Jaeger-LeCoultre

amanico
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The Funky Times.

Here, we are somewhere between the end of the Sixities ( 1968 ) and the Seventies.

This was the end of the Cal 825 Life, which was used in an awesome Memovox, the Ref E E 861 which becomes the Ref E 873 when the same watch will be " motorised " by the Cal 916.

The E 861 was in production from 1969 to 1971 and produced in 3150 pieces.

- The E 861 ( 1970 ).





The shape of the case is somewhere between the round and the ovale, curious, but not unpleasant at all, once you get used to it.

Then came, in 1969, and for more than 10 years, a totally new movement, based on a different concept.

It is the end of the bumper automatic movement, and the reign of the full rotor could start.

It has a bi directional rotor, beating at 28 800 vibrations per hour, with the same power reserve for the time and the Alarm ( respectively 45 hours and 20 seconds ).

Still, no quick set of the date, but a real modern movement.

The Cal 916:



Here are these watches housing the Cal 916.

- E 877, so called Snowdrop.

The Black Dial:





The Blue Dial:





While both the blue and the black dial share the same one piece round case, bezel, crowns and case back, they are really different.

Not only the color, but also the whole design of the dial make these watches looking very different.

The funny thing is that you fix narrow 20 mm large the strap under the case back, where the very short lugs ( do we still have to call them lugs, by the way? ) are hidden.

The narrow strap is not compromising the round shape of the case, it magnifies it.

Funny and Funky.

- The E 871 and 872, so called TV Screen.

It is not only, as we could think at a first and quick glimpse, a matter of bezel ( the E 872 doesn't have bezel, by the way ), it is also a matter of shape of the case.

On the E 872, the case is longer, while it is more squared on the E 871.

The E 871 came with 2 different colors, too:

Ruthenium / orange:





The 2d Chromatic variation ( White silver / Blue ) :





Interestingly, this last model comes with its box and papers, which is the opportunity to precise that the boxes for the Vintage Memovoxes were blue for the Sixties, and became brown from 1968/69 till the end of the Seventies.



The E 871 was in the catalog from 1970 to 1978, and 4940 pieces were produces, both colors included, while the E 872 had a 4 years life ( 1970 - 1974 ) for 3543 pieces made.

Here are some pictures of the E 872, which came in different colors:









- A bit less funky, the Ref E 876 has to be mentionned. Here, no snowdrop, no TV screen, no eggshell, but a cushion shaped case:





2545 E 876 were made between 1971 and 1975.

The example shown above kept its original blue dial, while some others faded to ... brown, curiously.

- At this time, there was also some place for more conventionnal cases, I mean round one, with no exhuberant dials, and reasonnably sized at 37 mm. It is now time to end this chapter with the E 875, which, once again, came with different dials:

White:





Blue:





And the very popular blue and white:



For all these variations, only the color of the dial is concerned.

Indeed, all the other details are shared for this reference:

JL Logo at 9, applied indexes ( Ebene for the white, though ), baton hands.

The E 875 was quite massively produced during its 9 years life ( 1972 - 1981 ), as 7331 watches were made, all dials included.

The final advice would be to NOT JUDGE these funky watches before seeing them in the flesh, as they are not really photogenic, but very charmful.

All an era!

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