BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
Back in April this year, Jaeger-Lecoultre unveiled the refreshed Master Control watches during the first-ever online Watches and Wonders event. Now, the brand has once again updated its Master collection with a trio of dress watches – the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Calendar, Master Control Chronograph, and Master Control Geographic in a new pink gold alloy, Le Grand Rose gold.
The talking point here with these new Master Control watches is their precious metal construction. Presented in Le Grand Rose gold, the 40mm case on these new watches offers an elegant charm and warmth that cannot be offered by their steel siblings. The silver dials offer an excellent contrast to the lustrous lines of the case and have been given a nice sunburst finish to offer some nice light play. The applied indices along and the sharp hour and minute dauphine hands have also been rendered in Le Grand Rose gold. To spice up things a little each dial also gets its share of thermally blued hands that add to the dressy outlook of the watches. All watches come attached to a dark brown alligator strap. Now, let’s have a closer look at the individual references.
Master Control Calendar
Simplest of the three, this watch can be considered as a beefed-up version of the Master control date. The basic layout remains quite familiar with applied faceted dart-shaped markers and Arabic numerals comprising the hour index and finely printed hash marks with lume plots at intervals of 5 making the minute track. Placed right above the dauphine hands are two windows that display the day of the week and the month of the year presented in red. A well-sized running seconds sub-dial with a moon-phase display has been placed at the 6 o’clock position. And finally, there is a date chapter ring that has been printed on the outer periphery and can be read using a red-tipped pointer hand. In a nice twist, the pointer hand literally jumps between the 15th and 16th day of the month. The watch is powered by the in-house calibre 866AA that beats at 4 Hz and offers a power reserve of 70 hours. The movement has been beautifully decorated and can be admired through the sapphire case back. The watch retails for EUR 23,800.
Master Control Chronograph Calendar
This watch picks up where the Master control calendar left and adds a chronograph complication. The hour index, hands, and the minute track feel familiar and make the watch feel at home with the rest of the family members. The dial features a tri-register set up with a 30-minute counter at 3, a running second register at 9, and a date cum moon phase display at 6. And to complete the calendar setup there are once again two windows at 12 for the day of the week and the month of the year. Finally, a pulsation scale on the outer flange completes the dial. This watch is driven by the in-house calibre 759. This is a column-wheel based movement that operates at 4Hz and offers an autonomy of around 65 hours. The watch retails for EUR 27,300.
Master Control Geographic
The Master Control Geographic is the most intriguing of the three and features a comprehensive GMT function. Unlike most GMT watches out there, the Master Control Geographic features a 24-hour night day indicator along with an extra hour hand and displays the city name using the aperture at the bottom of the dial. The layout shows off the design DNA of the family along with four additional displays. The upper section features a power reserve display on the left and a date sub-dial on the right. The lower section features a second time zone display with a small day-night indicator. This watch features an additional crown at 10 that can be used to set the additional time-zone. The watch is powered by the calibre 939 which like the other two movements offers a power reserve of around 70 hours. The retail price has been set at EUR 25,000.
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