Jaeger Le-Coultre Futurematic (1955)

£ 2,750

This is a British market Jaeger Le-Coultre Futurematic from early 1950s, the case is 9 carat rose gold and hallmarked for 1955. British market cases were made for Jaeger Le-Coultre De Trevars who were the British importers and case-makers for JLC during the 1950s and 1960s, this is the reason the case is marked DTE.

This watch is distinct for a number of reasons - most obviously because it has no winding crown. This was because the winding of the watch was entirely from the automatic ‘bumper’ weight in the movement. The hands are set using a small wheel on the back of the case - sliding it towards the centre puts the watch into hand-set mode and also stops the watch, allowing it to be set to the second.

The watch has a power-reserve indicator on the left of the dial. This shows the state of the mainspring and roughly how many hours the watch will run for. The dial on the right shows the seconds. The case at 36mm is quite a generous size for a watch from this period. The case has lovely subtle details that locate it in the 50s - there’s something of the flying saucer about it!

The movement has a number of unique features and technical innovations: the automatic weight has a mechanism that stops it moving when the watch has reached a full state of wind. The mechanism releases the weight when the mainspring has run out a bit of power. The mainspring itself has a small amount of setup power - this means that it is basically pre-tensioned, so only a very small amount of movement is needed to start the watch running at a good rate.

The Futurematic was one of JLC’s flagship models in the post war period. The watch is relatively rare in European market form (signed “Jaeger Le-Coultre” as it is here). Europe in the 1950s was quite an austere place and I guess people didn’t have the money to splash on crazy futuristic watches! Rare within the JLC signed models are those with British made cases (aimed at the large British Commonwealth market) and a rose gold example is uncommon. The dial of this watch has developed a bit of patina and overall the watch has a lovely presence on the wrist.

The movement has been fully serviced and the timekeeping is excellent. The case has been ultrasonically cleaned, but as with all out vintage watches we have left it unpolished. The crystal has been replaced and the watch has been fitted with a new old stock peccary strap. The watch comes with our standard 12 month guarantee.

Specifications:
Case diameter: 36mm
Case material: 9 carat rose gold, hallmarked in London for 1955
Strap width: 17mm
Time keeping: grade A

We aim to dispatch all watch orders within 2-3 working days, where this isn't possible, we will try to inform you via email.

When your order is dispatched your tracking details will be updated.

Please allow extra processing time for watches with a customised engraving or strap, during busy sales periods this can sometimes take an extra 5-10 working days.

If you are in a hurry for your watch, please email us.

Shipping guide for watches:

UK: FREE DPD shipping, 1-2 working days
United States & Canada: FREE Fedex shipping, 1-3 working days
The EU: FREE DHL Express shipping, 1-3 working days

Click here to see the full shipping guide for watches

Shipping guide for straps (unless purchased with a watch): 

Free Royal Mail 1st Class / International tracked shipping, 2-14 working days depending on location. You can see a more accurate timescale when you input your address at the checkout.

Shipping guide for t-shirts

All t-shirts on our website are now printed and shipped by an external supplier inside the UK. This means that if you place an order for both a watch and a t-shirt, they will be shipped separately.

Our supplier uses a Royal Mail tracked service for all shipments and this usually takes a little longer than our watches. You can see an estimated timescale when you input your address at the checkout.

 

Please note, during busy sale periods dispatch may take a little longer (this is quite rare). These delivery times are a guide based on the carriers terms of service, products may, in some unusual cases take longer to arrive. If this happens, please get in touch. 

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