JAEGER-LECOULTRE Geophysic Chronometer, Ref. E168,... Lot 32

JAEGER-LECOULTRE Geophysic Chronometer, Ref. E168, movement no. 1276318, case no. 747336, made in 1958 A very rare and attractable, collectible, hand wound, antimagnetic, 18K yellow gold chronometer’s wristwatch with off-white dial, applied gold indexes, luminous hands, sweep center second with stop second, leather strap and gilt buckle. Fitted with a caliber 478BWSbr, mechanical, manual winding, antimagnetic, 17 jewels, shock-absorbers, index regulator with swan-neck micrometric adjustment, monometallic balance with poising screws, adjusted to 5 positions, straight line lever escapement, self-compensating blued steel Breguet hairspring, hack mechanism, protected by a dust and antimagnetic soft iron cap, screwed gold case back, hesalite crystal. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 35 mm. Thickness 10 mm Accompanied by a JLC Extract from the Archives. The iconic Geophysic, Chronometer, Ref. E168, was born in 1958 and produced only one year, to mark the 125th anniversary of the brand and the world’s first « international Geophysical year », a time of fundamental scientific and political developments on the initiative of the United States. This event took place from July 1st, 1957, to December 31, 1958. JLC created at the time one of the most advanced timekeepers on several points: accuracy, water-dust-humidity protected case, size, resistant to magnetic fields up to 600 gauss, thanks to its Faraday’s cage construction. Reasons why the vintage Geophysic is still today one of the most important models in JLC history, representing manufacturer’s highest values of craftsman ship, precision, robustness, aesthetic purity and still elegance. Fresh to the market, the present watch is a great opportunity to get a piece of the manufactory’s history.