Jaeger-LeCoultre

The Duometre à Quantiéme Lunaire was first unveiled in 2010, in two versions:

- Rose Gold, unlimited:

- Yellow Gold, limited to 300 pièces:

42 mm case, open dial at each side of the lower part of the dial, a permanent jumping 1/6th small second and a central second, both stopping and resetting to zero " à la demande " ( ! )

The Duometre à Quantième Lunaire has a specificity: While on the other Duometres,  one barrel is dedicated to the Time, the other is used to feed the complication in energy, on the " Q.L ", one barrel feeds the Time, the Date and the Quantiéme Lunaire, while the second is dedicated to the balance wheel to insure that the time and the complications will not pollute the amplitude of the movement, the Cal 381, which is, as you already know, a nicely finished manual movement, beating at 21 600 alternances per hour, made of 367 parts and 40 jewels, with a generous diameter of 33, 70 mm and a reasonable height of 7, 25 mm.

This is the concept of the Quantième Lunaire: The quest for accuracy and regularity, while it seems to me that the moonphase is not the most important part of the Watch.

In 2011, JLC offered a cool version of the Quantième Lunaire, in white gold, and a gorgeous  plain black dial

In 2012, JLC came back with a smaller case ( 40, 5 mm ), in rose gold, not limited, with a plain dial, grained and a slightly different case back:

 

Till now, my favourite Quantième Lunaire was, without any doubt, the white gold black dial version. First of all, I am not fan of these partially open dials, then colored gold is not my cup of tea, and last but not least, it is, in my opinion and according to my personal tastes, the coolest " Q.L ". Strong, but elegant.

Till now...

Indeed, JLC comes back with a very strong version of the Q.L: The 40, 5 mm, white gold case, and... Enamel Grand Feu dial!

If the white gold 42 mm black dial is the epitome of coolness, this new iteration is playing a most dressy card, and should I say it, the enamel dial enhances the classic- vintage- character of the Duometre.

The dial is difficult to describe, the words which immediately come tb my mind being silky, milky, suave, delicate, sensual, warm, absolutely not cold, but in the same time understated and hyper elegant, with a nice retro touch.

The discrete red accents ( losange indexes each 5 minutes, Date " 31 ", markers under 3 / 6 / 9 / 12 in the time subdial ), and the heated blue hand of the date echoing to the blue sky of the moonphase are undiputably enhancing the charm of this Duometre.

The Grand Feu enamelling technique  is as challenging as it is demanding: You have to deal with firing several layers of enamel, on the white gold dial, at circa 800° C, which requires a great mastery.

Then,  the surface of the enamel is polished, which is a dangerous operation as you may risk to draw lines on it, then to damage it.

Jaeger- Lecoultre told me that they didn't have too much waste in the internal production of their dials.

The moopnhase is different from what we used to see on the former " Q.L ": Here, the blue of the sky is laquered, while the moon is made of brass, then diamond-tipped, then covered with gold.

It is time for some pictures, don't you think?

The press release photo:

A close up of the dial:

 

And now, my live pictures:

 

 

 

 

Without forgetting that the movement is also worth a look:

A small reminder on how it works: The crown is used to Wind the Watch and to set the time, the pusher is dedicated to the date, and the corrector adjusts the moonphase.

One very small reserve, though. I would have preferred to see this version adopting the 42 mm case, but I doubt a bit, to say all, as a smaller case serves the elegance and dressy character of the QL better, when it comes with such a dial.

So, I am not sure, at the end, it is a reserve.

A last word, or good detail, this Watch is not a  limited edition, but due to the complexity of the dial, my guess is that the production numbers will be very short, enamel dials being incompatible with massive production.

Looking forward to reading your comments and thoughts,

Best,

Nicolas.

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