Largest Jaeger-LeCoultre Collection Ever Goes on Sale

On November 29 in Paris, and worldwide online, Artcurial, France’s leading auction house, will offer over 250 exceptional timepieces retracing nearly 180 years of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s history. This is the largest Jaeger-LeCoultre collection ever offered for sale. All the brand’s icons are represented, including Reverso, Polaris, Geophysic, Memovox, and military watches, complete calendars, Duoplan Etrier and other works. Artcurial organized the first sale entirely dedicated to Jaeger-LeCoultre in 2003. Eight years later, to respond to the demand of the brand’s fans and lovers of Haute Horlogerie, it renews this exceptional event. Here are some examples of the pieces that will be offered. Circa 1890. Minute repeater hunter pocket watch In 1870, LeCoultre & Cie's engineering mastery allowed it to revolutionize watchmaking by making small series of calibres with complications. New manufacturing methods allowed great strides to be made in the reliability of complication watches. The Manufacture soon became renowned for its minute repeaters. In just a few decades, it brought out over 200 different calibres with this complication, among the most difficult to achieve. Created at the turn of the 1890s, the hunter pocket watch being auctioned by Artcurial houses the 33-jewel LeCoultre 19RVS calibre in its finely guilloché-worked pink-gold case. Made in nickel silver, the minute repeater movement has a bimetallic cut balance wheel, precision end curves, double plate, visible levers, and straight-line lever escapement. The engraved back opens to reveal the classically decorated movement protected by a very fine domed glass: Côtes de Genève, angled bridges and screws, and mirror-polished gongs. The visible winding crown is distinguished by its “wolf teeth” gears. The grand feu enamel dial bears painted Roman and Arabic numerals. The gilded hands are in Louis XVI style. Estimate: €6,000 - 8,000 1933 blue dial Reverso, model 201 The Reverso was created in response to a challenge set by British officers based in India who wanted a watch capable of surviving the shocks endured during a polo match. The solution: a pivoting case that allowed the owner to protect his watch with a simple flip. An Art Deco classic, the Reverso has been produced in hundreds of different models, many of which are prized by collectors. During the 1930s, the Manufacture’s clients were able to choose the dial which adorns their Reverso from dozens of models. The white, silvered or black dials were the most popular, but a few pioneering spirits chose colored dials: brown, red or blue. Artcurial is offering a rare Reverso from 1933, model 201, with a blue lacquered dial with stamped hour-markers and lines. This steel model has a LeCoultre 410 calibre, the earliest LeCoultre Reverso movement. Estimate: €8,000 - 12,000

1958 Geophysic Chronometer, model 2985 Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic Chronometer was created in 1958 on the occasion of the Manufacture’s 125th anniversary. It was intended for the scientists participating in the International Geophysical Year. In the middle of the Cold War, several thousand researchers from 67 countries combined forces to lay the groundwork for sharing knowledge in the Earth sciences. The Geophysic Chronometer accompanied their explorations. Along with the famous E168 model, the Artcurial sale will be offering an extremely rare version, which has not been seen at auction for over 10 years: the model 2985, dubbed Geophysic Luxe, of which only 103 were made. Its Jaeger-LeCoultre 478BWSbr calibre offers every technical device to guarantee the greatest accuracy: indirect central seconds, stop second, Glucydur balance wheel, “swan-neck” adjustment system (with regulator spring and setting screws), shock absorbers, precision end curves, anti-magnetic escapement, unbreakable spring, 17 jewels, an 18-carat yellow-gold case, silvered dial, appliqué hour-markers and gold hands. Estimate: €6,000 - 9,000 1959 Memovox Deep Sea, model E857 In the aftermath of the Second World War, the young French ensign Jacques-Yves Cousteau invented the aqua-lung with the help of Emile Gagnant, marking the start of leisure diving. Clubs sprung up everywhere and the equipment improved. In 1959 Jaeger-LeCoultre contributed to the new sport by creating the first diving watch fitted with an alarm which served to remind divers that it was time to start their return to the surface. 1061 pieces of Memovox Deep Sea, model E857 were made between 1959 and 1962. Jaeger-LeCoultre produced a tribute edition to this legendary watch in 2011. One model to be sold by Artcurial was intended for the American market, as indicated by the LeCoultre signature. Water-resistant to 100 meters, its steel case houses the Jaeger-LeCoultre 815 calibre, the first automatic alarm calibre in watchmaking history. The alarm time is indicated by a rotating inner disk. Estimate: €15,000 - 20,000 1967 Memovox Polaris, model E859 The Memovox Polaris, of which 1714 pieces were made between 1965 and 1970, remains Jaeger-LeCoultre’s best-known diving watch. The project followed up the 1959 Memovox Deep Sea. The Manufacture’s new creation had an unusually large case for the time: 42 mm. One year after the launch of the first models, the Memovox Polaris was fitted with a new system to increase the volume of the alarm under water. A triple case back prevented the sound from being damped by the diver’s rubber suit. The back consisted of an inner case in bronze for the resonance of the alarm, a waterproof back and an outer back with 16 round openings. Manufactured in 1967, the Memovox Polaris watch to be sold by Artcurial, model E859, is among the first models fitted with the patented Compressor triple back. It also offers an inner bidirectional rotating flange, luminescent hour-markers and hands and a date aperture. Composed of 241 parts, the self-winding Jaeger-LeCoultre 825 calibre is equipped with a hammer rotor. Today’s Jaeger-LeCoultre alarm watches still use a similar alarm system. Estimate: €15,000 - 20,000 2011 Reverso à éclipse by Zep, unique piece This piece is personalized by Philippe Chappuis, alias Zep, creator of the cartoon character Titeuf. It was created to celebrate the Reverso’s 80th anniversary. The proceeds of the sale will be donated to a charitable association, the AMM (Monaco Association against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy). A small wheel above the crown draws aside the two sides of the dial to reveal a drawing especially made by Zep: Titeuf slipping through a clockwork mechanism, a nod to Charlie Chaplin in Modern Times. This image was reproduced in miniature by an enamel craftsman of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture. Over 80 hours of intense concentration and a number of kiln firings were necessary to apply and fix the colors laid on with minuscule brushes. Encased in 18-carat pink gold, this unique watch houses the Jaeger-LeCoultre 849 Calibre, with a total thickness not exceeding 1.82 mm. Estimate : €50,000 - 80,000 You may register to bid online at www.artcurial.com. Public viewings of the pieces to be offered will be held as follows: Geneva: Hôtel de la Paix, November 12-14 Paris: Hôtel Marcel Dassault, November 24 to 28.