: The Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon, in favor of the white gold.

Sign of the ( tough ) Times, premium for the platinum, both reasons?

Anyway, the choice of the black dial is excellent, in my opinion.

It gives a lot of personality and strenght to the Duometre, without taking too much of its elegance.

Eye catching, even for a fan of the grained dial like me.



( Please note that the blue reflections are due to the Anti Reflect Coating, the dial is indeed deep black ).

The black dial goes very well with the blue disc of the moonphase, too.

And let's not forget that the Duometre is also and ALWAYS a superb movement, and an interesting concept:



I postponed the publication of this post because I was waiting for some technical informations.

- First, I wanted to know what was this flange located on the left of the wheel, just above, which goes from 9 to 11 o'clock.

I was told that it was used for resetting the second hands to zero.

- The average amplitude on the Quantième Lunaire is 240, and the Master 1 000 Hours Tolerance, here, on the Duomètre à Q.L is from -2 to 6 seconds per day, which is significantly less than the COSC, and I was told that it was a prudent estimate, from JLC.

- Does the Dual Wind conception authorize a constant or at least regular / linear torque curve in addition to the fact that the work of the balance wheel is not disturbed by the time function ( such as the date, for example )?

The answer is NO. Such an improvement is offered by an escapement " à force constante ", which is not the case with the Quantième Lunaire.

BUT, to improve the linearity of the torque curve, JLC decided to reduce the power reserve of the Duometre from 55 hours, which is the initial autonomy, to 50 hours.

To be complete, the Duomètre à Quantieme Lunaire in White Gold is priced at 32 000 Euros, and limited to 200 pieces.

Best,

Nicolas. This message has been edited by amanico on 2011-04-25 00:05:05 This message has been edited by amanico on 2011-04-28 10:23:00

This is very .. well- remarkable, fascinating, myserious a bit..

Although not in the position to really comment,so just convey feelings :
- For me, this piece quite dramatically herewith changes personality, to a stronger, yet elegant edition.
Yes, somehow a Dark Lord, ( under black sky and with blue moon) with a quite specific character.

This blue moon is a special temptation for me, gives a friendly signal, and draws attention, apart from the 1/6 second
and this balanced dial, and, and ..

So some add'l humble first impression remarks:

First: I was not sure, if the other, much 'simpler' form for indicators of Regulateur and PR
with loosing the insight , aren't a visual loss somehow - also with just '+' and now the 'approximate' amount of force left,
rather than a number , including the juwel- vistas un the RG & YG - But it is cohesive and appropriate.

Second: as you said, the grained dial on one of the hold ones is something very special, and I wondered , if there was to be
anything which somehow would have - how to say, added further raffinesse to the surface of the dial ?
- Another pattern ? Some surface treatment ?
Well, but then again, the whole concept of this strong Dark Knight with elegance and precision,
would not be so consistent .. - I start to understand ..

Not yet in the position to comment on the other described levels of precision and movement of this wonderful piece, including the double barrel with Double energy concept, I learned from your & Dje's reviews and previous posts, which I had enjoyed so much

Third: White Gold is great, IMO, very á propos, fits this appeal in an excellent attitude, and is more affordable to be honest, as well..
(Still would require a lot of concerted efforts, on a small personal note) - but not unreachable , nice to know..

This new member of the family of Duométres á Q.L. is definitely something to admire,
hopefully at least some member(s) to be seen in real in the near future.
Definitely a piece on my (most ?) wanted list, but alas .. But not yet, as I have to realize, for other priorities

Thank you so much again for this elegant morning revelation,
The Black Knight will maybe make me think , dream maybe more likely..

Best, hs

I'm a big fan of the grained dial, but, at the contrary of the Duometre à  Chronogaph, there is no white metal grained dial Duometre à Q.L.

So, to me, the only  choice is the WG version, when it comes to the Q.L.

But I'm thinking about the Chorongraph, and I'm still hesitating a lot on the answer to bring on this matter.

Will try to take some macros of the black dial, to compare them with the macros of the grained dial;

The Q.L is an " intellectual " watch, hs.

Once you made the effort to understand what's behind the watch, you appreciate it a lot.

What I noticed is that at the beginning of the Q.L life, there were some reserves, hesitations, which disappeared now for a warm welcome, or a strong addiction.

Yes, the Duometre  à QL in WG is Hell!

Best, my friend.

Nicolas.

Indeed, the more I read about it, the more I am fascinated ..
( I guess , meanwhile I havere-read most of the reviews about this specific Duometre
- crazy ? - no , necessary, in a way , as if the concept, the whole "IT" will only open itself up after a while,
after one haw made the first turns of mind and sou
Slow glowing passion - ineresting sentiment, I discover ..

- exactly as you had predicted, almost wisely.

Thanks again for these revelations - elevating ..
Best, hs

To write about...

So many things to say, so many sentiments to feel, so much pleasure...

Next stage, a comparison post between the Pt Duometre à Chronographe and the White Gold one, with some macros of both dials.

Best,

Nicolas.

This message has been edited by amanico on 2011-04-26 14:24:14

nt

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Why do the good ones have to be limited editions. There's no boutique here so I can only hope that I'll get to see one at some stage.

Regards,
Richard.

So, keep the faith!

Best, my friend.

Nicolas.

This message has been edited by amanico on 2011-04-26 14:10:23

Just for completion, comparison and my curiosity:

- the list prizes for Duométre á Q.L. In RG/ YG, I remember to have been around 25/26,5 k
( post from 2010 by Dje, if I remember ; but maybe that meanwhile has been moved upwards..),
which is putting the WG/ black at a higher tag (~25%) ..

-- is that range/ ratio for those other marvels still correct ?
( hope that Q is not against forum rules..)

Just for scaling the dreams even a bit more precisely ..

Thanks again,

hs
)

Saw their price increase, since the 1st of April.

8 / 10 %.

So the difference between the RG and the WG is around a bit less than 20%.

Best,

Nicolas.

no words can describe my admiration for the Duometre line and now for this black QL...

Thank you for the clear great shots Nico...

I love it.

Mo

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and still hurts.....he he....

Mo

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it is peculiar how this model doesnt come with the deployante buckle.It is very strange as many models from JLC come with it and especially at this level.

All the Duometre family comes with it apart from this WG version.Is there a reason for it? Considering the higher premium I would have loved to see the deployante even though the pin buckle could be more comfortable.

I am not convinced about this choice from JLC.

Mo

Well, you have to know that, if I remember it well, ALL the Duometre à Q.L saw their price increasing this year.

If I'm not wrong, the YG and RG are more towards 28 K euros, now, while the WG is 32 000 Euros, which makes a difference of around 15 %.

I would also offer the possiblity to the future owner to decide on which buckle he wants to have, for this price.

I'm not a big fan of the folding buckle, which I personally find uncomfortable, and much prefer the simple buckle.

But I would reduce the gap between the RG and the WG if I dediced  to go for the WG and its simple buckle, which, therefore, is nicely designed.

It looks like a Vintage one, with the applied JL Logo.

Best,

Nicolas.

is not extremely expensive like other brands.....so maybe ..in the future...

You are right though,the gap is around 4k and it has the simple buckle.a bit much but.....maybe WG is more expensive?Or a little premium for the LE?Or the dial requires more work?

So I didn t pay much attention to it..is it a nice Buckle you said?

Mo

JLC is not the only one to ask for a premium on their WG watches.

I don't think all the brands do it, but a lot have this strategy.

So it may be due to the metal, to the L.E phenomenon, too.

As for the buckle, yes, I saw it again, 3 days ago, and loved it. Much better than I use to see at JLC.

I love this applied JL logo so much!

Best,

Nicolas.

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I completely agree. This model is absolutely stunning.

Are you located in Boston, by the way?

This name sounds familiar, to me.

Best!

Nicolas.

Yes we are right in the middle of downtown Boston on Newbury Street.

Thanks again

Joshua

... black face on white metal has become my favorite combination now

stefan

It is like if this combination made the piece more evident, easier to appreciate...

Best,

Nicolas.

What a beauty!

 

Guess Mo is going crazy over these photos!

 

 

Don’t know what to say about this watch that has not already been said.

 

It’s absolutely stunning!

 

Thank you for sharing this one, my friend!

 

 

Best

 

Blomman

What else can i say?????

Mo

Does this mean you pulled the trigger on this one, Mo?!

 

 

 

Best

 

Blomman

Lets see what fate has for me.......but anyway I HAD this dream since I saw it!!!You know the feeling right???

Mo