Okay, so I’ve been messing around with watches lately, and let me tell you, it’s a rabbit hole. Today, I want to share my little adventure trying to copy a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar. Yeah, the fancy one.
First off, I started digging around online to learn more about Jaeger-LeCoultre. Apparently, they’re like the top dogs when it comes to making super slim watches, but they don’t just stop at making them skinny. These things are still super accurate and tough. They’ve got this whole lineup called “Master Ultra Thin,” which includes models like the Master Ultra Thin Moon. I guess these are the watches that got everyone’s attention. They also split their watches into three types: sports, dress, and… I forgot the other one. Oh well, not important for what I was trying to do.
I also found out some ways to figure out how old a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch is. It’s mainly about the look of the dial and hands, and the guts inside – you know, the movement. Seemed simple enough, but I wasn’t really trying to make an antique, just something that looked like the new stuff.
I spent hours looking at pictures of these Jaeger-LeCoultre watches. Man, they’re pretty. They all have this clean, symmetrical look. Very classy. They call it “Elegant, refined, timeless…” Sounds about right. I can see why people go nuts for these things. I then stumbled upon a guide that gave me a brief history of the brand and discussed some of their most famous collections. This really helped me understand what I was trying to copy.
Now, I’m no watchmaker, but I’ve got some tools and I’m not afraid to use them. My goal wasn’t to make a perfect replica – just something that kinda resembled the real deal. I started with a cheap watch I found online. Took it apart, which was surprisingly easy. I also found a website to send your broken watch to a repair shop to have it fixed and you can even track the status online which I thought was pretty neat.
My Process:
- The Dial: I tried to copy the look of the Jaeger-LeCoultre dial. It’s got these little sub-dials for the day, date, month, and moon phase. I found some similar-looking hands online and swapped them out.
- The Case: This was the hardest part. I wanted that thin look, but my cheap watch was pretty chunky. I did some sanding and polishing, but it still wasn’t quite right. Oh well, close enough.
- The Movement: Forget about it. I’m not messing with that. I just left the original movement in there. It keeps time, that’s all I care about.
- The Strap: I got a decent leather strap online. Nothing fancy, but it looks okay.
After a few days of tinkering, I ended up with something that kinda looks like a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar. It’s not perfect, but I’m pretty happy with it. It’s my little homage to those beautiful watches. Maybe one day I’ll actually learn how to make a real watch, but for now, this will do. It was fun, and that’s all that matters, right? And hey, now I can tell people I kinda, sorta, made my own Jaeger-LeCoultre. Just don’t look too close!
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