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Posted by Nellie
on June 5, 2012, 6:47 pm, in reply to "Re: HM QEII receives diamond watch from Jaeger-LeCoultre"
124.170.12.3
Thanks Rachel. That has helped clarify more for me.
That site could benefit from your experience in the topic - in distinguishing between the wearable item and its inner workings.
My reading suggested the Queen's previous, replacement watch could not be found but I would think HM still has that one.
: --Previous Message--
:
: Just some general information that may add
: to the discussion.
:
: In the early part of my career, I worked on
: a magazine devoted exclusively to clocks and
: watches. It was fascinating (I can see the
: fascination with clocks now!), and I got to
: learn a lot about horological matters
: through the editorial articles.
:
: The watch itself (the face and bracelet) is
: a whole different consideration from the
: watch works or watch movement (internal
: mechanism). The watch may not be the
: smallest in the world, but the watch works
: in this case apparently are.
:
: "The white gold watch is set with
: baguette diamonds and is powered by the
: smallest mechanical watch movement in the
: world, the JLC Calibre 101. First built in
: 1929, the Calibre 101 is so small that its
: 98 tiny parts only weigh one gram and its
: assembly is a specialised process that only
: three watchmakers in the Jaeger-LeCoultre
: manufacture can master."
:
: Also, it is quite common to see ad listings
: in these horological magazines for e.g.
: "Cartier watch with Patek Philippe
: movement" or "Tiffany watch with
: Jaeger-LeCoultre movement." Many of the
: finer jewelry firms did not care to get into
: the watch works business (and who would,
: given that there are already undisputed
: masters willing to sell their works!), but
: certainly wanted to offer their clients
: beautiful or precious watches. So they would
: design the watches and buy the works from
: these master houses.
:
: Otherwise, I'm kind of with Boris, it's a
: bit of self-promotion on Jaeger-LeCoultre's
: part, and kind of clunky in design to boot.
: But the real value of the watch, no doubt,
: is in the scarcity of the tiny watch works
: which can only be produced by a very few
: people and by hand using special
: instruments.
:
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