Jaeger-LeCoultre

Greetings to all!  I had the opportunity over the weekend to photograph both sides of this beauty -- this example is SS with bracelet, and to my way of thinking is a splendid piece.

My first-ever JLC was the original Duoface in SS with the honey ostrich strap -- I do miss it from time to time, but as size preferences changed and the luminous markers on the reverse were yellowing, it was probably time to move on.  I did wear that watch a bunch for many years, though!  This newer piece, with big date, day-night, and GMT, is very much to my tastes.

Enough talking -- how about some photos?

Hope you enjoyed!

Best,

Gary G

I'm not sure about the bracelet on this for me though.  I'm looking at a GT of sorts now and a vintage Rolex 1657 seems to be a leading contender as its very versatile and swim worthy although I have read that with it being so old, it's advisable not to swim with it.  But the Grade GMT Reverso, I've always like this and I guess with a bracelet, water activities will not be an issue.

My wrist is not huge, but this watch fits it well -- especially with the bracelet, which seems to make the body of the watch sit lower.  Funny how tastes vary -- I specifically looked for a long time to find a pre-owned piece with a bracelet!

Good luck with your search for a water-resistant GT!

Best,

Gary

they should all really be water -resistant shouldn't they especially a Rollie GMT  

Some will like the size, the volumes of this watch, others will prefer a thinner and / or smaller case.

But undisputably, a nice watch, with an interesting combination of complications.

And, as always, your photos are great. The focus on the work of the dials is awesome.

Best,

Nicolas

...that the Duo series in its various manifestations is a very impressive complication -- two dials keeping two different time zones, one with small seconds and the other with 24 hour indicator, one time instantly adjustable, and the hands revolving in opposite directions!  Not that easy to do.  And in this case, the nice additions of big date, Jour/Nuit, and GMT differential.

I agree with you that the form factor of this watch will not be to everyone's taste, but for me it is a nice counterpart to my Reverso RM and with the bracelet sits very well on my wrist.

Glad you liked the photos -- this was fun to photograph, and I will be returning to it in more detail, I am sure!

Best,

Gary

No message body

I tried one few weeks back and this is the kind of watch that I wish I had a non 3rd world wrist.

Wonderful pics, in special the #3 that captures the dial details,.

Cheers,

Nilo

I would love to see what you could do photographically with this watch!  It is not that easy to photograph, especially the black dial side -- and you are a master of capturing dark dialed watches in an attractive "light."

This watch previously belonged to a well known photographer, so I am hoping that some of that will rub off on me!

Best,

Gary

Gary,

You don't need any hint since your pics are gorgeous but here are some:

Recently I'm using a white card (about the size of a legal paper) to reflect the light.
My setup also uses natural light that also reflects on a white wall that I have.

As a final tip, I also use on some cases a polarizer filter (circular) that is very handy when you are trying to eliminate reflexes.
Forget the cheap ones and go for a premium polarizer.

As a last point, take a look on a site (Google it) called Cambridge Color. They have many articles and there is a recent one that shows what is the best aperture to use to obtain maximum sharpness.

Cheers,

Nilo

I really appreciate the tips, and expect that they will prove very useful.

I will definitely take a look at the article on aperture choice -- I have migrated to using f22, which is good for increasing DOF but which I suspect is losing me sharpness due to diffraction effects.  That said, I will see what the experts have to say!

Best,

Gary

Nilo --

Thanks again for the tips and for the referral to the online info.  Having read through some of the materials, I took a series of test shots at apertures from f4.5 to f48, and was able to see the shifts as I went up the scale.  At the more open settings, it turned out to be important to shift from Live View to Mirror Up to eliminate the camera shake -- and there does appear to be a tradeoff between DOF, which helps to sharpen things as you go up the scale, and diffusion, which works in the opposite direction.

Working with the tilt/shift for single exposures proved to be very tough at more wide-open settings!  I'm going to need to play around for quite a while to see what works under different conditions.

All of that said, here's the "optimal" image for a straight-on shot, which for this combination of camera and lens (D700, 85mm PC-E) appears to be at f9.  Upload compression doesn't help, but perhaps you can pick out the fine vertical brushing on the rectangular surround that contains the large black Arabic numerals:

Lots more learning to do!  Thanks again for the input, Nilo.

Best,

Gary

was deciding on a white or anthracite dial La Tradition.

I've always liked this piece and you are spot on with the case. A bit clunky but those dials are to die for especially the black side with the white markers popping out.

Not as "business" elegant as my Duo BUT this is what I'd call elegant but on the casual side of things.

I think I've strapped this on twice already and is definitely lodged in my subconscious.

It was also on a choco brown strap that wasn't too nice. Too matte. But that's not a deal breaker.

Great photography as always. Thanks for sharing!

...before I finally took the plunge...

My sense is that the bracelet helps with the "clunky" aspects of the case.  And, my recent wear has tended toward the, shall we say, large -- Lange Double Split and Habring Doppel -- so this piece looks absolutely refined by comparison!  I do agree that the original Duo has a wonderful elegance to it -- as I mentioned I just about wore mine out over a period of 10+ years of ownership, and am really pleased to be able to return to a "Duo-type" Reverso.  I actually bought my wife a Gran Sport Duetto a few years ago, so it's in the family genes!

Hope your friend picked the anthracite dial, especially in the 40mm WG

Best,

Gary

Especially the back case looks just cool!

thanks for great pics

This one does have a lot of wrist appeal!  I am wearing it today and catching myself staring at it without remembering what time it shows, so I must like it!

Best,

Gary

... of a great watch.  I have the same one as you in a slightly different colour.  Wear this (and your other stupendous pieces) in good health.

...but at the end of the day it seems I am always drawn back to JLC!  I really "started" with Jaeger, and continue to find their pieces appealing both on a value-for-money basis and in their own right.

Thanks for your kind words -- hope to see more posts from you here!

Best,

Gary G

Looks like the photography skill is rubbing off already.

My guess is that my professional teacher will have some criticisms to make, but that's why I am going to be taking lessons!

Best,

Gary

And the Reverso GMT is a watch worthy of such photos.

I am really enjoying this one -- as you say, a classic presentation of a very useful complication.

I do love Reversos!

Best,

Gary G

and equally great looking watch.  Love the almost BW pics - fits well with the white and black retro/verso dials of the Grande GMT.  /W72

Interestingly enough, I did play with totally de-saturating the color on a few of these, but concluded that just a bit of color made the images look more "live" (and also was more faithful to how the watch looks in the real world as the polished SS reflects objects around it).

Best,

Gary

spectacular..and a nice piece in the JLC lineup...

Appreciate your kind words.  This piece is a great daily wearer and takes me back to my first JLC (Duo), which brings back a lot of very happy memories.

Best,

Gary

JLC ought to have you do the pics for next year's "Manufacturer's Book of Timepieces!"

if both times are the same, you'll need to open the watch and push the corrector on the bottom of the case to align the times as even or 12 hours off if they're opposite. That's for practical purposes...unless, of course, you have the GMT set specifically to GMT.

...to re-set the GMT sub-dial, as the prior owner was at GMT +8 and I live at GMT -8.  After that, however, I can just use the two pushers on the case to adjust the time on the back to "travel time" whenever I am on the road, and only need to adjust the GMT indicator (if I choose to keep things absolutely aligned) twice a year, for daylight savings and standard time transitions.

Right now I'm at home so I have both dials set to the same time -- a push of a button, and I can re-set the back when I get on the plane.  Easier than the original Duo, which required a pusher or toothpick to do the task.  I liked the sleeker look of the Duo case, but on the Grande GMT the size and appearance of the watch lend themselves to the external pushers, in my opinion.

Best,

Gary

I don't think that a pro contract is in my future, but I do really appreciate your compliments on my work.  It is a lot of fun for me.

And, I agree with you that this watch is something special!  Good that not 100 percent of folks feel the same way we do, or the price would be out of reach

Best,

Gary