Good evening fellow watch lovers, Been browsing this forum for years and finally decided to sign up as I need some advice on a Jaeger watch. Long story short, I was walking on an antique street of HK and saw a guy selling few vintage watches (couple of Seikos, some brands I didn't know, etc...) and this one caught my eye. Do you have any information to share? Do you think this is legit at first glance? Based on my research, this could be a cal 489 but that's pretty much all I could find. Happy to hear your thoughts Cheers
Well, the case is not in great shape, the dial is damaged and bent, and the hands look like bad replacements. The bracelet is not a good fit for the case and has likely also caused damage you can't see inside the lugs. Otherwise, I'd guess it's a very late 60's / early 70's version of the Memovox.
Actually, it’s a mid-1950’s Memovox. I think the dial and hands are correct, although the outer dial might be slightly bent at the top. Hard to tell from the pictures. Here is an example of the same watch: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/jaeger-lecoultre-early-wristalarm-305848800 It’s a US only model with a gold-filled case. Case looks to be in decent condition, but you must take care in polishing, or you’ll burn right through the gold. The cuts in the lugs are a design feature of this case, although the twist-o-flex bands will gouge out the lugs eventually. It’s tougher than you think to find one with a nice dial. These seem to have similar lacquer issues to the older Omega watches. Many, many redials on these. You can find these in average condition on eBay for around $1,000. Servicing costs are expensive due to the alarm complication and the fact that there are two barrels and mainsprings. Hope this helps, gatorcpa