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A star-studded night sky and a floating Tourbillon for JLC's latest Grande Tradition watch.
While the focus has recently been on the sporty/elegant Polaris collection, we shouldn’t forget that the “Grande Maison” is also one of the best representatives of Haute Horlogerie. Jaeger-LeCoultre knows its watchmaking and its métiers d’art and the brand’s latest creation is a superb testimony of this expertise. Meet the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Celeste.
Presented during the 76th edition of the Venice International Film Festival, this new high-end piece by Jaeger-LeCoultre showcases the brand’s watchmaking skills with undeniable charm. Complex, kinetic, but also poetic, this new piece takes advantage of recent creations when it comes to its design and finishing – such as the Master Grande Tradition Repetition Minutes Perpetuelle or the Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpetuel.
The Tourbillon Celeste isn’t per se a new watch at JLC but it is transformed to get a new shape. The case, which measures 43mm in diameter and is made of 18k white gold, plays with textures, lights and surfaces. Mirrored polished on most parts, it is enlightened by straight-grained accents on the case band, concave and convex areas and matte or shiny surfaces. For instance, the recessed area of the lugs is micro-blasted. The watch is worn on a blue alligator strap.
The main attraction of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Celeste is, of course, its dial. The display is complex and unique, with an orbital flying tourbillon that makes a complete turn of the dial over the course of 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds. This unusual time unit is the length of one sidereal day, calculated with reference to more distant stars instead of the Sun. The standard time (24-hours per day) is classically displayed by the centrally positioned hands.
The central part of the dial depicts the night sky of the Northern Hemisphere, showcasing the constellations of the zodiac calendar framed by an outer ring displaying their associated symbols. A tiny gold marker, seen just beyond the orbit of the flying tourbillon, revolves around the dial annually, an indication of where we are within this alternative and ancient star calendar. The true beauty of this dial appears at night thanks to the application of Super-LumiNova on the celestial dial, which results in a beautiful star-studded night sky.
Powering the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Celeste is the calibre 946, designed and produced in-house by the brand. Visible through a sapphire caseback, it is finished with care and adorned with radiating Geneva stripes. The movement stores 45 hours of energy and displays the hours and minutes, the Zodiac calendar, a 24-hour civil time indication, the month and a sky chart.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Celeste (ref. Q5273480) will be a limited edition of 28 pieces. Price on request. More details at www.jaeger-lecoultre.com.
