Hello all

Thank you in advance for your opinions and guidance on this 1971 Jaeger LeCoultre Memovox "Egg" Ref. 3072-916 that I am thinking of purchasing

Not many of these around I don’t think (<8,000 made?), but I tried it on and fell in love with it. So I’d value your help on assessing this piece that I would like to have in regular rotation (2 – 3 days per week) with my ’61 Seamaster for office work.

The 17 jewel Caliber 916 automatic movement is freshly serviced - apparently it is a high speed 28,800 BPH balance - noted on the dial with the HPG (high precision guarantee) marker.

What do I know?

· The blue dial and inner rotating alarm disk look great in person. This watch is a beast to photograph. The indices look tarnished/missing in the photos, but in person they are all present and pretty.

· Alarm works (so much fun!)

· Date works

· minor wear marks on the case & back

· Described as original & correct JLC crowns & original acrylic crystal (with minor scratches). The angle that these crowns sit in seems weird, but other Memovoxes seem to have the same set up

· Dial & alarm disk are described as original (and look great to my eye)

· Hands have been relumed, and they look fine to me

· 19mm lug width is the only downside

Watchmaker is asking around $3,000 CDN with a full year warranty. Negotiations haven’t yet begun, as I wanted to be 100% in on it before discussing the price. I can't find too much on these in the eBay sold listings















Many thanks!

 

All looks good to me, overall condition is attractive. IMO the dealer’s asking price is rather high. Less so if it has actually been serviced. Not a highly sought after JLC reference - quirky design limits the appeal.

 

That’s a pretty piece Dave, and oh-so funky!
I agree with D-boy, the dealer is hoping for the right buyer for this- and it looks like you may be it. But in this scenario, I think you hold more cards than he does.

 

I found several auction sales and the prices ranged from $1400-$2000 USD, where the high end included the original bracelet. Hope this helps.

 

I prefer quirky. Gobs of standard Memovox's out there.

 

Thanks Dan. Chrono24 prices are (surprise) high on these. Good to have some examples from the other end of the spectrum to find a more balanced market price

 

Hi all,

I didn't notice this when I had the watch in hand, but looking at the photos in the obsessive way that nerds do, I see that the alarm disk's tritium markers are missing around 10, 11 and 12, and the 4:00 marker is making a run for it. I am debating if this is a strike against "condition condition condition" as the hands are already re-lumed, and this lume could be re-done at the next service if it bugs me. Any idea what re-luming these would cost?




Doing a deeper dive, I've now seen a few other similars for sale, some have lume that has similarly suffered, a few still look good. Maybe a manufacturing thing, maybe it depends on how much the alarm was used?

A comparison courtesy of eBay...the alarm disk lume looks good, but the hands have not aged well

 

Cant speak to this line of watches, but the lume on my Speedy has been trying to escape one chunk at a time for the last 20 years (same era as this watch). May have been the compounds they were playing with. It was the early 70’s, maybe mixed in a little blow with the tritium for that extra zing.

 

Difficult to comment for you Dave, because I actually like JLC's funky Memovox explosion of the early 1970s... just not this one. Chacun à son goût though, so I want you to get what your heart wants. I think IRL the key features of this one are i) the fabulous blue is intact ii) the acres of case real estate are in OK condition. Your target is reasonably alright on those. Also, IIRC you are in the same city as this dealer so you can bargain direct with them, which gives you an advantage over the rest of the internet. Good luck!

 

I totally get it. I’ve seen this one in his shop for maybe a year now, and liked the colour but never gave it much thought. I picked up a pocket watch that was getting serviced this week, and I tried on the watch on a whim. Bam! Totally fell in love with it. If I get it, I’ll start a thread called “watches you hated until you tried them on”

 

This is so incredibly refreshing in contrast with the typical thread where someone asks "What is the most desirable model?"

 

Are those marks on the crystal or dial?

 

Thx for checking. The dial is in great shape, those marks would be on the crystal - TBC on my next visit