The highly acclaimed Jaeger-LeCoultre watch factory has launched the new Master Grande Tradition à Quantième Perpétuel 8 Days SQ, a superb traditional perpetual calendar eight-day power reserve skeleton master series watch, once again showing its rich and exquisite craftsmanship. The new model draws inspiration from the superbly sophisticated antique pocket watches from 1928. Eighty-six years later, the master of hollowwork and enamel crafted a masterpiece of contemporary fine watchmaking with his dexterous hands, limited to 200 pieces.
Engraving and hollowing out
Masters of engraving and hollowing out craftsmanship focus on meeting a brand new technical and technological challenge. Engraving master Dominique Vuez explained: ‘It is true that it requires superb craftsmanship to remove as much of the ‘excess’ as possible without affecting the quality of the movement.’ Engraving masters have their own know-how. ‘For customers, it is better to see more details. However, when we hollow out a mechanical movement, we must ensure that its solidity and reliability are not affected.’ The designer of the mechanical movement requested the relevant documents and then judged which parts could be drilled and which parts of the parts could be removed. With the assistance of the watchmakers in the complication watch workshop, he elaborated on every minute detail on sketches and designs. Of course, he also has many years of accumulated experience, and inherited the tradition of the watch factory’s predecessors, using similar processes to complete various intricate hollowing processes.
In addition to showing the highest level of craftsmanship, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition à Quantième Perpétuel 8 Days SQ outstanding traditional perpetual calendar eight-day power reserve skeleton master series watch reflects the unparalleled aesthetic standards, trying to pay tribute to the 1928 model, at the same time prove The big workshop can fully express the watchmaking process.
After completing the detailed hollow-out design drawings, the master of hollow-out and his team began to carry out this delicate work with traditional wire saws and files, removing the ‘excess parts’ point by point. In the process of hollowing out, if you are not careful, it may fail. All parts are then manually chamfered, polished, and engraved. As the process continues to progress, this masterpiece of many watchmaking techniques has slowly taken shape.
Enamel Craft
The next step is to process the platinum rings that decorate the dial and case back. First, these delicate parts were carefully hand-chiseled, and then decorated with a large fire ‘infill’ enamel process. Enamel master Miklos Merczel and his team used very fine brushes to apply enamel paint to the surface of the parts. The parts are then fired repeatedly in the kiln until the desired blue color is obtained. The temperature of each roasting in the kiln is between 800 and 820 degrees Celsius. Excessively high temperatures may cause cracks or impurities to appear and damage the work. The parts were then carefully sanded with diamond powder. The enamel craftsmanship requires the patience and detail of the craftsmen, and the most experienced enamel craftsman in the watch factory takes two days to produce the enamel ring that surrounds the dial and the movement.
After that, a master watchmaker from a complication watch workshop brought more than 200 parts including hairsprings, levers, formula wheels, pinions and gear sets, and exquisite works by Dominique Vuez and Miklos Merczel. Assembled together. If anyone thinks that the ticking workmanship is complete, then he is wrong. Because the assembled timepiece needs to be sent to the Jaeger-LeCoultre 1000-hour test department for meticulous functional testing and stress testing. The inspectors in this department are very strict because they must always adhere to the high quality standards of the watch factory. After passing the test, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition à Quantième Perpétuel 8 Days SQ superb traditional perpetual calendar eight-day power reserve skeleton master series watch was officially born.
2004 Master Eight Days Perpetual
Our focus is on the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition à Quantième Perpétuel 8 Days SQ, a superb traditional perpetual calendar eight-day power reserve skeleton master watch, but we can also learn more about its blueprint model-Master with Jaeger-LeCoultre 876 mechanical movement Eight Days Perpetual. Master of the Power Reserve Series. This watch is one of the most attractive complication watches currently available at the Rugu Valley Jaeger-LeCoultre. This timepiece, launched in 2004, is a model of watchmaking craftsmanship. In addition to the day / night display, there are several calendar display functions on the dial: date, week, month, four-digit year display and month age. The power reserve with red safety zone and day / night display make the calendar display more eye-catching and provide a wealth of time information. All display functions on the dial are cleverly designed, and the layout is arranged according to their functions. Comprehensive time information can be seen at a glance for the wearer. The time, day, date, and month are displayed in an enlarged and clearly identifiable manner. The power reserve display and the day / night display are harmoniously distributed symmetrically above the dial. The so-called ‘perpetual calendar’ complex function, all displays can be completely synchronized with the actual date, even in February with 29 days in leap year, there is no need to manually adjust. However, when the special year is 2100 (the whole leap year needs to be divided by 400 instead of 4), you still need to manually adjust it for one day to run normally.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre 876 manual winding mechanical movement consists of 262 parts, including 37 rubies, but only 6.6 mm thick. To ensure its superior quality, mechanical movements are produced, assembled and decorated under the strict supervision of a watch factory. With just a glance, you can see the côtes soleillées decoration on the watch, which is a refined retouch for Jaeger-LeCoultre. The balance wheel is not equipped with a regulator and its vibration frequency is 28,800 times per hour. After the mainspring is wound, its power reserve allows the mechanical movement to run for a full eight days. After that, just turn the crown to power the watch’s dual barrel.
The limited edition of 200 Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition à Quantième Perpétuel 8 Days SQ superb traditional perpetual calendar eight-day power reserve skeleton master series watches are available at the watch factory in Rugu, each one is unique. Masters of engraving and enamel could not make two identical watches. The minute details that make a skeleton movement unique are endless, and the big fire enamel on one watch cannot be the same as on other watches.
Master Grande Tradition à Quantième Perpétuel 8 Days SQ
Technical characteristics of the superb traditional perpetual calendar eight-day power reserve skeleton master series watch
Movement:
• Jaeger-LeCoultre 876SQ hand-wound mechanical movement with hollow and carved decoration
• Eight-day power reserve
• Number of parts: 262
• Number of gems: 37
• 28,800 vibrations per hour
• Thickness: 6.60 mm
dial:
• Silver grained dial with skeletonized decorative movement
• Guilloche edge with translucent blue enamel
Watch back:
• Hollow engraved decorative movement, guilloché pattern edge with translucent blue enamel, clearly visible through the case back
pointer:
• Hour and minute hands: leaf shape
Features:
• Hour and minute display
• Perpetual calendar: week, month, date, year and moon phase
Perpetual calendar function can be adjusted by a single button at 8 o’clock
• Safe area display
• Day / night display
• Power reserve display
Case:
• 42 mm diameter
• Height 11.55 mm
• Water-resistant to 5 bar
• Sapphire crystal case back
Strap:
• Alligator leather strap
• 18K White Gold Pin Buckle
Numbering:
• Q50635SQ-limited edition of 200 pieces
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【Background information】
The Jaeger-LeCoultre watch factory, the inventors of the valley
Since 1833, the Jaeger-LeCoultre watch factory has played an important role in the history of watchmaking, integrating 180 kinds of craftsmanship required for the design and complete production of distinguished timepieces. The Jaeger-LeCoultre watch factory follows the tradition of large-scale complex functions created by the brand, and continues to witness the continuous creativity of the brand with outstanding works: Reverso watches, 101 watches, Geophysic watches, Memovox alarm watches, Master Master of Control watches, Gyrotourbillon ball tourbillon and Atmos air clock. With 1,249 mechanical movements and 413 registered patents, Jaeger-LeCoultre leads the way in fine watchmaking and is a model for the industry.
www.jaeger-lecoultre.com
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Jaeger-LeCoultre
Zhu Shanshan
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Fulai (China) International Communication Consulting
Li Fei / Liu Sitong
Phone: (86-10) 5775 5735 / (86-10) 5775 5736
Fax: (86-10) 57755018
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Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
Address: Room 603, 6th Floor, Block B, Jiaming Center, No. 27 Dongsanhuan North Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100020