This article was written and contributed by Jonathan Fairfield, a Writer and School Teacher who lives in Thailand.
To coincide with the opening of their prestigious 500 square metre boutique on Place Vendome, luxury Swiss watch maker Jaeger-LeCoultre has added one more model to its already impressive Duometre collection. The Duometre Unique Travel Time, a limited edition white gold time piece was unveiled by Jaeger-LeCoultre CEO, Jerome Lambert at their recent press conference in Paris.
In a time when the opening of a prestigious watch boutique seems to be an almost weekly occurrence, it can sometimes be a little difficult to get excited about such an announcement. However, the opening of the Jaeger-LeCoultre boutique in the famous Parisian shopping square is significant for two reasons. First, it signals the opening of the brand’s flagship boutique store and second, it is the biggest boutique store on Place Vendome, one of the world’s leading retail meccas.
Not to mention that the building which houses the boutique was designed by Jules Hardouin Mansart, who was Louis XIV’s favourite architect, no less, and was responsible for designing other baroque buildings in Paris, most notably Les Invalides and the magnificent extensions of Versailles.
JLC Duometre Unique Time Travel
Specifically created to mark the opening of their boutique, the Duometre Unique Travel Time is based on the traditional dual winged concept from the Duometre line. The concept itself features two separate mechanisms; the first allows the wearer to set the local time, with the second allowing for an additional time zone of the wearers choice. The additional time zone setting can be set regardless of the time difference, whether it’s a full hour, half, or quarter hour.
Each of the two mechanisms features a 50 hour power reserve, with both seemingly able to be wound by the same crown. Conveniently located at the 6 o’clock position you’ll find a large globe which acts as a day and night indicator and hour disc and offers a quick reference point to the wearer, whilst helping to keep the layout of the dial balanced, symmetrical and legible. The 383 calibre movement is finished by hand and features 498 individual parts.
The 18k white gold case measures around 42mm in diameter and is approximately 13.5mm thick. As well as the large globe, the silver coloured, finely grained dial also has two red numerals at the 7 and 9 o’clock positions, which is said to be a tribute to the address of the Place Vendome boutique.
Limited to only 100 pieces, the reverse of the watch is engraved with the names of cities which directly correspond to the 24 international time zones.
The Duometre Unique Travel Time went on sale on November 20th and is only available from the Paris boutique.
