Jaeger-LeCoultre

Duometre,a continuos love affair.

 

 

 

 

Ever since I saw a picture of the Duometre a Chronograph in a magazine whilst having breakfast in Stockholm,it was love,I knew  that that will be a watch I will own.The layout was so captivating a modern classic,so fresh and clean and at the same time already timeless.I ripped that page and kept it in my wallet for months.I remember its release was delayed,but when I managed to see one in metal,it was love at first sight.

 

My love never diminished,actually I still appreciate the fantastic feeling that the rose gold grained white dial beauty gives me anytime I wear it.

Than the Duometre line developed and the Quantieme Lunaire came out,another blow to my stomach....just before though a certain black version of the Chrono appeared and I was so taken by it that I toyed with the idea of having 2 Chronos so much I loved that version.....The watch Gods looked down and inspired JLC top release the QL in the same version...i couldn t pass...I had to have the pair...

I always said that if I was threatened to just keep one watch of my collection due to a fire,even though heartbreaking,I would ultimately choose the Duo,it is JLC all around and what a concept! what a movement!.
I wont elaborate on the tech feature of the Duo line as it has been analyzed many times before,here I just want to deliver a pictorial comparison with a few personal notes.
here we go......

FRONT
The Duometre layout is just a graphic/balance success,a few other watches captivated me at first sight like this......2 sub dials,central sweeping hand(s),beautiful elegant power reserve indicators for each"brain" and the main ballet dancer:the fudroyante.What an harmony,fantastic smooth clear layout.Whats not to love.....

 

The blue hands on the RG Chrono are just to die for,classic,contemporary,beautiful.....So easy to read,gold hands all bout the time reading,blue hands all about the chrono....
The grained dial suits the warmth of the case so much,even though sporty as a concept (chrono),a king of elegance despite the 42mm size.

The chrono sub dial is a watch in itself(one watch 2 brains...)just beautiful use of tiny blue hands,fantastic legibility,I love the additional minute counter.....There is so much to discover every time....Did I mention I love it?

 

On the QL in WG the black lightly textured dial suits the colder case colour so well,it gives a more "sporty appeal" even though it dresses up so well with a black suit.....just exquisite.

The time sub dial is moved to the right making the reading under the shirt cuff more comfortable,still a mighty sweeping second and a fantastic lighting second companion....The matt smooth finish on the dial(like the previous one on the Chrono)together with the anti reflective coating,creates a ballet of different hues of black...from slate grey to sheer darkness through a cosmic hints of blues....

from this
pic you can see how in certain light the dial looks gray and textured,so elegant

Than black again...

 

The Lunar calendar sub dial is a feast of beauty..the blue moon is just sublime against the black sky.It seems that the first grained more textured moon disc I saw on the proto was replaced by a more glossy finish,much much better.The only point is the golden date hand that stands out too much here,it made sense on the Chrono black version as there were 2 different functions with multiple hands that needed to be differentiated from each other,here I would have preferred a white metal hand,that s my only regret on the dial.

 

2 watches that clearly belong to the same line but yet so different from each other,different feelings,both stunning!

The power reserves on both are just so elegant,easy to read and a beauty to watch whilst winding....One note:whilst the only power reserve that needs winding is the time one on the Chrono(unless you use the chrono function a lot),both need constant winding on the QL as one barrel feeds the time and lunar calendar,the other feeds the escapement for chronometric reasons so they both wind down constantly...different wearing experience from one to the other...well double pleasure to wind!Thanks to the Duometre great winding system clockwise/anticlockwise..genius!

Movement:
Cal380 and cal 381,just beautiful architecture.I love the use of German silver and the decor.Note the 2 different direction of  cote de Geneve decoration on the bridges on the cal 381.Some argue about the finish on the Duometres but this is not Lange nor Vacheron(which are different from each other anyway),I find the finish very JLC,just appropriate for a JLC watch of this caliber.

A feast of blued screws and rubies.....

 

 

 

The case:

The Duometre case is one of the most appealing cases of modern horology,despite its size,the watch is wearable and comfortable even on small wrists like mine.The brushed and polished finish on the case creates a nice harmonic change of feel and look.

The lugs are beautiful and appropriate for such a watch.

I love the fact that the big pusher has been moved to the other side on the QL,it makes it even more special to own such a symmetric duo.

 

Buckle:
My big big regret with JLC  is that the WG QL is the first duometre without a deployante.I find this very disturbing and a bit of a faux pas from JLC,there was no need to remove the deployante,despite the fact that the tang buckle is very nice ,I feel kind of shortchanged here.At least they should have offered the alternative of choosing the deployante or the tang buckle.This was a very cheap move from JLC.Nevertheless the tang buckle is very comfortable and its retro style is very appealing.

 

 

 final thoughts:
2 watches that clearly share a lot of the same DNA,very similar in concept and look,especially if of the same metal version.If you scratch the surface though the 2 brothers are very very different,the chrono is more immediate and easy to understand,its clever and clear,and appealing to many for its very popular complication,the QL is more intellectual and requires a bit of thinking and knowledge to be fully appreciated.
It took me a little to make sense of the QL,especially because of the erratic constant fudroyante opposed to the slow passing of the moon,in a way it seemed to be a big contradiction.
But if you submerge yourself in the Duometre world this contradiction will slowly fade as you understand the idea and concept not only of the watch but the philosophy behind the Duometre line.
2 brain 1 watch,2 different functions in 1 timepiece,working independently but in harmony within the same case.
Thank you JLC for coming up with this exciting line and thank you to have made me happy and proud to be part of the Duometre world.
Hope you enjoyed.
Mo

 

This message has been edited by moc on 2011-10-24 14:19:51

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