I am offering for sale a beautiful Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox GT (GT = grande taille = oversize) ref. E861 dresswatch with alarm function, powered by the automatic bumper cal. 825 (cf. http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&&2uswk&LeCoultre_825). The watch in original condition comes from the family of the late owner where it remained stored in a safe for almost 30 years. The movement just underwent a full service at my local watchmaker.

Case: The distinctive almost oval stainless steel case is in great condition and shows a perfect brushing pattern, there are no dents or serious scratches whatsoever - the only noteworthy yet tiny mark on the case is on the left side under the bezel around the 9 o'clock position (cf. picture no. 6). The case looks so perfect that I really can’t say if it possibly has been refreshed at some point in time. (I am just mentioning this as a sort of a disclaimer as usually you hardly find worn watches from the late 60s in such a condition.) The bezel was just cleaned from slight staining and still has a razor sharp edge. There are some minor scratches on the caseback from storage and previous opening attempts. Both crowns are original bearing the JLC signature.

Dial and hands: The silver dial with applied markers and black alarm ring is just spectacular. There is absolutely no blemishes and all imprints are in perfect condition – just have a close look at the fine manufacturer’s logo. All tritium lume dots are present and have turned to a stunning creamy/vanilla colour. The hands are in great condition as well and have the typical rather greenish lume applied as can be found on original examples of that model (hence, I have very good reason to believe that this is their original configuration).

Crystal: The plexiglass (acrylic) crystal is scratch-free and has a very sharp edge without any chips.

Movement: The iconic cal. 825 is a direct successor of cal. 815, the first automatic alarm movement used in the famous JLC Deep Sea Alarm (amongst others), adding a useful date complication. It is a co-called bumper movement whose winding system actually can be felt in a characteristic and pleasant way when wearing the watch on your wrist. The movement was just professionally and fully serviced, hence it’s keeping perfectly time and the hammer-based alarm as well as date mechanism work as they should (date progresses between 11pm and 2am). An invoice from a reputable watchmaker in Vienna, Austria, is included as a proof and constitutes a one year guarantee. The movement is signed with “Jaeger-LeCoultre” just as the dial which is an important match to emphasize the originality of that particular piece.

Strap and accessories: I am selling the watch with its original JLC-signed black leather strap (73/112mm). The strap itself was cleaned and treated with a leather care product and is in good condition but has some cracks at the lug ends (see pictures). I am pretty sure that it can be repaired with the help of an additional thin layer of leather on its backside or, more roughly, simply with the help of some adhesive but will leave this repair up to the new owner and his craftsman talent (which I simply don’t have). Maybe even more importantly, the watch comes also with the original JLC-branded stainless steel pin buckle (14mm inner width). Currently, there is no original steel bracelet to this watch (as it was bought and worn with the leather strap) but I will also add a simple and worn (non-original) NSA-style steel bracelet (total maximum length of 147mm, i.e. rather short!) so the new owner can test to wear it that way and decide if he consequently wants to source an original one in addition. (The genuine steel bracelets of those watches were in the same design and manufactured by NSA/Novavit.) There are no boxes or papers, the watch will be sent in a neutral travel case.

Here’s summed up the main parameters:
-) Size: 38mm wide without crowns, approx. 40mm wide incl. crowns
-) Lug-to-lug: approx. 42mm
-) Height: approx. 12mm
-) Lug width: 18mm
-) Movement: Jaeger-LeCoultre-signed automatic cal. 825, 17 Jewels, 18.000bpH
-) Movement no.: 2.050.XXX
-) Case no.: 1 245 XXX (very close to the Hodinkee example mentioned below)
-) Crystal: plexiglass
-) Strap/bracelet: original JLC-signed black leather strap as well as original JLC-signed stainless steel buckle plus (as an add-on) a generic stainless steel bracelet matching the design of the original NSA-style

Price: I am offering this vintage gem for EUR 2.300,- plus shipping. The watch is located in Austria (EU) and so am I. I do have plenty of international references from various watch enthusiasts (also known here), so please feel free to ask for them. Possibly, I also might be tempted to do a barter transaction if you prefer to trade in some nice and high-quality vintage piece in excellent condition (Heuer, Omega etc.).

I am selling this watch as a private collector. Therefore, it comes without any personal guarantee given by me. (This does not restrict the watchmaker’s guarantee for the movement service performed, of course.) However, I am offering to give a full refund less fully insured shipping expenses in case the watch would not be as described by me (within an inspection period of three days and to buyers from within the EU only due to the complex customs procedure in case of an overseas deal).

By the way, an identical watch – yet without original strap/buckle and (to my knowledge) without service proof – was recently offered in the Hodinkee webshop (see here for comparison: http://shop.hodinkee.com/products/1960s-jaeger-lecoultre-automatic-memovox-gt?variant=21427706116) and sold immediately so here’s a great second chance for those who missed that opportunity ;-)

Eventually, here are the pictures made just a few days ago (sorry for the remaining dust!):

Kind regards,
F.Antl