LeCoultre Futurematic 'Porthole'

To discerning collectors, the name Jaeger LeCoultre is synonymous with beautiful designs and marvelously dependable movements. With its fair share of truly iconic pieces — the Reverso, the Deep Sea Alarm, the Memovox, the Geophysic and the Mark XI, to name a few — JLC has managed to have its finger the pulse of both the technological and the aesthetic, a feat that is rivaled only by a short list of Swiss manufactures. To make matters more impressive, during WWII, Jaeger LeCoultre was one of only a few Swiss manufactures that continued designing and producing consumer-grade timepieces alongside mil-spec aviation wristwatches and a wide array of gauges and cockpit timers and clocks. In fact, it was during the war years that JLC developed the Étache, the first square case that offered water resistance comparable to Rolex's Oyster case design. This particular U.S.-market JLC is an excellent example of some the brand's compelling midcentury designs. A Futurematic, it was one of the earliest automatic references made by JLC. Introduced in the early 1950s, this model was produced for just shy of 10 years. Initially rolled out with the Calibre 497 bumper movement, in the mid-1950s JLC updated the watch to the Calibre 817 — like the one ticking within this piece. One notable characteristic of the 817 is that on the dial side, the power reserve gauge at 9 looks like a porthole. On the right side of the dial, a subsidiary seconds display is shown in parallel.  This watch is incredibly important in the history of JLC automatic movement development, and comes in truly beautiful condition. Backwinding and beautiful, this is a staple for the lover of vintage JLC and — vintage watches in general! This spectacular piece comes from the collection of Zaf Basha, a noted authority on Jaeger-LeCoultre who has published two books: Vintage Military Watches: A Guide for the Collector and Jaeger-LeCoultre: The Ultimate Guide for the Collector. Over the years, Basha put together one of the most impressive assemblages of vintage JLC timepieces in the world, and we're thrilled and honor to offer many of them for sale on Analog:Shift.