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amanico
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Master 8 Days Perpetual Calendar Skeleton, an in Depth Review of a piece of Art

I'm very happy to introduce my new piece to you, a true piece of Art, the Master 8 Days Perpetual Calendar Skeleton.

All began at the 2007 SIHH, with the launch of some extrardinary watches, as the Extrem Lab, the Duo Metre, the Diving GMT, Chrono and Pro Geo, and ...last but not least, this very special Perpetual Calendar.



As I wrote in a previous post, JLC worked from another great watch, the 8 Days Perpetual A. Lecoultre in platinum, a piece released in 2005, and its fabulous movement, the Cal 876.



If you want to know more about the Antoine Lecoultre Perpetual, here's the review I made about it and some other JLC Perpetual Calendars:

jlc.watchprosite.com

So, in 2007, at the Geneva fair, JLC presented me first the Star of the Year, the Extrem Lab, then the Duo Metre, and ended by showing me this Perpetual Calendar Skeleton.

It was a big emotion, for sure...I took a maximum of pics of the Beauty, macros, too, and began to think, to dream about it, and to analyze it...

At the end of this processus, I ended by buying it, a bit for the same reasons I went on the MMR, for its unbelievable beauty, and its high and impressive finish, and because I honestly think that this special Perpetual Calendar is at the level of the MMR.

1/ This is a piece made, conceived without compromises...

2 months ( !!! ) are necessary to work on the finish of a movement like this one.

The obsession of the details and of the finish is at this price.

JLC chose the motif of the planishere to conceive this Skeleton, a well known motif, as JLC used it in the past for the decoration and the symbol of another greatissime Cult Watch, the Géophysic.



So the mainplates of the movement and of the dial are conceived, designed following this special shape:

Here, the mainplate of the case back:



Housing the movement ( case back side ):



And here dial side:



Please note that these pics were taken during the SIHH in awfully light conditions and on a not finished movement.

Here's a pic taken in better light conditions, showing the very high level of finish:



You will note with this last pic a gorgeous detail...The Latitude and the Longitude lines are ALL concentrating or focusing from an unique point, the Balance!

All the components of this movement contribute to the form of the planisphere, are designed in harmony with this special shape.

So you'll understand that all the parts of this movement were severly conceived, and realised, without compromise on the quality and the finish...

- The Screws are nickel plated,instead of being heat blued.



- The Gear Wheels are nickel plated too, and rhodium finished.



- Sunburst decorative motif on some pieces, like the hour wheel, and the ratchet wheel.



- The covers of the 2 Barrels of the 8 Days Power Reserve are open worked to be designed as a star, which is also perfectly finished.





- The plates and the mainplates are all ruthenium treated, as the ring, which looks aerian, like detached from the rest of the dial and the bezel.



- The applied numerals and indexes are made in white gold.



Indeed, all these sophistications contribute to achieve the impression of looking at, not to say...admiring a Masterpiece!

2/ A piece of Defy: The fine Art of the skeleton, applied to a Perpetual Calendar.

The Defy is to make it in a quite legible way, of course, but also to design it in a nice and not too busy way.

By the way, the problem of the legibility and of a busy design can be noticed on a lot of " normal ", I mean not skeleton PCs...

But on a skeleton pc, it may be even harder to read the informations about the date.

So, yes, this is a true Defy, as the other problem is to not touch the transparency and to to ruin the complex design of the skeleton with the perpetual calendar datas...

JLC opted for an elegant and original solution, as they use transparent discs to provide the informations offered by a complete Perpetual Calendar, and I may add ...a complete Perpetual Calendar, like the Day, the Date, the Month, the Year, the Moonphase, and, cherry on the cake, the 8 days Power Reserve indicator, and the " Danger Zone " symbolized by a Night and Day information, to avoid any change of the date between 9 PM and 3 AM.









Despite these impressive and complete informations, the Perpetual Calendar datas are legible...





JLC used the technic of the contrast to gain in legibility, with a lighter zone on which the transparent discs move on, and even thought at the hands, which are also skeleton!

Well, to be honest, reading the date in a glance is not evident, but is it possible with any Perpetual Calendar?

3/ General Thoughts and Datas.

This Perpetual Calendar is a high investment ...of quality, pleasure and satisfaction.

The proportions are ideal with a nice big / thick ratio...41,5mm / 11, 8 mm.

The first thing which " jumps to the eyes " is the Quality and the Harmony of the whole watch.

- Quality, it's evident!

The Sapphire Case Back is Glare Proof, which let show the magnificient work on the movement.





The play of light, the shadows, the different levels and relief of this sculpture gives life to the movement, and are making it really captivating.

As for the dial, it's the same..The Sapphire is also glare proof, the skeleton work is awesome, and gives a superb result, in conjunction with the dispaching of all the datas of the Perpetual Calendar.

The impressive sum of infos of the Calendar is not disturbing the Artistic Esthetic of the rest of the dial, in a total symmetry.







Look at the disposition of the 8 Days Indicator, The Night and day, the Moonphase, Date, Day and Months, all is geometrically located.

I appreciate a lot the use of transparent disks to provide these informations, as it contributes to the transparency of the whole dial, and it doesn't add another color.

So, you have a nice combo of grey tonalities, which gives a lot of class, and enhances the sensation of quality, IMO.

- Quality, but also Harmony:

As I wrote it, the proportions are ideal.

The thickness and the size are well thought on such a Jewel.

You can examine under all the angles, nothing is shocking, nothing disturbs the great appreciation you have of this watch...

Majestuous:





Class, Dressy and Elegant:



Under this angle, you'll see the only pusher which is used for the date correction.

This solution is friendly, and elegant.



Friendly, because on most of the Perpetuals, you have 4 pushers, which are not coordinated.

This is a complex duty when you have to reset it.

Here, all is coordinated.

You will laught, but to avoid scrathces, I don't use the metal tool provided with the watch, but a wooden clean dent...

Try to use the pusher 90 times to set the date, and we'll see if you won't have problems with the tool sliding on the case...

There is even more simple and friendly with the IWC system, which set the date by the crown, that's true.



You have an even better and more elaborated solution with the U.N Perpetual Calendar, which is, AFAIK, the only one to be set backwards and forwards...



But, with the pusher solution, one is more firendly and more elegant.

4 pushers take a bit of the purity of the case, IMO.

Aerian, too:

Look at " 6 ", and " 3 "...

You will see the transparency of the skeleton, its lightness, its subtility...

Another awesome point!



Harmony and coherence, because when you think about creating such a jewel, you have to make some esthetical choices, and the case of the Master in this size is the perfect one.

On the previous pics, you could see the nice curves of the case and lugs, the great proportions, the quite sensual design of the whole watch.

Should it be the same with a bigger case, like the one of the MMR?

The MMR is a concept watch, for me.

So, a big and quite thick case is correct, IMO.

I put these 2 watches side by side and tried to take some decent pics, which is ver difficult, a the MMR doesn't have an a glare proof sapphire, and the settings of the camera can't be adjusted when taking pics of both watches...

I tried to do my best, and here are the pics.

The interest of these pics is that it answers to a persistant question:

Are these watches similar?

NO!

If both are pieces of Art, As I previously said, the MMR is a Concept Watch, when the Perpetual Skeleton is more a Jewel.

In one siede, we have the Tradition ( Perpetual ), in another side, we have the Innovation ( MMR ).











A smaller case is more appropriate to a Jewel, a bigger is nicer for a Concept Watch, IMO.

These pics also bring another demonstration:

There is a big difference between an open dial ( The MMR ) and a skeleton dial ( the Perpetual ).

The work, the time needed are not the same.

All is reworked, on a skeleton...I mean the mainplates, the plates, and all the other elements, while the open dial shows a nice work and finish, but is less hancrafted...

To enhance the beauty of this watch, I chose to change the strap...

The strap which naturally comes with this Perpetual is a grey one, very similar to the one of the MMR.

On the titanium MMR, this is a nice choice, because of the light grey case ( even if the titanium is polished, and has a lookalike SS case, the metal is a bit grey ).

The platinum is the whiter metal.

I found it nicer to put a navy blue crocodile strap, as JLC did for other platinum watches, as the 70eme, for example.

It contrasts nicely with the case, and the light grey ruthenium dial, and even gives some warmth!



As we speak of combos, you know that this year, JLC released another version of the skeleton Perpetual, the Rose Gold one.

While the Platinum is limited to 100 pieces, the Rose gold is also limited, to celebrate the 175th Anniversary of the Manufacture, to 175 pieces.

I have to see it again in the flesh, bit it seems that the skeleton movement is a bit darker than on the platinum version, which is very nice, as the Dark Skeleton is contrasting very well with the Rose Gold Case.

Some said that this last Edition was more legible.

I'm not sure of that observation about the informations of the Calendar,even if the Hour seems more easy to read due to the contrast of the Rose Gold Hands / Dark skeleton.

Here are the few pics I have of the 1833 Limited Edition, to allow each of you to make your mind on this point...







Sorry for the poor pics, but the light and the crowd at the SIHH were terrific...

The strap that comes with the watch is a Brown Crocodile, and the buckle is in rose Gold, which is better than the platinum version.

Better because, and this is really the weak point of this watch, the platinum version comes with a ..White Gold Buckle, while we should expect a platinum buckle on such a watch.

That is a reccurent problem on which JLC does have to work, as a watch is not only a movement, a case, and a dial, but also a strap and a buckle.

Wearing this watch is a pure pleasure, as the density of the platinum contributes to the pleasure of the wearer, the dimensions are obviously perfect and allow to use it in a dressy way, but also when in more casual occasions.





So, to bring an end to this In Depht Review, I'd say that this Perpetual Calendar Skeleton is a very fine example of the Talentuous JLC Craftmanship, even if some details as the strap and the buckle are, once again, still to be improved.

JLC brought the demonstration that a Perpetual Calendar can also be an occasion to magnify Horology, and to reach the status of Art wqith a Time keeper which could be considered, IMO, as a Reference, in terms of Finish and Design.

In the last four years, JLC released some other exceptional Masterpieces like the Gyro I and II, the Reverso Tourbillon skeleton, the Duo Metre, and some others...

The next SIHH is now very close...

I just can't wait to see what JLC will offer to us, and how our insatiable curiosity will be fed!

With Admiration,

Nicolas
This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2008-09-15 15:13:23 This message has been edited by Dje on 2008-09-18 22:20:37

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