Perfect Timing Jaeger-LeCoultre's New Master Tourbillons

For devotees of timekeeping accuracy, the number 978 has special significance. This is the caliber designation of the movement that won the Chronométrie 2009 International Timing Competition. Now, Jaeger –LeCoultre is releasing two new tourbillions based on this caliber. Their timing couldn’t be better. The Timing Competition The Chronométrie 2009 Competition, organized by the Watch Museum of Le Locle, was the first of its type since the Neuchâtel observatory held the last trial in 1972. A total of 16 watches were entered. The Watch Museum Le Locle. The tests were divided into three 15-day sessions (compared with a single 15-day session for traditional COSC tests), and unlike standard COSC tests, the watches were tested cased-up. (WatchTime’s April issue, coming soon, takes you inside COSC). The revival of competitive timing brought the craft of the régleur or precision timer back to the fore. This is the person who prepares the watches for the contest. The art consists of juggling conflicting parameters to achieve the truest time and the most constant rate in different positions and temperatures. (Read more about the art of réglage in the February issue of WatchTime, in stores now.) At the 2009 timing competition, the Jaeger-LeCoultre team was led by the firm’s technical director, Jean-Claude Meylan. JLC’s caliber 978-powered Master Tourbillon won the 2009 competition. It gained on average 0.13 seconds a day, or less than 47.5 seconds a year, and its rate did not vary more than 0.28 seconds a day. The watch achieved a score of 909 points out of a possible 1000. This can be compared with the best score for a watch submitted by an independent watchmaker, René Addor, whose self-made 11-day “Papillon” prototype movement (without tourbillion) earned 795 points, finishing seventh overall. A Master Tourbillon, and the first-place certificate.

Caliber 978 The caliber’s technical characteristics reflect Jaeger-LeCoultre’s ongoing research into precision timekeeping. The tourbillion carriage is made from a light yet robust titanium alloy and weighs just 0.28 grams. This means very little energy is required to maintain the rotations of the tourbillon. The energy from the barrel can thus be used to keep the large, variable-inertia balance oscillating at a frequency of 28,800 vph, helping assure high precision.

New Creations For 2011, Jaeger-LeCoultre has created two new caliber 978-based tourbillions for precision-timing enthusiasts: the Master Date Tourbillon 39, and Master Grande Tradition à Tourbillon. The Master Grande Tradition à Tourbillon measures 43mm in diameter. It is available in two versions: pink gold with eggshell white dial, and a 200-piece platinum limited edition with gray dial bearing the inscription “tourbillon chronométrie” in tribute to the 2009 first prize. Its functions include a dual time-zone display, a 24-hour indication as well as a pointer-type date displayed on a graduated scale surrounding the applied hour-markers. It makes a bigger jump between the 15th and the 16th of each month so as never to obscure the view of the tourbillon and its bridge.

The Master Date Tourbillon 39 measures, as you might guess, 39 millimeters, and is available in pink gold with an eggshell white dial. The date scale appears inside the circle of hourmarkers so as not to obscure the tourbillion. The Caliber 978 movement has 302 parts including 33 jewels and is 7.05mm thick. With the high-end watch market making a strong comeback and the Chronometrie 2011 competition scheduled to begin in May, Jaeger-LeCoultre's timing is excellent. Technical specifications appear below the image.

Master Grande Tradition à Tourbillon 43: technical characteristics Movement: mechanical automatic, Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 978, crafted, assembled and decorated by hand 28,800 vibrations per hour 48-hour power reserve 302 parts 33 jewels 7.05 mm thick 22-carat monobloc openworked and relief-engraved oscillating weight Functions: hours, minutes and seconds date 24-hour 2nd time-zone display (fast adjustment in both directions) tourbillon Dials: eggshell white for the pink gold version Grey for the platinum version Hands: gold-toned for the pink gold version rhodium-plated for the platinum version Case: 43 mm in diameter, available in 18-carat pink gold and in a 200-piece 950 platinum limited edition cambered sapphire crystal revealing the movement, hardness N°9 water-resistant to 5 bar Straps: black alligator leather with 18-carat pink gold buckle blue alligator leather with 950 platinum buckle References: Q1662510 Q1666520, 200-piece limited series Master Date Tourbillon 39: technical characteristics Movement: mechanical automatic, Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 978, crafted, assembled and decorated by hand 28,800 vibrations per hour 48-hour power reserve 302 parts 33 jewels 7.05 mm thick 22-carat monobloc openworked and relief-engraved oscillating weight Functions: hours, minutes and seconds date 24-hour 2nd time-zone display (fast adjustment in both directions) tourbillon Dial: eggshell white Hands: Gold-toned Case: 39 mm in diameter,18-carat pink gold cambered sapphire crystal revealing the movement, hardness N°9 water-resistant to 5 bar Strap: black alligator leather with 18-carat pink gold folding clasp Reference: Q1652410