An eighteen carat pink gold Jaeger LeCoultre triple date calendar watch. This is perhaps the flagship model from one of the world's greatest horologists since their inception, many would argue. The exceptionally rare moonphase may well be the only refernce to top this triple calendar watch. Made in the 1940's, this is a very rare solid eighteen carat pink, or rose gold version of the watch.
Not only was this a very complicated watch when it came out, it was also very large for the time period. Many similar models from brands like Longines and Movado were 33mm. This stunning piece measures around 35.5mm, a veritable giant for the time.
The condition of the watch is as one would expect to find them from having been made eighty years ago. The case is worn with light scratches, but nothing egregious, and overall is unpolished. This is important to these watches as the case sides has a unique ribbing to it which also hides the pushers to change the day and date. The original crown is fitted, although the gold has worn off the side. The dial has a number of scratches and age marks, but it is original. So many of these dials have been re-finished over the years, that even finding original examples these days is very rare, especially in pink gold. The handset is not original to the watch. The minute hand is too short and does not hit the minute track edge, however they are pink gold. This is itself hard to find.
The watch is powered by the JLC caliber 451/A, manually wound calendar movement. Based on the caliber 449, this was the first movement fitted to the round calendar watch. The month turns over on the 31st day of the month. Should this need to be changed manually simply press the button on the side of the case at the two o'clock area. The pusher at 4 sets the day of the month, indicated by the red tipped hand. This early caliber 451 was only in production for a very short period of time, between 1943 and 1944, during the height of World War Two. Hard to imagine! It was very short production run with only about 400 pieces. This was replaced by the caliber 464 which ran between 1944 and 1945 and had a much greater production run of around 1800 pieces. Some in the round case like this watch, others were cased in rectangular cases that are also highly collectible. The watches came in various case metals, with five hundred being cased in gold and only distributed in the European markets, of which this is an example. The remainder were distributed in the USA in steel or gold-filed cases. The round versions of these watches were known as the reference 2904, the US versions. They are very rare in pink both European and US market versions.
Overall, this watch is not perfect. But, it is a true, honest and rare watch in very original condition. It has undergone an extensive service from a Richemont service center and will come with a year warranty.
