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The watches we wear


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Ok, haven't been here for a while, thought I'd start a new topic.

Simply post a picture of the watch, or watches that you wear or own. It could be your regular beater or your holy grail piece. I'll start with one of mine.

Presenting my "Holy Grail" piece, a Jaeger-LeCoultre Futurematic, cailbre 497, circa 1953.

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This was made for the American market, hence it being branded as "LeCoultre". It was dubbed the world's first fully automatic watch. There was no winding crown to wind the watch or set the time, instead a sliding disc with "SLIDE DO NOT LIFT" engraved on it was on the back of the watch case. You slid it in to set the time and slid it out when finished. There is a power reserve indicator on the dial of the watch which gives a rough indication of how much reserve power is left on the watch. When the watch goes to the red, it will stop (a perfect example should go all the way to 0), but the design of the watch was as such that it still had reserve power in it even when stopped. So in a pristine model, when one simply gets the watch and slightly moves it about (simulating the movement of your hand) it will tick again. Assuming that one is wearing such a watch for most of the day, the Futurematic will always function with it's fully automatic winding. Even if not worn for a long time, the watch can simply be set to the right time and tick with the slight movement of your wrist.

It has been said that the Jaeger-LeCoultre company was producing these watches at a loss, given their complex design and the amount of money which went to engineering and research, only about 10,000 of these in calibre 497 and 817 combined were produced by 1960. Also, the 10k Gold filled process was not exactly cheap either.

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Mine is certainly not perfect, but it's a nice vintage piece, even if it's not my most expensive watch in my collection.

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This is similar to what I wear, a Citizen Eco-Drive. Love it since I never have to change the battery. My last one lasted over 10 years before it stopped "charging."

Ditto

No battery, kinetic charging....Here's mine...

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  • 2 weeks later...

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This is similar to what I wear, a Citizen Eco-Drive. Love it since I never have to change the battery. My last one lasted over 10 years before it stopped "charging."

Ya know, a Timex lasts just as long nowadays, & @ only a fraction of the price of one of those.

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  • 3 weeks later...

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