Ladies Jaeger-LeCoultre Cal.426 14ct c1955

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Jaeger-LeCoultre, in addition to producing movements for its own watches, has also produced movements for many other famous watch houses, such as Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Audemars Piguet and IWC. In the early part of the 20th Century, Jaeger-LeCoultre even supplied movements to the great firm of Patek Philippe. Then as now, Jaeger-LeCoultre has always been considered one of the very finest Swiss watchmakers.

In addition to producing some of the very finest Swiss movements, Jaeger-LeCoutre is certainly among the most inventive and avant-garde watchmakers in terms of watch design. Throughout its history, it has managed to create distinctive original designs from every period. There are countless examples of this from the earliest Duoplan and Reverso watches of the 1930s through to the Memovox and Triple Calendar Moonphase watches of the 1950s, each of which continues in production to this very day. Its technical superiority in making very small movements for women’s watches also allowed Jaeger-LeCoultre to develop collaborations and to supply other famous brands and French jewellers such as Hermès, Cartier and Chopard.

Description

Here we have a beautiful example of a 14ct yellow gold Jaeger-LeCoultre cocktail watch from c1955. As can be seen, the watch is in superb all round original condition and looks simply beautiful. This dial is completely original, unrestored and untouched and is outstanding. This watch carries incredible diamond lugs and a stunning diamond bezel which we feel adds something special and makes the watch look absolutely spectacular on the wrist.

The Dial

The beautiful, original, unrestored and untouched silver-white dial is very clean and simple. Although small, the yellow gold ‘pencil’ hands and mixed ‘stud’ and ‘arrowhead’ hour indices make this watch much more easily read than many ladies cocktail watches of a similar size.

The dial is simply signed ‘Jaeger-LeCoultre’ at the very top, just below the ‘12’.

As mentioned above, this dial is original and unrestored and we have left this completely alone. Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however, we decided in this case, due to its exceptional condition, to retain its originality and charm for the many collectors who prefer this. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website which have been restored.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you see here may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

Jaeger-LeCoultre movements are rightly held in very high regard for their accuracy and reliability and this watch carries its original, very high quality Jaeger-LeCoultre Cal.426, hand-wound movement which is in spectacularly clean condition.

The movement is signed ‘Jaeger-LeCoultre’ and ‘Swiss’, along with the Calibre number 426. It has been fully overhauled and serviced and is in beautiful condition, running beautifully and keeping accurate time within +10 seconds per day, which is is excellent for any smaller diameter watch.  The watch also has a runtime of 40 hours when fully wound. We are therefore very happy to offer this watch with our 12-month warranty on the movement*.

This movement carries the serial number 1,096,483 which dates this watch correctly at 1955.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the list price is paid.

The Watch Case

The watch carries a very high quality 14ct yellow gold case with a diamond bezel that flows into the matching lugs beautifully.

The case measures 14mm and has a perfectly concealed winding crown. Inside the case-back is all correctly marked as expected with Swiss 14ct hallmarks, ‘SWISS’ with the Firtree Jaeger-LeCoultre branding. Importantly, the case-back is of full thickness and has never been engraved.

This watch has very well cared for and very lightly used and after careful cleaning and inspection, the watch case has simply required some gentle hand-polishing to return it to its now tip-top condition.

Please note – vintage watches are almost never waterproof and therefore should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Bracelet

The original, integral Jaeger-LeCoultre signed bracelet is in matching solid 14ct yellow gold and is in immaculate condition, showing no signs of wear or damage visible to the naked eye. The two step ladder clasp and lock provide an adjustment of 0.6 centimetres either way, meaning the watch will fit a wrist size 17.1cm – 17.8cm or 6.75 inches to 7 inches.

The bracelet is, as expected, superbly made and quite weighty and substantial. It is also in wonderful condition. While the links do not stretch, they are just flexible enough to hug the wrist beautifully with no gaps or unevenness in any of the links.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with the watch, the numbers and markings are all correct, dating this watch to c1955.

Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will also be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

The high quality hardwood presentation box in the photographs is included in the sale.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for a 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.

In Conclusion

This is a charming and totally original watch and even though it is almost 70 years old it is still completely fresh, reliable and practical to wear as a daily watch. It is an item of beauty, from one of the most prestigious names in Swiss watchmaking and a superb example of a classic 1950s vintage hand-wound cocktail watch in completely original condition.

If treated with care, this watch will remain a simply wonderful timepiece, to use, wear, treasure and enjoy, providing excellent reliability as well as a sound financial investment, as long-lasting as the watch itself. As each year goes by and the world market for vintage gold Jaeger-LeCoultre watches grows, limited supply and high demand from around the world will mean prices will inevitably climb ever higher!

A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring them to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post sales care and service. This approach means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly successful charging between two to three times the price you see here. We therefore consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

We are happy to accept PayPal as this is the quickest method of payment. However, if you would like to pay by UK cheque or by UK bank transfer we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for a 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and unfortunately out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges, however attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those that happen to visit the UK on occasion we are of course more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and deliver your watch directly to you there.

Please note, we also welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or a small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.

We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.

If you have any questions please call 0207 727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095. We await your call.

Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.

Thank you.