Collectors Guide: The Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Reference E 850

Some watches are so elusive that a collector can give up hope of ever finding one. This is one of those stories.

The first time I saw a Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox reference E 850 was back in 2019, when Eric Wind on instagram boasted about finding an incredible Memovox on eBay. It was one of the nicest watches I had seen from JLC. Over the last 6 years, I have only seen one other come up for sale - funnily enough we got it and sold it on Wind Vintage. The listing Eric found his watch on left a lot to be determined. The crystal was crazed, the dial condition was quite hard to determine. It was paired on a janky stretch bracelet (that ended up in the trash). Eric said, “I was optimistic that it was going to be a cool watch - I didn’t know how cool, but I felt like I needed to own it and I was not going to be deterred.”

“This Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox E 850 was a recent eBay find with a cracked crystal and horrible photos. When I saw the dial in person, it left me breathless 😱”

I was absolutely obsessed with the watch when I saw Eric’s post. I was on a serious alarm watch binge at the time - I was Cricket Crazy but was focused finding a great Jaeger-LeCoultre wristwatch, particularly a Memovox. Eric and I notably share a mutual love for JLC and Eric purchased a Reverso wall clock that ended up above my desk and above that clockwas a crucifix. In one hilarious moment of improv while I was sitting working on windvintage.com listing under the Reverso clock in 2025, Eric looked at me and pointed at the crucifix and clock above me and said: “God, JLC, and Charlie Dunne - in that order!”

The reference E 850 seemed to be a bit too rare for me to end up finding. Having searched high and low for one - and done everything shy of begging on my hands and knees for Eric to sell me the Memovox - it did not look promising that I would ever own a good one. I periodically peppered him with requests to purchase it. In hindsight, it was probably annoying (and certainly desperate) correspondence. “NOT FOR SALE!” Eric emphatically replied on more than one occasion. “Get a life!” was perhaps the internal response.

My perviously owned Jaeger-LeCoultre ref 2983 and the elusive Memovox reference E 850. Both featured on a 1938 Jaeger-LeCoultre advertisement by Laure Albin Guillot

I explained to Eric that I was in need of help finding the right vintage JLC from the era and he sympathetically alluded to something he had in mind for me that was in service [provided I stopped bothering him about his Memovox]. It turned out to be my Jaeger-LeCoultre reference 2983, a grail-worthy alternative in vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre with a robust case size. Eric had been super nice to me up until this point, but giving me dibs on the Jaeger-LeCoultre reference 2983 was seriously generous and I was on cloud nine!

However, the Memovox E 850 lingered in the back of my mind.

Dial Variants

Unbeknownst to Eric, but with some good instincts on his part, the eBay listing would hide one of the most beautiful salmon dials on a Memovox (or on any Jaeger-LeCoultre or even on any watch full stop)! One contender to this was a vintage Reverso with rose/salmon dial and rose hour markers we sold in 2024, and later in March of 2025. I was obsessed with the Reverso, but my penchant for alarm watches has always been stronger than the more popular icon. Also, the fact that this had a non-luminous dial with blue accents was incredible! It dagger hour markers on both models are the same proportions as on my reference 2983, and have nice angles.

There are also examples with the same dial variants - except with luminous plots and luminous-dauphine hands. Similar examples feature silver dial variants with applied gold markers. In the above example, the watch is a luminous variant with tritium and the later signed crowns. This seems to indicate the watch had been sold much later than the case production. It is likely that these smaller, manual-wind models were a bit less relevant upon the later release of the models such as the E 853 and reference E 855. Additionally, there are at least three advertisements/catalogs with a dial variant featuring the “Jaeger-LeCoultre” signature on the internal rotating dial (although we have not seen one in person). These ads can be seen below.

Another example can be seen that shares the dial variant found in Memovox "Mignonnette" Reference 3157 aka the “Travalarm”. These watches share the same calibre dimensions, so dials are comparable within these movements and cases.

Additionally, there is one example with a “LeCoultre” only dial. These signatures are reserved for the American market. It is not clear whether the E 850 was in fact sold in the United States - as it appears most of the early water-resistant watches were intended for international markets while the watches with “LeCoultre” signed dials/movements sold within the United States produced by American case manufacturers.

Additionally, there is are at least one with a luminous-radium dial and kite hands. These are the also seen in the early Memovox Reference 3151.

The Case

The cases measure approximately 33.5mm in diameter and are the smallest water-resistant Memovox model in the vintage JLC catalog. According to Jaeger-LeCoultre, the E 850 was produced in steel and in gold (likely yellow and rose). I would say wear much better than a Patek Philippe reference 96 despite being similar diameters. The lug-to-lug of the case measures 40.5mm in length, giving it a bit more presence on the wrist. The aspect of the case that really shines is the monobloc (or one piece) case. The bezel and lugs are one piece of steel. It also features a an attractive lug design. These are similar to the reference 2983 and Powerwinds, Futurematics where the lugs feature a concave design. The design is a bit more contemporary compared to the debut Memovox models reference 3150 and reference 3151 - however they wear quite similar on the wrist.

The reference E 850’s lug width is quite narrow at slightly below 17mm. As found in the initial run of water-resistant Memovox models, the caseback features a screw-down ring. These are quite burdensome to remove, and should be done with a watchmaker. This case design was phased out by the 1970s when the screw-down casebacks became the standard with models such as the reference E 875.

The Movement: Calibre 489

The reference E 850 is powered by the Jaeger-LeCoultre calibre 489. This is debut wristwatch alarm calibre for Jaeger-LeCoulre’s Memovox line launded in 1950. The calibre 489 remained in production until circa 1958. According to the book ‘The Collecibles’ the calibre was produced in approximately 47,500 examples. It would be the sole alarm calibre for JLC’s wristwatches for the first two years when the short lived and much rarer calibre 601 was introduced. These are manual-wind alarm movements, and was the base/predecessor to the more common calibre 814 which was produced over the course of the mid-1950s through circa 1964. As for the introduction of the reference E 850 case model, it seems like it was introduced sometime between 1953-1954.

Advertisements & Marketing Material

In all honesty, there is not a large amount of marketing material or advertisements that can be found online or through forums on the Memovox E 850. Over the years, I have collected a few ads and newspaper clippings while searching for Jaeger-LeCoultre. Among them was a Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox catalog from 1958. I had seen this catalog online, but was unable to get much context on what was inside the catalog when I inquired about it. The catalog was primarily focused on the Memovox E 853 which had just been introduced. It also featured travalarm models, various manual-wind Memovox models including the reference 3155, 3156, and 3151, as well as water-resistant reference E 852 and E 850! In other ads, the E 850 is mistakenly referred to as the E 852.

Continual searching would lead to the Artcurial thematic auction ‘Jaeger-LeCoultre Unique Auction.’ This was a seriously cool auction from 2011, with a large curation of +30 Memovox models. The auction was void of reference E 850s, but did feature the E 851. Within the physical copy, an excerpt of a Jaeger-LeCoultre catalog featured the E 850 and E 851! An additional ad of the E 850 was found within an issue of Journal Suisse d’Horlogerie (1955-1956) alongside cool OMEGA, Zodiac, and Selza models. The retail price is actually highlighted within ads as being between 277-309 Francs for steel and 645-679 Francs in gold!

Image credit: Lausanne Tribune. 02/12/1956

Much of the mid-1950s alarm complications centered the advertisements for being a practical resource for parking meters. It is always a funny theme within alarm models, and is common for both Memovox models, or Vulcain Crickets. It would be interesting to learn whether there was any insights from the brand on how compelling the fear of parking tickets played a role in the models’ success, or whether the niche offering from only a few manufacturers gave them the industry advantage.

Image credit: L'Illustré, Swiss magazine 24/11/1955

Pop Culture

While I have yet to find any interesting vintage movies where an actor wears this specific Memovox model, Eric had actually lent his personal watch to be featured in The Wonder Years reboot. The watch would be worn by Dulé Hill’s character Bill Williams within the first season!

Jacob Gallagher wrote for The Wall Street Journal about ‘The Surprising Story Behind The Watches You See on TV and in Movies’. Within the article Gallagher quotes Eric Wind about his involvement in providing timepieces for television and film, as opposed to the more common replica watches. In the recent ABC reboot of “The Wonder Years”, Wind facilitated his friend and client, Fred Savage, in sourcing a number of timepieces for the director’s show. Among those include a vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox, and a Cartier Tank Cornice with Bec D’Aigle (“Beak of the Eagle”) lugs.

Gallagher goes on to highlight Wind’s involvement in sourcing the Rolex “Paul Newman” Daytona for Kevin Kwan’s film adaptation of “Crazy Rich Asians”, as well as Daniel Dae Kim’s character wearing a Patek Philippe reference 3940P on “The Premise”:

“More recently, the actor Daniel Dae Kim, who appears in the FX anthology show “The Premise” (and is another client) asked Mr. Wind to provide a few watches to be worn in the series. (Mr. Kim had the blessing of the production to reach out.) At his own expense, Mr. Wind flew to New Orleans, where the show was shooting, to deliver the loaners. Mr. Wind’s side gig is far from lucrative: He is not paid for the time he invests in arranging watch loans. He even sometimes loses money facilitating them and at times has to assume the liability for the watches himself. But, as Mr. Wind sees it, getting accurate watches into movies “helps promote watches and watch culture.” It is also good for networking and his professional profile. In the course of coordinating loans for “The Premise,” he got to meet the showrunner BJ Novak.”

Read the full article below:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/surprising-story-behind-watches-tv-movies-11641830501

Over the years, I have kept an eye out for vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre watches that I find special. Some I have bought for myself and others, I have found for friends and clients and only enjoyed for a short period. The Memovox reference E 850 is one of those that references that simply does not materialize. While collectors loathe to hear the term, it is a “rare” reference! Even grail Jaeger-LeCoultre models like the Deep Sea Alarm reference E 857 seem to show up more frequently. Yet the E 850 always remained too difficult to locate.

In recent months, I parted with an exceptional Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox reference E 855 on Gay Frères bracelet. It was one of the best examples, but I had not been wearing it. I would eventually find a new vintage JLC, but had not really been hunting one. The day before Christmas of 2025, Eric handed me a hardshell Rolex shipping box and stated “I don’t want to live in a world where Charlie Dunne doesn't own a JLC!”

I opened the box and inside contained that incredible Memovox reference E 850 Eric had in his collection all these years. He wore it only a handful of times since I had begun working with him, so seeing it in hand was a shock. It was paired on a 1950s Gay Frères stretch rivet bracelet. It was a great pairing for the watch being that it was technically a water-resistant case and much nicer than the one it was found on (that ended up in the trash)! I held the watch for a few minutes excitingly when Eric signaled to the case back. It was engraved: “God, JLC, and Charlie Dunne - In that order!”