2023 Lebois & Co Heritage Chronograph Pulsation Salmon
Ref: 324.472
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition :Â Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : Box & Papers
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold with its original Lebois & Co presentation box, travel case, spring bar removal tool, and paperwork. It comes paired with its quick-release vintage-style suede strap and a signed pin buckle. The watch is from Cira. 2023 and is sold in worn condition but overall in very fair condition, as you can see from the photos. The watch comes with our 12-Months Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FuwGYOQgazpjY3zod75O9Kfas7vwZKS8?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 23:11Â - Â https://youtu.be/jLLegPMeQrE
The Watch
Here we have a 2023 Lebois & Co Heritage Chronograph Pulsation Salmon dial with a curvaceous polished and brushed 39mm stainless steel case that curves over your wrist with thick tapered lugs, inspired by their 1940s sector chronograph and developed through their community of collectors and enthusiasts called CoLAB. Brushed and polished surfaces transition with crisp lines, and a lug-to-lug length of 46.5mm and a case thickness of 14mm give the watch an impressive wrist presence. Down the right side, we have the chronograph pushers and a signed crown with deep knurling for extra grip. A bevel-edged smooth polished bezel holds a domed sapphire crystal AR coated on the inside above an attractive Salmon sector bicompax dial, an outer Gradue Pour 30 Pulsations scale surrounds a finely printed minute track, black-printed Arabic 12 and 6, metal pips and batons mark the hours, at 3 o’clock a recessed 30-minute register and at 9 o’clock a small seconds register, each with concentric circular pattern creating interest and dimension to the dial, elegant blued stick hands are complemented by a tapered blued chronograph hand. At 12 o’clock, we have the Lebois & Co motif, and at 6 o’clock, “Antimagnetique” completes this vintage-inspired bicompax chronograph. On the reverse, a screw-down exhibition case back showcasing a manually wound calibre LC-450, 24 jewels, beating at 28,800 beats per hour, adjusted in 5 positions for accuracy, this column-wheel chronograph is beautifully decorated with a blue column wheel, blued screws, Côtes de Genève and perlage, the movement is produced by Swiss Manufacture La Joux-Perret S.A. in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The watch comes paired with a 20mm quick-release vintage-style suede strap with a signed pin buckle, and the watch comes with its Lebois & Co presentation box, travel case, swing bar removable tool and paperwork.
Personal Note
Our second modern Lebois & Co and I am insanely impressed, especially for the asking price and even more so for our price! The finishing is excellent, the movement is beautiful and the combination of heritage design and modern interpretation of that design has worked out perfectly. I wouldn't hesitate on this if you are in the market for a beautifully built heritage-inspired chronograph!
The Brand
Lebois & Co was founded in 1934 by Raymond Dodane, who was a third generation of a watchmaking family—based in Besançon, France, where they designed and manufactured the watches. In 1940, an Italian aircraft manufacturer, Caproni, gifted a number of chronographs to Swiss Air Force pilots; after the war, the company was bought by Italian importers who used Dodane and other Swiss manufacturers to manufacture their watches. Sadly, as a result of the Quartz revolution, they closed the business in 1972. Fortunately, in 2014, Tom Van Wylick and his wife Eveline came across a picture of an attractive chronograph in a Christie’s auction catalogue; after doing some research, they approached the Dodane family with an idea of resurrecting the brand, and the family was only too happy for this to happen and with the help of 150 investors Lebois & Co was refunded. Avantgarde Date watch was offered through Kickstarter and was highly successful, reaching 126% of its funding, the following year saw the second batch relaunch of the Avantgarde, and in 2018, a third batch relaunch each more successful than the last, it was decided to offer investors and collectors the change to own shares raising 500,000 Euros. In 2016, a new brand logo was created incorporating the shield from the Van Wylick coats of arms, which dates back to 1550. In 2020, they acquired Airain's rights after talking with the French owner's Dodane family. Now, the two brands live under Compagnie des Montres Lebois & Cie, just as it was in 1934. In 2021, Lebois & Co’s Heritage Chronograph was a re-issue of their 1940s chronograph, drawing help from their community of watch collectors and enthusiasts called CoLAB; it has received certification from the new Geneva-based TIMELAB’s - Observatoire Chronométrique (OC+) certification, which is a more comprehensive set of testing compared to the more popular used COSC Certification.