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At Watches and Wonders 2024, Jaeger-LeCoultre unveiled two variations of the Duometre Chronograph Moon: one encased in platinum with a copper-colored dial and one other in pink gold with a silver dial. Each mannequin is complemented by a hand-stitched alligator strap, lined with smaller scale alligator leather-based, enhancing their subtle aesthetics.
The introduction of the Duometre mechanism in 2007, which options two separate barrels and equipment trains inside a single caliber linked to a single escapement, marked a big innovation. This design ensures that the operation of the issues doesn’t intrude with the escapement’s operate, preserving the motion’s isochronism. This groundbreaking idea was impressed by a historic precursor from the Manufacture—the LeCoultre Calibre 19/20RMSMI of 1881, which additionally featured twin barrels however didn’t separate the gear trains, thus not totally resolving the interference concern.
The challenges of incorporating complicated capabilities just like the chronograph, which calls for quick bursts of excessive energy, had been what initially drove Jaeger-LeCoultre to develop the Duometre. The mechanism has since been tailored to incorporate different issues similar to moon phases, journey time, and a tourbillon.
The newly developed Calibre 391 begins from scratch, that includes a manually wound mono-pusher chronograph built-in with a moon part and a day-night indicator, plus twin energy reserve indicators and a seconde foudroyante (flying second) show. The latter dazzles by finishing a full rotation each second, subdividing into six beats, and offering terribly exact readings when the chronograph is stopped.
The design of the Duometre Chronograph Moon contains open-worked sections on the dial that present a view into the intricate workings of the mechanism, matched by an equally detailed view via the clear case-back. Here, the motion shows an elaborate building of floating bridges and open-worked elements, all meticulously completed with sunrayed Geneva stripes—a difficult and exact ornament method that aligns completely from the centre to the sides of the calibre as soon as assembled.
Furthermore, the dial design is intuitive but subtle, that includes a conventional three-counter structure with finely textured opaline finishes contrasted by azuré embellished rings. The integration of the moon part inside the chronograph sub-dial at 3 o’clock and the Night and Day show inside the time sub-dial at 9 o’clock enhances each performance and aesthetic steadiness. The watch additionally encompasses a seconde foudroyante at 6 o’clock, flanked by two energy reserve shows, every indicating 50 hours for its respective barrel—one wound forwards for timekeeping, and one wound backwards for the issues.
For 2024, Jaeger-LeCoultre additionally launched a brand new case design for the Duometre sequence, echoing the Maison’s Nineteenth-century savonette pocket watches. This new case combines fashionable aesthetics with tactile enchantment, that includes a convex crystal and a easily rounded bezel. Measuring 42.5 mm in diameter, the case contains 34 components with the lugs hooked up through screws, permitting for quite a lot of finishes that play with mild because the watch strikes.
