Jaeger-LeCoultre Shark/Vogue

When you're a Shark you're a Shark — unless you're a Vogue! The stunning chronograph you're looking at was once known by both names, depending on from whence you hailed. For the fashion-forward European market, it carried the Vogue name, and for us New World savages, the Shark.  Always referred to internally as the Reference E.2643, the Shark/Vogue was a limited- production piece released by Jaeger-LeCoultre in the late 1960s as a response to the increasingly demanding sport chronograph market. Despite the prestigious name, the E.2643 saw limited commercial success at the time, ultimately bowing out after only a few years of production as the market was secured by the likes of Omega, Heuer, and Rolex. Sharing a number of key features with both Heuer and Rolex, the Shark/Vogue is a rare find today, and we were thrilled when it came through the door. Sized at 40mm, the watch uses an Autavia 2446-styled case with thick beveled lugs, barrel pushers, an acrylic crystal and a rotating telemeter/12-hour bezel bezel, but unlike its Heuer cousin features a screw-down case back. A reverse-panda dial with triple subsidiary register layout evokes Autavias and Daytonas of the era, featuring registers for 30-minute and 12-hour counters along with sweeping subsidiary seconds. But with a fancy JLC wordmark and inner base-1000 tachymetre ring, the dial is distinctively LeCoultre. Powering this timepiece is the Calibre 72 manually-winding chronograph movement by Valjoux, a movement as robust as it is iconic. With its incredibly crisp case and beautifully patinated dial, this rare chronograph is sure to make someone very, very happy!