Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Chronograph Mecaquartz

Jaeger-LeCoultre. Master Control. Chronograph. Mecaquartz.  Wait...what? Yup — you heard that right. What we have here is an incredibly hard-to-find Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Chronograph Ref. 145.880.312 from the late 1990s. This little beauty catches attention everywhere it goes — mostly due to its stunning case design and svelte craftsmanship reminiscent of a much more expensive timepiece. Featuring a 34mm stainless steel with a signed crown, dual pump pushers, a smooth bezel, a sapphire crystal, and a gorgeous 'beads-of-rice' bracelet with a signed butterfly clasp, this unusual JLC is most certainly not something you'll see every day.  Adding to the unique nature of the timepiece is the JLC Calibre 630 movement, a high-end, 25-jewel manufacture movement with mechanical chronograph mechanism, known as 'Mecaquartz'. These unusual movements were primarily supplied to other manufactures (notably IWC), but Jaeger-LeCoultre made and sold a limited number of timepieces with their own name on the dial. What 'Mecaquartz' offers is the precision timekeeping of a quartz movement and the tactile functionality of a mechanical chronograph — a very cool combination. Furthermore, the small dimensions of the movement allows the entire timepiece to be sized down from its fully mechanical counterparts, making the piece perfect for dress wear. As with any high-end watch, the beauty of this piece comes from the culmination of fine detailing:  A silver gloss dial with triple subsidiary registers, polished 'dart' hour markers with luminescent plots, an outer tachymetre scale, luminous 'dauphine' hands, a date function with black numerals, and a solid caseback with a gold "Master Control" medallion all work together to make this one of the best-looking modern LeCoultres we've ever seen. Furthermore, this example comes with all its factory goodies.  So come and get it — before we change our minds and keep it for ourselves!