Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre a Quantieme Lunaire: the white gold black star!
Here is a watch you've already seen in the last weeks as Nicolas already presented it. You think you got enough? Not me!
The launch of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Duometre series a few years back was a striking event as the watch concept is really innovative and tempting for watch fans. The chronograph that initiated the family is a great piece and the Grande Sonnerie that followed is just amazing, maybe the pinnacle of modern horology.
The Duometre a Quantieme Lunaire launched last year adds another option to chronometry amateurs. The watch is all focussed on precision and setting precision. The watch appealed me hugely but the pink gold colour was a bit too much for me and the open dial and moon phase were not at my taste. jlc.watchprosite.com
The white gold version launched this year brings back the colour theme seen last year with the white gold Duometre a Chronographe. It's easily the best looking Duometre launched so far IMVHO. Yes I've been stuck and am still.
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Yes this watch is the perfect Darth Vader's watch. It is also certainly a treat for the precision timing fan I am. I can easily imagine how pleasing it must be to check the precision and reset it if necessary.
Of course the similar chronograph version could seem more appealing but the fact is that I'm not too appealed by chronographs (except perhaps the most traditional ones).
The watch is perfect on the wrist. The black dial offsets the large size. The short lugs help the case fit the smaller wrists.
The depth of the dial is just hypnotizing. Look at it and you will end up in the depths of the blackest ocean, or cyberspace…..
In fact this watch is unique in its dial architecture, thanks to its original calibre. It is at the same time unique and supremely modern while cased in a very traditional body of white gold.
The watch may seem hard to read but the reading is extremely easy once you get used to it, to its organization, to its founding principles. In fact it is a simple watch.
Yes this is my watch of the year. It is not a Patek Philippe 5550P and it adds little in principle to the Duometre launched last year, but in this white gold black dial version, the plain dial and the overall look make it perfect for me. The look has become secondary behind the horological principle.
So please here is what I require from you. Please buy them all ASAP, so that they get sold out and I can forget it!
Thank you by advance.
Dje
I agree Jerome – the dial is hypnotizing! :)
Can’t see enough of this watch!
Thank you for sharing more of this marvel!
A true Darth Vader…
Sorry I can’t help you with a sale – it’s out of my reach…
Best
Blomman
Totally on board with you .. And this black Knight.. :)
especially since I had the pleasure to see and try it recently at the JLC Boutique in Paris..
There are so many details, which fascinate me, ( including a beautiful back,
a surprisingly easy feel on the wrist, and and..);
also the allure is commandingly strong, yet so elegant, IMO.
So I just need to figure out how to approach such a project,
or as Nico has suggested to me, if THAT is a life watch , or a grail- type,
then no other watches for year or two -!- . - Maybe a way to approach it (?) ..
- Well..
I guess there are many Luke Skywalkers on the quest for this ..
Good or bad (?) - great piece, either way !
Let the Force be with us !
Best, hs
+1...
Special piece indeed Jerome!
The more I look at this piece, the more I love it. However, I am still on the fence on the Foudroyante.
Thanks for sharing!
Mono Galaxy but Duo-metre?
I agree that the Duometre a Quantieme Lunaire is a beautiful watch with a magnificent movement, I just don't think it is necessary for a lunar application.
Well
On the chronograph version or in the Quantieme Lunaire version it is the same interest.
On the Duometre a Quantieme Lunaire one barrel is just for providing the best accuracy, while the other powers all indicators, so indicators don't mix up with accuracy when set.
Cheers
Dje
Well well?
So what if you wanted to know the rate accuracy for the watch in each of the six positions? You could never get these measurements without either the hands/discs moving for the lunar complication and the chronometer-- each must move "in cog" with each other. You cannot stop the moon phase and get rate accuracy measurements, nor could you stop the hands and get rate measurements (unless you simply stop the mechanism). I do understand that they are separately-powered in this timepiece, but I just do not see the point. Individual moon phase accuracy is several orders of magnitude less significant than chronometer accuracy for use-ability.
The chronograph on the other hand (no pun intended) can be started and stopped and this will certainly affect the timing accuracy and likely for each complication. That influences the use-ability of the watch, and this is why I applaud JLC only for the chronograph application of the Duometre. Now if they could only make it look as good as the Lunar in WG!
I agree that the Chronograph requires more energy than the Moonphase and the date.
BUT the goal here is to get an absolute precision with providing to the escapement one source of energy, one of the 2 barrels, while the other is dedicated to the moonphase, the date, but also the hour, minute, and second hands.
It is a concept, here, as well as the 2 hacing second hands.
Best,
Nicolas.
This message has been edited by amanico on 2011-06-07 23:21:50
Hi Jerome...
I'm a bit late in appreciating the duometre. A couple of questions and I'm not sure if it was asked before:
1) I can see the chrono hand, of course, but does it have a "total" counter?
2) If it doesn't have a "total" counter, what's the philosophy behind it? Of course, having a "total" counter somehow detracts from the "dreaminess" of this piece as adding one may make it look like a "tool" watch. but then, again, it does have a chrono function...
3) Why marry a lunar function with a chrono in this case? I think the lunar layout is fantastic and can be the main aesthetic feature here together with, of course, the time telling function
4) Of course, when I see the back, and it is a very beautiful one with two power sources... I can almost understand why you'd want to throw in something that can take advantage of the tech... which is the chrono.
Thanks for indulging my naivete on this piece, Jerome.
A great report, definitely, on a great piece.
Dear Echi,this is NOT a Chrono....
they look similar,especially in the WG versions but this is a lunar calendar with a special attention to Chronometrie.
Zero reset on both hands,one of the 2 barrels feeds hours,minutes,seconds and calendar,the other just feeds the escapement,therefore a super precise watch,with a big attention to chronometrie.
Ideal pair? The Chronograph and the Chronometer.........
Mo
Ack! Ok...
I knew I was going to step on a landmine when I asked those questions. I think I misread the chronograph statement by Jerome and that he meant the other one.
Now with that out of the way... I'm appreciating more how the backside contributes to the front.
Actually, it's the first time that I have been drawn to the movement AS MUCH AS the dial side and I'm not even a movement guy.
This one is special.
No wonder you guys keep on posting about this line.
Thanks for clarification, Mo
Indeed, thank you Moc! nt
Watch of the year?
Yes Yes yes yes yes.....its a constant dream affair for me.....
Main feature?the matt black dial changes colour so many times depending on light condition,just mesmerizing.....
I agree its a fantastic watch.Thanks for the report.
Mo
Honestly, Jerome, I think you're right.
This white gold Duometre is my favourite watch, this year.
But you already knew that, after all I wrote about it.
Believe me, this is not the last time we'll read something about it, as I have something already ... Ready in the tube.
Best, and thanks for this magnificient love song.
Nicolas.
It sure is a beauty, Jerome
THE watch
Many thanks for sharing your thoughts and additional great pics! Never thougt I
I would see the QL in WG with 'my' number... Asked my AD after SIHH whether he could get the 089 for me. As this Year's version is THE hot item, JLC could or did not cater for such fancy requests,which is understandable! So I'm 'ending' up with a different number but at least my AD put the watch aside for me!
So thanks to you I after all see how the dial looks with a 089 ;o)
There's at least one model less on the market, so if you have put the budget aside for it, don't wait any longer!
Regards
Ambos
Excellent decision, Ambos.
I'm impatient to see your live pics and comments!
Congratulations are in order, and in advance.
Best,
Nicolas.
Patience
Is needed! Had tough negotiations with my wife... Once I fulfilled my part I can go ahead. Knowing that I'll have the watch sooner or later just sweetens the waiting time...
So please bear with me.