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Jantar
·Here are a couple of shots of my 1966 (built 1965) Austin-Healey 3000 Mk. III dash. Note the similarity of the Smiths instruments with the Jaeger instruments found on the Jaguar and the MG like Jantar's a few posts above.
So what do we know about Jaeger gauges versus Smiths gauges?
First here is an article which links Jaeger gauges to Jaeger LeCoulre:
Lessons In Wristory: Jaeger Automotive Instruments
So why are Jaeger automotive instruments and Smiths instruments so much alike?
Smiths Industry instruments
A key bit of information:
"Founded in London in 1851 by Samuel Smith as S. Smith and Son, the concern got its start making watches and clocks as well as selling jewelry and precious stones. Success allowed them to expand to a larger location and open additional shops in the 1870s when Samuel Smith, Jr. took over. Their reputation had grown near the end of the 19th century such that they advertised as “Watchmakers to the Admiralty and the Royal Observatories.” But it was with the dawn of the automobile that Smiths really came into their own."
and . . .
"Throughout the decade following the war, Smiths’ gauge business flourished, as did other facets of their automobile supply business. They purchased M.L. Magneto in 1919 and K.L.G. Sparking Plugs in 1927, the same year they acquired the rights to produce Jaeger instrumentation for the British market under license. British Jaeger gauges are essentially re-branded Smiths gauges. But in 1930, Smiths sold off all of their businesses related to lighting, starting and ignition, including M.L. Magneto, to Lucas, and the two companies agreed not to manufacture products that the other already had an established foothold in. It’s hard to believe such a deal would pass antitrust muster today. If you’ve ever wondered why a car full of Smiths gauges typically had a Lucas ammeter, it’s because Smiths left that business to Lucas."
So we see that both Jaeger (Jaeger LeCoulre) and Smiths instruments evolved from the watchmaking business and eventually their paths crossed and a partnership of sorts was formed concerning automotive instruments.
The MGA MkII was the last MG to carry Jaeger instruments as far as I know. In 1963 when the MGB came out the use of Jaeger branded instruments was halted and Smiths is what you saw in MGs going forward. For the first few years the instruments were the same dimension. In fact I use a Smiths tach in my MGA because it is an electronic tach and the 1800cc engine I have in place currently lacks the mechanical tach drive the original 1622cc engine had.
