A fine and rare, oversize

Gentleman's self winding wristwatch,

with Power Reserve Indication, C.1948.

Please quote Stock # 3175

A rare, large size, (37mm case diameter) very early vintage, Jaeger LeCoultre pre "Powermatic", Self winding gentleman's wristwatch, with Power Reserve Indication. C.1948.

The classic steel case, with recessed winder displaying the Deco design penchant for clean lines and symmetry.

The snap-on back. Signed; "Jaeger LeCoultre" and with serial number. The case in near pristine condition, polished to the case top,bezel and shoulders, with satin finish to the case band.

The beautiful original dial with raised gilt Deco Arabic numerals, signed; "Jaeger LeCoultre Automatic Swiss". The dial in excellent original condition with some attractive age patination. The original gold Gladio hands also with some age patination.

The Caliber 481"bumper" automatic movement signed: "Jaeger LeCoultre 17 Jewels Swiss Automatic", in superb, pristine, crisp condition.

The self winding mechanism is activated by the movement of the watch in general use, a pendulum incorporated within the movement swings back and forth, gradually winding up the mainspring.The watch may also be wound manually using the winding button in the conventional way. This action and the power in running hours, contained within the mainspring, are indicated in an aperture on the dial.

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The Power Reserve window indicating the number of hours the watch will run if left without activation of the self winding pendulum or manual winding of the mainspring. When this power reserve reduces to ten hours the sector enters a red area.

Power Reserve Indication.

The origins of Power Reserve Indication stem from the nineteenth century when reliability and accuracy of a timepiece used for navigation was no less crucial than a matter of life and death. To aid and maximize such high standards, constant knowledge of the state of wind of the mainspring was essential.

To this end “Power Reserve Indication” was first used on marine chronometers to view the optimum power retained in the mainspring needed to achieve the required accuracy,(the power going no lower than 30% of the total power in the mainspring).

The prestigious house of Jaeger LeCoultre, a Swiss manufacturer famous for its constant flow of major  horological innovations, developed and perfected the Caliber 481, a self winding wristwatch movement with a window indicating the power held in the mainspring.

Jaeger LeCoultre in 1948, were the first with a production wristwatch having a power reserve indicator. The model was marketed as the "Powermatic".

Breguet had come up with a prototype in 1933 but it was just that, a one off prototype and not a production model.

This is not only a significantly early but very large example of this landmark vintage C.1948 model. Subsequent late 1940s and early 1950s models with the complication of a power reserve Caliber 481 movement, were named on the dial "Powermatic".

The very early pre "Powermatic" versions such as this particular example, with the dial printed "Automatic" and not "Powermatic", are very rarely encountered, especially in such a large size and excellent original condition.