It seems to be Jaeger-LeCoultre month here – which of course isn’t at a bad thing at all! I recently had the opportunity to photograph the uncommon JLC Master Compressor Navy Seals Alarm Beverly Hills Boutique Edition (what a long name). It differs from the standard edition in a) it’s very limited production run; b) the yellow accents on the compressor crowns and strap; c) the logo printing on the underside of the sapphire crystal; d) the most obvious part, the anthracite case.

As usual, all images may be clicked on for larger versions.

The movement is the same as the regular model, subject to the 1000 hour Master Control test and equipped with both automatic winding and a loud and very functional alarm. Being a diver, it also has a functional 200m depth rating and locking compressor crowns to maintain water resistance; I’m just not sure how many submersions that nice leather strap will tolerate, though. There’s also plenty of luminous material and easily readable hands, much like its regular production cousin.

Enough from me, enjoy the images. MT

With a distant relative

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Watches in TV series, we all know you have been trying to identify Jerry Seinfeld’s Breitling (or Cartier), Kim Kardashian’s AP Royal Oak (or Scott Disick’s), Dexter’s Timex, Charlie’s Rolex Yacht-Master and Tony Soprano’s Rolex Day-Date. And although Don Draper wore a Rolex Explorer in HBO’s Mad Men TV series, Jaeger-LeCoultre recently released a Mad Men special ‘Mad about Reverso’ that features a Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce logo engraved in the reversible back side of the watch. So it seems that watch manufacturers are pretty aware of the fact that you are eagle eyeing the watches in TV shows.

Was this always the case? One of our avid readers – Johan – sent us a screen shot of the second part of A-Team’s pilot episode Mexican Slayride from 1983. Tim Dunigan plays ‘Faceman’ instead of Dirk Benedict  (who started from the 3rd episode) and wears an OMEGA Geneve f300Hz (tuning fork model), which – I guess – was already out of production by that time.

Lt. Templeton ‘Faceman’ Peck next to Sgt. Bosco Albert ‘B.A.’ Baracus. Faceman is setting the watch on the next picture.

I am pretty sure that the watch featured in A-Team wasn’t sponsored by OMEGA or a jeweler. The same goes for a German 1980s and 1990s krimi called Derrick. Inspector Derrick always wore a fine watch (Rolex and in some occasions an IWC DaVinci). We did a special report on Derrick and his watches in 2005 already, click here to read it. I am not sure whether this TV show (with +180 episodes) aired outside Europe though. I am convinced that Inspector Derrick (Horst Tappert) was wearing Rolex watches from his personal collection.

Another famous TV show from back in the days is Miami Vice. Although Don Johnson is well known for wearing a (fake) gold Rolex Day-Date, he also wore an Ebel 1911 chronograph with a Zenith El Primero movement. In gold/steel of course, that’s how they rolled in the 1980s. Sponsored? I don’t think so. To demonstrate how these things change during the years, The Miami Vice movie that was done just a few years ago though, had IWC watches all over the place and was clearly sponsored.

Is this product placement a bad thing? Of course not! Times are just changing and people pay attention to these details. Watch brands can exaggerate a bit, but in the case of Jaeger-LeCoulte and their Mad Men special (restricted to 25 pieces only, to be released in February), this isn’t the case. They didn’t overdo it. Although I have seen all episodes, I did not spot a JLC Reverso though, but I am assured it was in there.

Although watches in movies have been covered a lot on various websites and watch forums, it seems that information about watches in TV Series are a bit scattered. Luckily, the guys from the Watches in Movies website have a special section for TV shows.

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I think most collectors will be familiar with the Master Tourbillon line; it is one of the most accessible entry points for this complication, and finished to a higher level than JLC’s already excellent regular pieces. But it’s unlikely that you will have ever seen these particular examples, from the Haute Joallerie and fine art lines – special pieces that are made in extremely limited numbers and never seen outside the boutiques. Much more artisanal handwork is required than normal, from the cutting of the rare stone dial to inlaying of the diamonds to guilloching and enameling the dials; I personally much prefer the non-jewellery versions, but the aventurine stone dial has great depth and ‘pop’.

Left to right: Master Tourbillon enamels; Master Tourbillon Haute Joallerie Aventurine

Enjoy the photos! All images may be clicked on for larger versions, as usual. MT

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A few weeks ago, we published an article on the history of the Rolex GMT-Master. Besides featuring an incredible collection of Rolex GMT-Master watches, a pilot and an air plane, we also included some pictures of a cool leather pilot jacket from PME and the classic Ray-Ban Aviator Large Metal (gold frame, green glasses). We’ve put the latter two up for a give away here at Fratellowatches. As promised, we are picking a winner on this Friday the 20th of January 2012, the last day of the SIHH 2012 exhibition in Geneva. 

Winner of the PME leather jacket is Casper. Congrats! Winner of the Ray-Ban Aviator Large Metal is Charlie. Congrats! You will be contacted and the items will be shipped asap.

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The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak ‘Jumbo’, or ref.15202ST has always been one of our favorite – perhaps even the favorite – stainless steel luxury sports watches. Designed by Genta, this watch already has seen a lot of coverage here at Fratellowatches (most popular topics here, here and here). During the SIHH 2012 in Geneva, Audemars Piguet introduced an appropriate successor of the current ‘Jumbo’ ref.15202ST, the ‘Jumbo’ ref.15202ST. That’s right, nothing changes in the naming or reference number, only the watch itself changes a tiny bit.

Picture via Perpetuelle

Changed in a good way, as a lot of collectors and enthusiasts have longed for these changes for quite some time. With this new version, AP took this watch back to its original roots of 1972, with the company’s logo located at 6 o’clock. The date wheel has been painted black (instead of white) and the tapisserie has become a bit smaller. Additionally, AP dropped the printed Arabic numerals above the hour markers and made these hour markers a bit longer. The white frame around the date aperture also disappeared. What stayed, is the size of 39mm in diameter – it wears a tad bit larger though – and the beautiful caliber 2121 (based on the 2120, which had no date). This movement is still derrived from Jaeger-LeCoultre’s caliber 920, as introduced in 1969. Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin also used this movement for a long time, but Audemars Piguet is the manufacture entitled to use it (in license). The engraving on the rotor changed a bit, AP seems to have added a ‘hobnail’ motif to the massive gold weight.

Above, you’ll see a photo or RJ’s 2006  ref.15202ST Royal Oak, the current ‘Jumbo’ with charcoal dial. There is no update yet on availability and pricing of the new AP Royal Oak Jumbo. The current AP RO Jumbo ref.15202ST has a list price of 17900,- EUR. We suspect that the new AP RO Jumbo will have an even more serious price tag. Nevertheless, we are impressed by the new Jumbo.

Live photos of the new Royal Oak can be admired in this post at Hodinkee. More live photos of the SIHH 2012 can be found at Watchlounge, here. The AP special photo report by Paul Boutros is also definitely worth visiting, click here.

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