Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Réserve de Marche Ref. 140.8.38.S — Steel, 1990s

Identity

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Power Reserve Ref. 140.8.38.S, late 90s. Automatic movement caliber 928, sapphire case back, certified Master 1000 Hours. Steel case, 37 mm diameter, signed crown. Grained silver dial, applied blackened arrow indexes and black Arabic numerals 12, 9, 6, blackened dauphine hands. 40-hour power reserve indicator at 10 o'clock, retrograde date at 2 o'clock, small seconds at 6 o'clock. Sapphire crystal. Black alligator strap and steel pin buckle.

Watchmaking Context

Jaeger-LeCoultre was founded in the Vallée de Joux in 1833 and takes its name from the merger, in 1937, between watchmaker Antoine LeCoultre and Parisian watch distributor Edmond Jaeger. The house has forged a unique reputation in Swiss watchmaking: not only as an integrated manufacture – one of the few to produce all its calibers in-house – but also as a movement supplier for the greatest houses, including Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, and Cartier. The Master Control collection was launched in 1992 as the brand's reference line in classic watchmaking: sober round case, uncluttered dials, traditional watchmaking complications – power reserve, calendar, chronograph, tourbillon. It is accompanied by the Master 1000 Hours program, an internal certification of approximately six weeks of tests undergone by each piece before delivery, among the most demanding in Swiss watchmaking.

Personality

Three off-center indications on a sober dial – power reserve at 10 o'clock, retrograde date at 2 o'clock, small seconds at 6 o'clock. Movement visible through sapphire case back.

Watch serviced. Very good condition. Delivered with the brand's box and the 24-month Contre-Temps warranty certificate.