| Author | Message | ||
     Benturin New member Username: Benturin Post Number: 8 Registered: 10-2013 Rating: N/A |
I have been looking for an example of the watch I posted earlier on this forum, on e-bay to find a bezel. I actually found what I believe to be the same watch. (same dial and movement), but the caseback has a different number. Mine was 70721 and this other one has a caseback number of 13804. Are they equivalent?   | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 6006 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
That is likely the serial number of the case if there are no other numbers on the case. You do however, may have a differnat casemaker, one yours the case is made my "L" *cursive, wheres the other does not have that, so I suspect they were not made by the same facility. You might have to use the entire case from the donor watch for it to snap on. | ||
| Benturin New member Username: Benturin Post Number: 9 Registered: 10-2013 Rating: N/A |
Thank you Zaf. I saw on Amazon that you wrote a book. That is terrific! I will try to get a copy. By way of update I spoke with JLC and they said they would do a case reconstruction. They didn't quote me a price because they don't have the watch, but said they would do it. Of course, e-bay is a much more reasonable route. Thanks again! | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 6008 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
Don't send it to JLC, it'll be like $3000 if they're doing case work. You can do that for a lot less via a donor watch. If you want the watch serviced, I can do it for a faction of the cost as well. | ||
| Benturin New member Username: Benturin Post Number: 10 Registered: 10-2013 Rating: N/A |
Thanks ZAF. Do you know who case manufacturers "L" and "D&A" were? (the case I posted is stamped "D&A" on the outside. | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 6012 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
Sorry, not those 2. There are at least 6 different case contractors. It's best you buy a complete case. | ||
| Benturin Junior Member Username: Benturin Post Number: 11 Registered: 10-2013 Rating: N/A |
Was it typical for LeCoultre to give the same exact movement/dial to different case contractors? | ||
| Gatorcpa New member Username: Gatorcpa Post Number: 8 Registered: 11-2006 Rating: N/A |
"D&A" most likely stands for DiVincenzo and Arienti of New York. This makes sense, as the Longines-Wittnauer offices (US importers of Lecoultre)were also in New York. I'm clueless on the cursive "L". I read somewhere that it meant Longines, but I'm really not sure that is correct. LeCoultre often cased identical dial/movement combinations with different cases made by several manufacturers. The Futurematics are good examples of this. Hope this helps, gatorcpa | ||
| Benturin Junior Member Username: Benturin Post Number: 12 Registered: 10-2013 Rating: N/A |
Thank you gatorcpa. That is very helpful. As you can see in the photos above, the cursive "L" case has some nice interior finishing while the "D&A" case is plainer. I wonder if this information would be on a JaegerLeCoultre abstract if I were to purchase one. They are quite expensive, unfortunately. | ||
| Ilja Moderator Username: Ilja Post Number: 381 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
JLC LeSentier just can say if a movement caliber corresponds with a case reference, no way to tell if a particular watch was indeed born in the combination. When it comes to US market products I would be highly surprised if any realistic statement can be made. Their historic extracts from archives are an educated guess, nothing more. | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 6013 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
JLC Switzerland will not be able to produce a reasonable "extract" on most USA watches, that were cased in the US, with US made cases. All they can do is give you details on the movement. What happened to the movement once it left Switzerland was not tracked by Switzerland (i.e. they will not know what movement went into which case) and it seems the US records, if they were kept at all, were lost when the US service center shut down in 1990s. | ||
| Gatorcpa New member Username: Gatorcpa Post Number: 9 Registered: 11-2006 Rating: N/A |
I used to be able to get dates of manufacture of LeCoultre watches by sending e-mail to the US service center in New York. JLC no longer provides this service free of charge. Back then, all they could tell you was that the movement was exported to the US. I think the US records were lost when the Longines-Wittnauer Company went out of business in the 1980's and JLC took back the distribution rights. Take care, gatorcpa |