Pix Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Hi, this time I would like to share some shots of an other inexpensive rep I bought from Ruby : a Jaeger LeCoultre Master Compressor. I mentionned this in an other thread, Ruby was very cooperative in choosing and providing the watch. I had some dollars to spend in a cheap rep (those who know me won't be surprised about the fact that I am mainly acting in that field, unlike today's trend for extremely expensive watches). I first thought about a Quartz IWC Portuguese (to escape from the seconds @6 well known problem). Ruby actually returned the watch to her supplier, as the chrono was not resetting correctly. She also asserted that the watch did not look so good overall. Which is a thing I appreciate : I do not have the monopoly of good taste, and a dealer telling me his mind is a step which I am ready to accept anytime. Then I made up my mind for a Jaeger Lecoultre : I saw a picture of one of the Master Compressor series in a magazine, and just liked it. Well, there are actually no high end reps for this Watchmaker. As I have learnt hating faux-chronos and dummy features, I came on this simple watch, which has one originality though : an alarm. Something unknown for me as far as mechanical movements are concerned... All went smooth in this transaction and I take the opportunity to thank Ruby (I do it willingly when I'm satisfied, and I recommend Ruby for those who are afraid of dropshipped watches). So, how is it as a watch ? it came with a terrible (at least in my standards) brown/orange leather strap and horrible buckle. Obviously the first thing I had to do was hunting for an other strap (one of my favorite hobbies !). I turned from the orange one (still for sale ) to a more classy black and smooth one. I thought that the somehow retro look of the JL would be fitting well with a racing strap. 15 euros (a nice strap is not necessarily expensive) and 4 days later, it was mine. Advertized as mineral crystal, the water drop test tells me it might finally be sapphire. All is very crisp and sharp and there are no unpleasant light reflections. A nice mix of polished and brushed SS. I think that the brushed part could be better. The dial is silver and the inner ring white. The back of the case is really a nice piece of work and it's worth mentionning it as giving the watch an overall excellent aspect : there are deep and very well finished engravings, whereas you could have expected a cheap laser marking on such a price range watch. The 3 crowns make the look original and somehow sporty. I can hardly define the general feeling : I hesitate between "seventies period", "old fashion" or "vintage", although vintage is usually more related to the preservation condition of the thing. Whatever the word is, that watch definitely looks different and original. The diameter of 40 mm makes it fit perfectly on my small wrist. Also it's thin. Digits and markers are lumed, and the lume is actually not bad. The upper right crown will settle the alarm and also enable winding it. Don't expect a nice melody out of this watch, but the thing really works : you can wake up with a wristwatch if you want The lower right crown is there to set up the time. The upper left crown will have the inner bezel (inner ring) rotate. Well, it's too lose, I'll have to live with that. I have not opened the caseback yet, but the movement is advertized as an Asian automatic. Obviously it is 21600 or less bph. Which is remarkable is that if you wind it manually, it will behave exactly like a manual winding movement, i.e. there will be a moment where you won't be able to wind anymore (I hope I'm understandable). I really had a doubt that the movement was really an auto. But by shaking the watch when stopped, it started again, which is the evidence of a rotor doing its job. How is it as a rep ? I'll do it very short : no idea, because I could not find a close enough model anywhere. I think that this JL is a fantasy watch, which however keeps the Master Compressor spirit/design. I wanted one in my collection, and here I have it. I would not advise the purchase for sharp collector, but I must say I enjoy wearing this new toy and I will definitely keep it (that's generally a good sign, as I know other watches that stayed less than a week in my watchbox). Now my favorite part, some shots, I hope you'll like them. Pix and the wristshot... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Hi Pix, Your reviews are so cool and great to read that you almost make me love this total fantasy watch I must admit it much better looking than my 40$ one Wear it well my friend. Cheers Stephane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pix Posted June 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Stephane, have you become a fan ? Well, I'm terribly pleased by your remarks, as this means I might be some kind of good marketing man : make something look much better than it actually is. Next watch might finally be a higher end one, as june is always a good month in my company BTW, I like your JL too... Question of personal tastes I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephane Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Stephane, have you become a fan Well, Pix, ...have a look at your watch and how you present it. It's a real beauty, even if it doesn't exist in "real life" I'm only saying what some others must only think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pix Posted June 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Here's the movement Strange for me to understand why it reacts to shake. I would surely be inspired to ask The Zigmeister's thoughts. And here's how the alarm sounds like : alarm.mp3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b16a2 Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Looks really good, over the past 6 months Ive become a real fan of the JLC Master Compressors, wear it well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Neat piece... What's the alarm sound like? As for your watch starting with some motion (with the mainspring unwound)... The only thing I can conclude is that the motion is causing the balance spring to oscillate... I notice the same behavior in some of my manual wind watches... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Tracy Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Memovox is my favorite daily beater,...the reliable alarm is very useful and it never misses a beat in time.. Besides the date function which you lose if you go for the alarm function,.. it's highly accurate and Narikaa's is heavy solid metal, measuring in at 41mm,... Compare to Gen... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 Memovox is my favorite daily beater... Quite nice! I really like that one, quite a lot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pix Posted June 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 Neat piece... What's the alarm sound like? As for your watch starting with some motion (with the mainspring unwound)... The only thing I can conclude is that the motion is causing the balance spring to oscillate... I notice the same behavior in some of my manual wind watches... Thx for the clue... It's really strange (I mean it positively), as some automatic movements have difficulties remaining wound even on my watchwinder. As far as the alarm is concerned, I have just added an mp3 sound on the top of b16a2's post. That gives you a fair idea. @RT : I have been hesitating with the Memovox too (Silix has it), but I finally went to the silver dial of the Master Compressor for "optical" reasons. I am always reluctant on dark dials when there's no AR coating. How is yours as far as light is concerned ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Tracy Posted June 28, 2007 Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 @RT : I have been hesitating with the Memovox too (Silix has it), but I finally went to the silver dial of the Master Compressor for "optical" reasons. I am always reluctant on dark dials when there's no AR coating. How is yours as far as light is concerned ?Never any problems as the markers are very white, against the dark background,.. and hands highly polished..which I think serves best in the absence of AR... Seems to me a white face would blend in with reflections....? Speaking of the markers,.. this watch has all night lume,.. one of the few which did out of the box..... I have owned three different models,.. and Narikaa's is by far the heaviest,..though it came with a rubber band that once removed showed the metal between the lugs needed refinishing.. which I did.. but man oh man it took me three days of dremel and polish to get it right as the metal was so dense... Turned out in the end though and in daily use, I don't have to worry about scratches as,.. it takes tools to damage the ultra hard finish.. My cheapest, most durable, and most reliable watch to date,... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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