The Best of The Best: An American Market LeCoultre with Fancy Lugs

In our recent ‘Best of The Best’ articles, we highlighted some watches that were unobtainable to most collectors. This watch might be the same - although not due to its price point. It is a more humble-priced timepiece I first saw in 2021, a special American-market LeCoultre watch unlike any example I had seen. This LeCoultre sold for a mere fraction of the price of an Audemars Piguet reference 5516 or a Pink-On-Pink Patek Philippe Reference 1518. While the likelihood of finding another example like the 5516 and 1518 are slim, this LeCoultre may be just as rare.

I first saw this watch years back when visiting Eric Wind, and at the time any Jaeger-LeCoultre timepiece was somewhat of an obsession. To this day, I have only seen one other mention of this specific watch - an IG post from a Christie’s New York auction in 2002. Although it is the same style, I am not certain it is the same watch.

The Dial

The dial the first detail I was enamored with. It is made by Fabrique de Cadran Stern Frères. The watch features an attractive numeral style found on models such as the Rolex Padellone, as well as various Patek Philippe and Movado models. The “LeCoultre” branding is displayed in a cartouche above a vertical grooved section of an engine-turned guilloche. The sixty minute markers are drilled into the white track. One of the very cool aspects to the watch is the gold colored barley guilloche, or grain d'orge on the exterior of the dial.

It is very similar to those seen in Markowski Patek Philippe models such as the reference 2549, and reference 2550 which are exceedingly rare. Oftentimes, collectors will DM Roni Madvani asking “HOW MUCH?!?!” to buy his these radical Pateks only to get a snarky response on his IQ stories which is quite funny to watch. These are most likely his most prized references in his collection, so it is quite enjoyable to watch him hold the watches with the grip of death amongst daily inquires. To the best of my knowledge, no-one has ever successfully purchased a watch from him with this approach.

This LeCoultre is certainly not an everyday watch and I’d argue it is more of a novelty timepiece than one I would be wearing frequently. These types of watches that are just so beautiful from an object or art perspective that you cannot help but to want to own. Wearing a watch like this is much different to wearing a classic Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox reference E 855 or Memovox reference E 850. These models are from the same period, but much stronger cases construction with the screw-down rings on the back.

Extract

The Extract from the Archives mentions the “model [was] intended exclusively for the U.S. market” and that the production date is 1953. Presumably this is the date of the movement’s production and the casing would have likely occurred sometime after, or in the following years. No reference number is mentioned which is common for U.S. LeCoultre models and to the best of my research none exists. It is possible that one day a catalog or advertisement will surface lending insight to a “nickname” for the model or and additional context.

Calibre 480

The watch is powered by the calibre 480 - a manual wind LeCoultre movement which is pretty straightforward. These can be found in various time-only models from the era.

Similar LeCoultre Models

Jaeger-LeCoultre were making a wide variety of timepieces during this era. The American market models were more daring and these elaborate case designs were often oriented for the United States. The case styles for the European watches were certainly more traditional 1950s-1960s and began to get more experimental during the late 1960s-1970s. One interesting style watch belonged to James Dean who owned a LeCoultre wristwatch with the similar “Padellone” style numerals and black guilloche. Throughout the 1950s, many of the American models like the Futurematic and Memovox (Wrist Alarm) featured the fany lugs.

The Case

The case is a snapback design with a round body measuring at 30.5mm in diameter. It features “fancy” lugs incorporating what appears to be an inlaid enamel or resin with the Ancient Greek meander design. Each lug protrudes outward from the case. With consideration to the lug-to-lug measurement, it is 39mm at the longest section. The crown is unsigned. The case was produced by DiVincenzo & Arienti - a New York based case manufacturer that produced watches for the likes of LeCoultre, Hamilton, Longines and others. Their case designs are quite extravagant at times. You will notice the initials D&A on their cases.

Over the years I have continued to obsess over Jaeger-LeCoultre watches. It is not often that I cite American market models as my favorites (with exception to LeCoultre Polaris reference E859). This watch is truly an outlier. It is one of the most incredibly designs from the manufacturer and I have yet to see another. I’ve always been amazed at the dial and outlandish case design. It is truly one of the best LeCoultre watches I have seen - and I doubt I will come across another anytime soon.