Below is lot 255 in Sotheby's upcoming New York sale. I know very little about JLC but this dial does not look great, not to mention the hands. I found images of the movement and case-back as this watch was previously auctioned by Auctionata. Do these case-back markings look correct for a JLC of this period/type? I do not see a serial number. Sotheby's information: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2017/important-watches-n09696/lot.255.html Auctionata images: https://www.the-saleroom.com/en-us/...0112/lot-f71983d5-8370-4a80-b6ef-a4e000c90b98
No, I have not. JLC is not my area of interest but this watch stood out as particularly unattractive.
At least the combination of Jaeger Le-Coultre on the dial and the chrono function makes it rare. Usually the chronoss come with just Jaeger or LeCoultre nameplate. As for the case I have no idea
IMO, it's a fake. 1. Cases from this era would have been "LeCoultre Swiss", not Jaeger-LeCoultre. Some had no company marking at all. Just a hallmark for LeCoultre as the case manufacturer. If the chronograph was made by Universal (some early ones were - but not this one), it would have a UG case reference and serial number on the case. 2. Dial would either be "Jaeger" or "LeCoultre", but not both. Again, some later ones might have the full JLC signature, but this Valjoux movement looks too early for that. 3. Hands way too short to be of any use on this chronograph. The hands were made for lume (which was removed), but the dial has no lume at all. 4. Jaeger-LeCoultre signature on bridge looks funny to me. These will usually have a signature that matches the dial (see 1. above) and "Seventeen Jewels", plus "unadjusted" if the watch was meant for the US market. 5. Hallmarks look generic to me and do not match with the JLC signature on the case, which I think was added later. Here's a typical LeCoultre version: http://afinewatch.com/swiss-watches/lecoultre-18k-gold-chronograph-valjoux-72-movement I would not be bidding on this. gatorcpa
Yes you are probably right. Just that as an 'untrained civilian' who is newly getting into this madness of vintage collecting- I always thought Christies/ sotheby's etc were safe havens to buy authentic. how wrong I was..
It's not just watches. I went to an auction preview yesterday at this same famous auction house (some watches, but mostly Asian and Western art). There was a painted view of a Chinese city on sale, labelled as being a view of an entirely different city, even though the place it's actually of is only 40 miles away from the site of the auction, and everyone involved in organising the sale has no doubt been there tens of times. In this case, a correct identification would probably have made the lot more valuable, no less. So really, what chance is there of spotting an errant signature on a chrono bridge?
This item, also probably fake, discussed on an Italian forum show some similarities http://orologi.forumfree.it/?t=70627039