Reply With QuoteThat's absolutely fantastic Gary , the refurb looks amazing, very jealous
Nope scratch that, I am in love.
I know it's wrong to covet another mans possessions. But really, can you blame me?
This is a forums members Jaeger LeCoultre Master-Quartz and I helped a little getting it refurbished by my watchmaker. It houses a calibre 352 quartz movement which was actually made by Girard Perregaux and is the same as my GP quartz. Favre-Leuba also used this movement in their Quartz Raider which has a very early 70's look to it.
Girard Perregaux didn't hop on the Beta 21 bandwagon like, Omega, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Bucherer, Patek Philippe and 11 other watch companies. Instead they decided to forge ahead with their their own research and hired the prodigious talents of one Georges Vuffray. Georges had no horological training but was a phenomenal electronics expert, which GP put to excellent use. His skill, and the fact that he wasn't steeped in watchmaking culture, enabled him to look at time keeping with fresh eyes and successfully challenge a lot of preconceptions.
The end result was the ground breaking calibre 352. It uses no jewels, they're replaced with teflon which won't crack or chip and are self lubricating, reducing service intervals dramatically. it was also the first quartz movement to use a frequency of 32.768 Hz, which is now the industry standard. It also was the first Swiss movement to use a stepping motor. Georges Vuffray effectively wrote the template for quartz movements that the vast majority of manufacturers still use today, over 40 years later. Pretty impressive stuff, especially as the rate of technological advancements, in all fields, has been incredible over the last 4 decades.
Anyhow enough of the history lesson and onto the pics.
One thing my snaps can't capture is the beauty of the dial. The pattern and colour changes with each movement of the wrist as it reflects light, it's a thing of mesmeric beauty. The case shape is undeniably of its era but it's still somehow modern and the details are fantastic. It's a large, chunky piece with massive wrist presence but has a lot of subtle details too.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the watch as much as me and a massive thanks to the owner for letting post these pics.
Cheers,
Gary
Last edited by Omegary; 16th March 2013 at 00:50.
That's absolutely fantastic Gary , the refurb looks amazing, very jealous
Thats been refinished nicely Gary ...new crystal as well?
Good to see that the dial has not succumbed to the dreaded blue rot.
Had a couple of these in the past and they really are impressive lumps of 70s innovation.
Sadly they all has scratched up crystals and I could never find a suitable replacement...nice to see this one is looking as fresh as the day.
Couple more variants to tempt you. The goldpated one shows up the dial design contrast rather well.
Hi Keith, it's the original crystal and there are a few marks on it, but nothing that really detracts from the beauty of the dial.
I remember when you placed those two up for sale, I was sorely tempted, but as ever the timing just wasn't right for me. TBH before I handled this example I really didn't realise how chunky they are. Although I prefer smaller watches these days I'd certainly make an exception for one of these beauties.
Cheers,
Gary
That is really a fantastic piece. I can imagine you're in love :)
Thats bloody lovely!
Please stop posting pics of these horny quartz watches. I'm preferring your posts to anything on Red Tube at the mo!!
Beautiful... Been in the market for one of these myself- the dial always makes me think nautilus! And that bracelet is fantastic, 70's cool at its best
That is truly stunning Gary, made me think PP Nautilus the moment I saw it. What are the dimensions and what kind of money would a top quality example such as this one fetch and where on earth would one start looking for such a beauty?
Hold on a mo Kevin, let me get my trusty plastic ruler out. Okay rough dimensions are as follow:
Width without crown 41mm
With crown 42.5mm
Lug to lug 46mm
Depth 13mm
They wear bigger because of the case shape though.
Prices are all the shop for these and very much dependent on condition. A quick ebay search reveals two examples, a pretty ropey looking silver dial one (described as perfect, lol!) for £650 and a beautiful looking example for £2,600, both from Italian sellers.
Obviously the usual caveats apply with early quartz technology, make sure it's working or know a good repairer. A couple of things are very hard to source with these, the crystal as Keith has mentioned, and the spring bars which are really fat and unique to the brick bracelet. JLC won't supply spring bars unless the watch is returned to them unfortunately.
Movement parts can be hard to find and I 'd imagine a lot of Girard Perregaux Quartz watches have been sacrificed to keep the higher value JLC's working.
Cheers,
Gary
Thanks Gary,
Certainly a substantial watch judging by the dimensions and certainly comparible to many modern watches, much prettier though!.
As much as I love it I'm not sure I could justify 2.5k plus even with its rich history, especially if I couldn't replace a damaged crystal, TBH it's more than my budget would allow for a good one but I am in love with this watch also, might bookmark this thread so I can look and drool from time to time!
Cheers for the info mate.
That is gorgeous, have never seen that particular model, however I have seen a different model. I wish I had not hesitated when I had the chance to buy one. Fingers crossed there will be a next time.
I used to have this one, which I bought and sold for a bargain price. Beautiful silver dial that almost glowed, sort of captured in this photo.
That is one stunning looking watch Gary, covet away.
I'm now particularly looking forward to picking this up from Rocco. Great photos, Gary, by the way. Thanks for your help with this.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
I have the gold plated ´chuncky´ in pristine condition and I réaly like it as a dress watch.
As Keith observes, the properties of the dial design stand out in brown/gold.
It has a masculin, timeless shape and the very well made solid link & clasp bracelet can stand comparison with modern ones.
Last edited by Huertecilla; 6th April 2013 at 11:51.
That's a great looking watch. It looks like the Nautilus' beefy big brother.
yet very affordable.Originally Posted by Murdoc
Great job on the brush-up. The bracelet in particular just exudes quality.
GP had outsourced the high quality manufacture of all the mechanical and the bridges to JLC. GP made the stepper motor - and electronics modules.
JLC hád jumped on the Beta bandwagon was quick to change alliances and swithced to the GP design which they partly made in house.
stunning dial on this. Looks like Patek Aquanaut
Stunning watch Gary.
It looks straight out of a time warp, and with a rock solid built as well.
Daddel.
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
Beautiful watch. I really like these and can see myself buying one at some point.
"A man of little significance"
It's not square.
It's not round.
It's not oblong.
It is though, a serious piece of kit and no wonder it's you like it so, so much.
Going slightly green myself...Leigh
I can see why you would covet it, its absolutely stunning.
Here's another JLC quartz with the Cal 352 that just arrived today,with its GP cousin.
That is absolutely stunning.
I love the dial on the JLC on the right - do you know if they did these with a stainless steel case?
Tomorrow is the day I go to pick up my MQ from Rocco. Hurrah and Hussar.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
What a beautiful piece, and some fantastic restoration work as well.
Yes,Plake had nice one a while back with steel case and lovely linen dial.I love the dial on the JLC on the right - do you know if they did these with a stainless steel case?
Tomorrow is the day I go to pick up my MQ from Rocco. Hurrah and Hussar
That's how you photograph a watch, simply gorgerous.
I've got one with the linen dial as well. I was specifically wondering about the zig zag dial with the rail around the rim.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
Oh i see,i don't know.KeithT or Petrus might know perhaps.
I did wonder was the zig zag inspired by the oscilloscope(remember that?)
Last edited by Dr.f; 16th April 2013 at 20:28.
I think it simply is a styling element but if it has any inspiration it may very well be the shape of a digital on/off block curve. That would be quite appropriate for a quartz watch with loads of such switches in the ic.
But... I don´t know.
This is my first post here and i am in love with mine.
And this is it with its less healthy brother who just had a transplant from a Favre Leuba cousin and is still in need of a JLC crown.
Welcome,nice pair of watches.Gives me a good excuse to show pic of mine.
Thanks for posting these. I remember visiting a farmer in Friesland who had a large collection of wall clocks. He also pulled out a drawer with a badge of 20 or 30 of these JLC Quartz watches, in NOS state. He offered them to me for 100 euros a piece. I didn't do it, as I thought they were nice but dated, and a waste of money. Now I will take the whole badge out of his hands, but now he knows the value of these. Chance gone , but nice watches they are.
Bought this the other day for spares, wish I'd managed to save the watch before the case went to the smelters! at least I saved the movement! Never even seen a pic of a JLC M-Q beta 21!
Only ever heard about them in the 'ether' of myth!
Last edited by dickstar1977; 12th May 2013 at 22:25.
I'll take it! :-). If only this was posted on SC!Nope scratch that, I am in love.
I know it's wrong to covet another mans possessions. But really, can you blame me?
Cheers,
Gary
On a serious note, how much could this model in good condition be picked up for?
Last edited by Mr Tetley; 12th May 2013 at 19:07.
Not a chance.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
Can you tell us more?
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
Afraid not, I have seen some of the rarer B21's such as IWC and Rolex but never seen a JLC example before
Congratulations!
These are indeed rare watches as most were smelted.
It is commonly forgotten that JLC díd form part of the original CEH group and even bought part of the Longines allotment before they changed alliances when they saw how good the GP 35x they made all the traditional parts for was.
A complete one of those Beta engines ones is .... special.
I have mentioned the extend; number of shares and movements bought, of the JLC involvement in CEH in my articles about the 35x.
I have one of these beautiful watches, and it has a slight case of the "blue rot" around some of the hour markers. Does anyone know if this can be repainted? And does anyone know a good watchmaker for the job?
That is sweet congratulations
Paul
GOT...TO...KILL...CAPTAIN STUPID!
your feeling is understandable
Nice watch i am after the compressor model
Apologies for late thread revival but gives me chance to show off new incoming.
Has really nice case,bracelet and glass .Dial lets it down a bit but in normal use looks fine.
That is lovely and the dial looks pretty good, actually.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
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