Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Master collections are some of the most quintessential complication watches in the entire world of watchmaking. The range is split into a couple of distinct families with the Ultra Thin emphasising elegance and slim proportions while the Grande Tradition ups the ante with grand complications. There’s also the Master Control with its more modern, contemporary aesthetic but that series doesn’t occupy our attention today. Instead we have new editions of the Master Ultra Thin Tourbillon Enamel and the Master Grande Tradition Calibre 985.
Master Ultra Thin Tourbillon Enamel
There aren’t actually any examples of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Tourbillon Enamel in JLC’s current range. Not because it’s been discontinued or anything so dramatic as that, it’s just that they are released as limited editions and tend to sell out, like last year’s pink gold case with blue enamel dial edition. For 2025 it features the same 40mm pink gold case but now the enamel dial is anthracite grey and a dark, almost black shade at that.
The display is produced in grand feu enamel over a guilloché sunray engraved base, giving it a dramatic amount of presence with its three-dimensional appearance. The technical term for enamel over the top of guilloché is flinqué. Contrasting to the radial pattern on the main dial is the circular azurage guilloché on the date subdial at 12 o’clock, which is balanced spatially by the tourbillon at 6. That tourbillon is powered by the calibre 978 with 45-hour power reserve.
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Master Grande Tradition Calibre 985
The Calibre 985 is a grand complication in the truest sense. It features a perpetual calendar with day, date, month, year, moonphase, a cylindrical tourbillon at 6 o’clock, and central hours and minutes. It’s a highly technical movement that has been popular in the Grande Tradition range since it was introduced in 2013. Here it’s housed in a 42mm x 13.23mm case with a choice of pink gold with a brown dial, platinum with a blue dial or platinum with a blue dial and diamond bezel.
These fresh reinterpretations feel like classic Jaeger-LeCoultre colourways and the standard platinum model is gorgeous. The high lustre of the metal pairs nicely with the rich blue of the dial and its sunray brushed finish which draws the eyes outward back to the case. However, the focal point is that cylindrical tourbillon with its constant rotation. A ‘cylindrical’ tourbillon is one that makes use of a cylindrical hairspring, which has the ends of the spring curling inwards instead of the typical outward spiral to improve isochronism. There’s a good reason it makes for an eye-catching feature in and of itself.
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More details at Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Beautiful pure work of art this watch is absolutely amazing have not seen something as beautiful as these hats off the makers and designers and whole team