Jaeger-LeCoultre Geomatic

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 on both the pulse of the technological and that of 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, plus 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 JLC is an excellent example of the brand's striking mid-20th century designs. JLC insisted on being at the cutting edge of the automatic movement revolution, and the Geomatic line, marketed as technically advanced sports/ scientific pieces, played a big role in this story in the 1960s. This piece, a gold Geomatic, was one of the first to feature a chronometer-certified movement, the Calibre K881G. This watch was extensively tested, and as one of the early automatics to hit the market for general production, it was extremely capable. The Geomatic launched in 1962 in gold and steel, and this gold variant is in extremely clean condition. All told, only a couple-thousand of these were made across all metals. If you love history and vintage watches, don't miss out on this an extremely clean example of a design that truly impacted the trajectory of JLC — and the industry at large.  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.