2004 Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Memovox 41mm 146.8.97
Ref: 146.8.97
Specification
Lugs : 21mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its original JLC box and paperwork. It is paired with its original JLC 21mm brushed and polished multi-link stainless steel bracelet secured by a push-button deployant clasp and will fit up to a 7.2-inch wrist. The watch is from April 2004 and is sold in worn condition, with a few signs of wear, but overall, it is in fair condition, coming fresh from a light polish, as you can see from the photographs. The watch comes with our 12-Months Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Af2axFUw4tZZ0RsLMNFsNu6hqW4WOxSH?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 5:58 - https://youtu.be/wx86ZfP2KZo
The Watch
Here we have a 2004 Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Memovox 146.8.97 with a polished stainless steel case that gently curves over your wrist with tapered lugs. Its curvaceous, polished flanks lead to a lug-to-lug length of 49.5mm and a case thickness of 15mm, giving the watch an impressive wrist presence. Down the right side, we have a locking signed crown at two o’clock to wind and set the alarm; at four o’clock, a locking signed crown to wind and set the watch; at 10 o’clock, we have the crown to adjust the inner 60-minute dive bezel. A smooth brushed bezel holds a sapphire crystal above a matte black dial. An outer rotating 60-minute bezel has Arabic numerals, and the first 15 minutes are highlighted in red, with Arabic 12, 6, and 9 numerals alongside spear-shaped indexes marking the hours; at 3 o’clock, there is a framed date window, an alarm crescent sits on the left side with a red arrow tipped hand, slender baton hands are filled with lume and complemented by a red arrow tipped second hand, off centre sits the Jaeger-LeCoultre motif and “Memovox Automatique” complete this versatile alarm timepiece. On the reverse, a screwed-down solid case back with the details of the watch around its edge and the gold JLC Master Compressor medallion in the centre, inside an automatic alarm JLC Cal. 918, 27 jewels, beating at 28,800 beats per hour, introduced in 1994, it has a double barrel, one for the alarm and one for the time, made up of 260 components, this movement has no quick-set date and requires a small amount of power in the alarm to stop the hammer for sitting loose. It is paired with its original JLC 21mm brushed and polished multi-link stainless steel bracelet secured by a push-button deployant clasp and will fit up to a 7.2-inch wrist. This watch is sold with its original JLC box and paperwork.
Personal Note
At first glance this Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Memovox in 41mm looks like it is going to be a beast on the wrist, and whilst it certainly demands its wrist presence, it wears surprisingly well and is super comfortable on the wrist, especially on this well-designed and engineered bracelet. If you are in the market for an impressive alarm watch, I would consider this reference 146.8.97. Book an appointment and come try it on for yourself!
The Brand
Antoine LeCoultre founded LeCoultre in 1833 in the small village of Le Sentier, Switzerland. By 1866, LeCoultre’s workshop had grown from home-run manufacturers spread across Switzerland to installing modern steam-driven machines to power the tools of all of the watchmakers, moving them from their homes and bringing them together in one central unit. Now named LeCoultre & Cie, the company became the very first manufacturer in the Vallée de Joux, Switzerland. Antoine and his son Elie LeCoultre employed more than 500 watchmakers in-house. In 1903, Edmond Jaeger, a watchmaker in Paris who made watches for the French Navy, challenged Swiss manufacturers to produce an ultrathin movement. Jacques-David LeCoultre, Elie’s son, rose to the challenge and created the world’s thinnest pocket watch, equipped with the LeCoultre 146 calibre, measuring just 1.38 mm thick. Over the following years, Jaeger and LeCoultre kept in touch, building a solid friendship, and in 1937, Jaeger-LeCoultre was founded. In 2013, they celebrated their 180th Anniversary. Creating iconic timepieces like the Reverso wristwatch and the brilliantly engineered Atmos clock. During the war years, the Mark VII pilot watches of the 1940s were so accurate that the Royal Air Force used them as aerial navigation instruments; later, they created the first automatic watch to house a power-reserve indicator in 1948 that was used by the US Army Air Corps. Jaeger-LeCoultre has developed and revolutionised the watch industry like no other manufacturer. Since 2000, it has been a fully owned subsidiary of the Swiss luxury group Richemont. This group includes Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, IWC Schaffhausen, Panerai, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Montblanc, Dunhill and Chloé.