help recognize | rectangular vintage crossdial Jaeger Lecoultre

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HumbleWatcher

·Jul 10, 2022

Hi all. would appreciate some details about this watch. year? mechanism? i think the backcase is not original. other than that look's legit.
it will really help to know it's (estimation) value because im willing to purchase it.
tommorow i will have it.
i searched the world wide web and haven't found this particular case. i did found exact dial but not case.








this is the closest that ive got 1950's

Edited: Jul 10, 2022

 

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DaveK

·Jul 10, 2022·Yoda of Yodelers

HumbleWatcher

…purchased very cheap from some old dude and tommorow i will have it…

I hope that your interaction with the seller is more respectful and mutually rewarding than it’s sounding like in your post

 

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HumbleWatcher

·Jul 10, 2022

yes it is.

 

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gatorcpa

·Jul 10, 2022·ΩF InvestiGator

I’m not sure that is a Jaeger-LeCoultre case. The only way to know is to open it up and post pictures of what is inside.

The movement should be a cal. K818 or similar.

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db.cgi?10&ranfft&2&2uswk&LeCoultre_818

Oh yes, hands are mismatched also.

gatorcpa

 

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Dan S

·Jul 10, 2022

Based on the visible damage/wear, the dial certainly looks like it was previously in a different case. I'm also not sure I like the look of the "J".

 

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Sonny90

·Jul 10, 2022

Without seeing any pictures of the movement or caseback I don’t believe you should even consider purchasing it before seeing them in my opinion

 

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ALEJANDRO BOVONE

·Jul 11, 2022

dial certainly looks not original. better pics of the whole watch inside as requested would be good. case with such a slip to open i don t recall in JLC from that period.

 

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HumbleWatcher

·Jul 12, 2022

Finally i got it. I did not knew what im about to get. And was worried 3 days straight... And good news everyone! There is a JLC mechanism inside!
I am happy, and the seller is happy, we are keeping contact. Accept my apologies if it looked in a bad way.

My conclucions are:

Dial - original, needs a bit restoring.
Mechanism - is original and looks new.
Case - is not original and is 10k rgp. Purchased for 200€ so... Its not that bad for an excellent condition mechanism and not bad dial.
Hands - hand is original, the second is not.
Crown - also not original
Thats it, Here are the pictures:

 

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gatorcpa

·Jul 12, 2022·ΩF InvestiGator

If a genuine JLC movement and one original hand is worth the purchase price to you, then you did well. The rest of the watch has very little value, if any.

The dial is not original, it should have “Swiss Made” at the bottom, like this one.

gatorcpa

 

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HumbleWatcher

·Jul 12, 2022

gatorcpa

If a genuine JLC movement and one original hand is worth the purchase price to you, then you did well. The rest of the watch has very little value, if any.

The dial is not original, it should have “Swiss Made” at the bottom, like this one.

gatorcpa

Thanks for the comment. Yes it is fine because i made a bet, buying from a far.
So, that's minimal damage for me.
Raises the question:
If its fake, Why would someone make a fake dial, without doing the "swiss made" if JLC is written already.
I think something bad happened to the previous case . There are acratches on the bottom of the dial. Or is there a possibility that they had few dials without the writing?

 

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gatorcpa

·Jul 12, 2022·ΩF InvestiGator

Dial is not original and not fake. It was re-painted or re-printed.
gatorcpa

 

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HumbleWatcher

·Jul 12, 2022

Are those also repainted?
Is there a possibility that it was never written?
Im not an expert at all. Just wondering and hoping there is a chance that it is not repainted.

On my dial, i got some scratches. In my opinion, that's crazy but they were scratched off possibly?

 

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gatorcpa

·Jul 12, 2022·ΩF InvestiGator

Yes, yes and no.

Logo on your watch is crude. Compare to this one.

gatorcpa

 

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HumbleWatcher

·Jul 12, 2022

not the best buy that's true. but meh, could have been worse. not the end of the world, just had some fun.
will keep it for now. thanks to all

 

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Dan S

·Jul 12, 2022

After a better look, I would still consider the dial to be repainted. As I mentioned above, I don't like the quality of the logo.

Several of the other dials posted by the OP are also repainted.

 

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HumbleWatcher

·Jul 13, 2022

D

Dan S

After a better look, I would still consider the dial to be repainted. As I mentioned above, I don't like the quality of the logo.

Several of the other dials posted by the OP are also repainted.

Darn those repainters!! Thank you.

 

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HumbleWatcher

·Jul 13, 2022

I gave it some love anyway, with all the imperfections with this watch.
Because the case is not original, i allowed myself to give it some life and make small touches.
I am a dental technician and i have the special red ccoloured stone for gold to polish it gently with a towel, removed gently tiny scratches and wear signs. polished also the glass to remove any scratches.( It had few deep ones )
From a few youtube videos i learned that i can use clean water and ear stick and extremely gently to rub the dial to remove dirt. The dial truly have a bad history maybe the watch was in water/very dirty place that someone actually switched the case it was so bad.
Again, i allowed myself to have fun just because the casing is not original.
Here is the result:

Edited: Jul 13, 2022

 

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Widows Son

·Jul 15, 2022

You did a nice job on the cleanup, for what you paid, nice dresswatch. At a minimum you should get the movement serviced, it is a JLC afterall. That dial would bother me, not the patina, but the printing of the name. Since it's not original anyway, I'd send it out to be refinsihed. International Dial may be an option. I'd probably have the hands either refinished or replaced. For a minimal ammount of money, you'll have a nice looking watch, it will never be original again, but will be nice looking.

 

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HumbleWatcher

·Jul 15, 2022

Widows Son

You did a nice job on the cleanup, for what you paid, nice dresswatch. At a minimum you should get the movement serviced, it is a JLC afterall. That dial would bother me, not the patina, but the printing of the name. Since it's not original anyway, I'd send it out to be refinsihed. International Dial may be an option. I'd probably have the hands either refinished or replaced. For a minimal ammount of money, you'll have a nice looking watch, it will never be original again, but will be nice looking.

Thank you, much appreciated! the watch is holding the time excellently! i will send it in the future for service. yes, the dial is not great, but still usable. i wonder how much will cost to refinish it, i dont want to get in too much investment's. after all i dont have the original casing that is 18k full gold, that's alot of value that is missing.
but i do think i will start pusruing to search for a case \ or look a like gold filled one. already saw couple on Ebay(not JLC) but i need exactly 27mm x 27mm case.
we'll see maybe in the future. also will look for genuine hand's there is here and there seller's hold NOS stocks. for now? it's a fine weeked watch here and there...

 

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gatorcpa

·Jul 15, 2022·ΩF InvestiGator

Widows Son

International Dial may be an option.

Not anymore. 🙁

https://vintagewatchforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=15672

Their website has been taken down.
gatorcpa