Jaeger LeCoultre Master Reserve de Marche

Review by Ludwig

Summary

• The Hunt:

  I was just beginning my watch-collecting journey, and I decided that I "needed" a nice casual stainless steel dress watch. Something that would hold up to everyday wear to work, but that would also dress up nicely for more formal occasions. After some thought, I also decided that I wanted it to have a complication of some sort. But one that didn't make the watch too fussy - no repeaters, tourbillons, perpetuals, or chronoraphs.

  My decision here was pretty easy - there aren't many watches fitting this bill in stainless steel. I had been reading up on the Jaeger Master Control series in their wonderful hardbound catalog, and was already looking favourably upon their products. I also came across Aran's nice review of the watch here on the TimeZone Archives, which helped firm up my thinking. The Reserve de Marche sure looked like it met my requirements. Simple, elegant-looking, not flashy, robust, and not too expensive.

  I quickly found one, at a good price, from a local dealer, and lived happily ever after. If only its relatives didn't keep showing up at my house unannounced...

  
  
• Am I still happy?

  Extremely so. This is one of the most accurate mechanical watches I own. It is very versatile, being suitable for dressy or casual wear. I have several straps for it now so that I can tailor its appearance to the occasion. The quiet, understated elegance of this watch never ceases to please me. It is very comfortable to wear. It has functioned flawlessly since I got it. A keeper.

  
  
• Would I buy it again?

  Absolutely. I originally purchased this in stainless steel, for robustness, but now that I have a larger selection of stainless watches in my collection for everyday wear, I'd strongly consider getting the RDM in rose gold this time, as I think it is the snazziest-looking version.

Specifications

• Movement:
  The movement is the Jaeger Calibre 928, from 1993. This movement is based on the the JLC 889/1 movement, with a power reserve complication added. It is a 28,800 bph autowinding movement, 26mm in diameter, 4.85mm high. It has 43 jewels, and 256 parts. Kif shock protection, glucydur balance. Gold ball bearing central rotor. Movement hacks. Circular-grain finish on plates, and Cotes de Geneve of bridges and rotor. Flat hairspring with fine adjustment using micrometer. The movement has been adjusted for 6 positions. Like all members of the JLC Master Control series, it has been subjected (as a completely finished watch) to 1000 hours of rigourous reliability testing in 6 positions, over a temperature range of 4->40 Celsius. Testing includes magnetism (5000 amperes/meter), shock, vibration, and pressure (5 atm) tests. Each watch has been signed and dated by the responsible watchmaker. Movement hacks. ~38 hour power reserve.
• Functions:
  • Hours, minutes, small seconds on recessed subdial.
  • Date on separate recessed subdial, with blued hand.
  • Power reserve on separate recessed partial subdial, with blued hand.
  • One pusher, which adjusts date.
  
  
• Case:
  Stainless steel. Diameter 37.2mm, height 10.1mm. Single date correction pusher. Slightly domed sapphire crystal. Water resistant to 5 atm. Caseback is solid, and attached to the case with 4 screws. Center of caseback contains inlaid gold "Master Control" medallion. Excellent finishing on the case. Also available in rose gold, and w/bracelet. Ref. # 140.840.932B
  
  
• Strap:
  Nicely padded brown ostrich, with signed JLC stainless steel deployant clasp. This is the watch that sold me on deployant clasps for strap watches. The JLC clasp closes firmly, and is very comfortable to wear.
  
  
• Dial and hands:
  Silver-colored dial. The seconds, date, and power reserve subdials have a subtly-contrasting finish. Hour positions are marked with tritium dots, steel triangular daggers and applied arabic numbers at 9 and 12 o 'clock. Minute tick marks. JLC signature below 12 o'clock position. The hands are steel dauphine-style, with small tritium inlays. The small seconds hand, the power reserve and date hands are blued, and are nicely visible. The small seconds dial only has markers every 15 seconds.
  
  
• Warranty:
  1 year, extended to 2 years if you send in the registration card.
  
  
• Price: $4,800 U.S. list price

Impressions

• Pros:
  • Accuracy: The RDM is running +1 seconds per day, and has been since the day I got it. I have been wearing it during the day, and storing it on an MTE-4 winder at night.
  • Appearance and finish: The overall appearance of the watch is very classic, and pleasing to the eye. The polishing on the dial and case are awesome. The dial assumes a variety of different metallic colors, depending on the lighting conditions. With a JLC black crocodile strap fitted, this makes an incredibly understated dress watch. With the ostrich strap, it is a nice sporty-looking piece for casual wear.
  • Durability: I have worn this frequently as my daily work watch without paying it any special attention, and it has held up just fine.
  • Winding - this puppy winds like you wouldn't believe. With normal wear, mine seems to wind from mostly-down to fully-up in an hour or so. It also makes a pleasing zippy sound while doing so.
  • Value - for a "reasonable" price you get an accurate, classic-looking watch, a significant and useful complication, and an excellent in-house movement in a nice robust SS case.
  
  
• Cons:
  • This watch sold me on the JLC Master Control line, and eventually caused me to purchase some of its friends. Fortunately, I am a vegetarian, and already subsist on a diet of rice and beans :-)

Manufacturer's Info

• Name: Jaeger LeCoultre
• Address: Jaeger-LeCoultre Inc. USA, P.O. Box 1608, 188 Brook Road, Winchester, VA 22603
• Phone: 540-665-0300
• Fax: 540-723-8034
• Email: jlcinfo@vdo.com
• Web: www.jaeger-lecoultre.com

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