45 Jaeger Le Coultre Gorgeous and Elegant, Master Control, 1000 Hours Perpetual Calendar, Automatic Wristwatch in Steel, Black Dial, Reference 140.8.80.S

Estimate: € 3.000 –⁠ 6.000

In 1833, following the invention of a machine that could cut watch pinions from steel, Antoine LeCoultre (1803–1881) opened a small laboratory at Le Sentier, where he put his watchmaking skills to create high quality timepieces. From that moment on, many other innovations came and in 1884 he added another milestone on the horology highway with the creation of the first instrument to measure the micron and in four years, he would have received awards at the inaugural Universal Exhibition in London for his breakthrough work on a lever-winding mechanism. Realized in steel, the reference 140.8.80 S, such as the present watch is a solid timepiece that, despite the use of one of the hardest materials available, is comfortable and charming. It features a 37 mm stainless steel case powered by a self-winding movement with lots of complications: the black dial has applied dagger numerals, four subsidiary dials indicating the month at 12 o’clock, the day at 3 o’clock, the date at 9 o’clock and phases of the moon at six o’clock.