JAEGER-LECOULTRE MASTER CONTROL COLLECTION
JAEGER-LECOULTRE MASTER CONTROL COLLECTION
It’s rare that a new watch collection is a crowd-pleaser across the board, but the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Collection for 2020 skirts elegantly along the lines of perfection.
We have already cherry-picked the utterly handsome Master Control Chronograph Calendar model for our perusal. Now we bring you details of the whole shebang.
The simplest model in this refreshed Master Control collection is the impeccable Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Date model. While keeping it simple is not for every watch fan, there’s a lot to be said for the clean styling of a minimalist dial. This model exhibits a perfectly proportioned date window at three o’clock in addition to the hours and minutes and that’s it. While bereft of complexities, this model ensures that the wearer can appreciate the silvery whiteness of the dial. This superb daily wear piece is powered by the in-house automatic Calibre 899, which has an upgraded power reserve to 70 hours and like all these new models its movement has the durability offered by a silicon escapement.
Adding a triple calendar and a moonphase to the mix, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Calendar carries its extra indications with poise. The deeply recessed apertures for the day and month on the upper dial are perfectly balanced by the exquisite moonphase at the six o’clock, which also slips in a combined small seconds indication. All very easy on the eye, but it is the pointer date around the perimeter to which I am immediately drawn. Tipped with a hammer-end which recalls the JLC logo, the date hand is engineered to perform a little instant leap from day 15 to day 16 just so that the view of the moonphase is never obscured. The in-house automatic Calibre 866 gives this piece its power, sealed to 50m water resistance the movement also delivers a power reserve of 70 hours.
A watch which enables instant reading of the time in two different locations in the world is useful mechanical technology for any globetrotter. However, creating a second time zone piece which has an uncluttered dial is the stumbling point for many watchmaking companies. Not so at Jaeger-LeCoultre who make the arrangement look effortless with their new Master Control Geographic model.
Unusually, on this model, the hours and minutes for the second time zone are displayed on their own little subdial. Overlapping it a tiny little day/night indication alerts the bleary-eyed jetsetter so they can avoid waking loved ones with untimely phone calls home. An arc-shaped indication keeps check on the generous 70 hour power reserve while a pointer date display gets its own subdial at the 3 o’clock location. Best of all, the wearer can set the second time zone by location, and the named cities appear in an aperture on the lower dial. This beautifully styled piece is powered by the automatic in-house automatic Calibre 939.
Each model in the collection carries a 40mm case, with rose gold or stainless steel options for all but the steel-only Master Control Date. While each model has its own aesthetic attraction, notably they have all been subject to the company’s own “1000 Hours” boot camp which puts them through a range of stringent tests. By offering their clients the choice of simple to complex models the collection will have a broad appeal too. With so many boxes ticked, you’d have to say, with their new Master Control collection, Jaeger-LeCoultre have quite simply nailed it.
Fact File: Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Date
REFERENCE: Q4018420
MANUFACTURER: Jaeger-LeCoultre
CASE: Stainless steel. Sapphire crystal caseback
SIZE: ø 40.0 mm
THICKNESS: 8.78 mm
DIAL: Silver with sunray finish, applied indices
MOVEMENT: Calibre JLC 899 in-house automatic movement, 28,000vph
FUNCTIONS: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
POWER RESERVE: 70 hours
BRACELET/STRAP: Calf skin leather
BUCKLE: Steel buckle
WATERPROOF RATING: 50m
Fact File: Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Calendar
REFERENCE: Q4142520 Le Grande Rose Gold, Q4148420 Stainless steel
MANUFACTURER: Jaeger-LeCoultre
CASE: Stainless steel. Sapphire crystal caseback
SIZE: ø 40.0 mm
THICKNESS: 10.95 mm
DIAL: Silver with sunray finish, applied indices
MOVEMENT: Calibre JLC 866 in-house automatic movement, 28,000vph
FUNCTIONS: Hours, minutes, small seconds, triple calendar, moonphase
POWER RESERVE: 70 hours
BRACELET/STRAP: Calf skin leather
BUCKLE: Buckle to match case material
WATERPROOF RATING: 50m
Fact File: Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Geographic
REFERENCE: Q4122520 Le Grande Rose Gold, Q4128420 Stainless steel
MANUFACTURER: Jaeger-LeCoultre
CASE: Stainless steel. Sapphire crystal caseback
SIZE: ø 40.0 mm
THICKNESS: 10.96 mm
DIAL: Silver with sunray finish, applied indices
MOVEMENT: Calibre JLC 939 in-house automatic movement, 28,000vph
FUNCTIONS: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, second time zone, day/night indication, location indication, power reserve
POWER RESERVE: 70 hours
BRACELET/STRAP: Calf skin leather
BUCKLE: Buckle to match case material
WATERPROOF RATING: 50m
