| Author | Message | ||
     Christopherg Junior Member Username: Christopherg Post Number: 16 Registered: 03-2010 Rating: N/A |
I recently acquired a 1965 US market steel Memovox: Swiss LeCoultre cal. K910 manual movement, steel case by Star W.C. Co. with crowns signed with the JL logo, steel bracelet by Kestenmade (USA) with the JL logo on the clasp. Altogether a very nice piece notwithstanding its transatlantic manufacture. Where would be dial, hands and crowns have been made? | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 4522 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
As far as I know, the dial and hands, particularly on a steel piece, would have been Swiss made. If the crowns are JL crowns they are Swiss made as well. Some USA made cases are quasi-identical to the Swiss ones. | ||
| Gregb Advanced Member Username: Gregb Post Number: 235 Registered: 10-2006 Rating: N/A |
By coincidence, I have some factory-packed boxes of U.S.-market "LeCoultre" caliber 910 Memovox movements and they came from the JLC factory with the dial and hands pre-installed. However the crown installed on the movements is a temporary unmarked brass crown, so the logo crowns must have been installed at the time of casing. | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 4523 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
This is 'normal' if there is such a thing for the Swiss, as the crowns may differ from model to model even though they share the same dial & movement. | ||
| Christopherg Junior Member Username: Christopherg Post Number: 17 Registered: 03-2010 Rating: N/A |
Thanks, guys. The US-made sleek steel bracelet has the JL logo on its clasp, suggesting (I think) US-use of the logo by Kestenmade under licence. Does this sound right? At what point was the change made from the cursive 'LeC' logo on crowns for US market watches (I have one such from 1949) to the JL logo (seen on this 1965 watch)? | ||
| Christopherg Junior Member Username: Christopherg Post Number: 24 Registered: 03-2010 Rating: N/A |
Colleagues, a question in my previous post re the Crowns remains unanswered, and I have more! My LeC Memovox (photo attached) is powered by the cal. K910 movement, which seems to keep extremely accurate time - possibly due in part to the increase in beat from 18,000 to 19,800 BPH. But that increase, from 5 to 5.5 beats per second, seems unusual - any info on why JLC employed it?  | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 4561 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
What question regarding the crowns? I answred that if they have a JLC Logo, they most like they would have been Swiss made as well. As far as the 19800 rate, it is not all that unusual, and all things being the same it would be slightly more accurate as the movement is running at a 10% higher resolution. It would not be however, the dominant factor as to why a watch is running accurately. | ||
| Christopherg Junior Member Username: Christopherg Post Number: 25 Registered: 03-2010 Rating: N/A |
Zaf, you evidently missed the question in my April 19 post. To reiterate, it seemed to me as a matter of observation that at some point, signed crowns on those US market LeCoultre watches that had them changed from the cursive 'LeC' to the European 'JL'. I wondered whether there was a time when this occurred as a matter of corporate policy or trademark development, as opposed to serendipity. Thanks. | ||
| Zaf Moderator Username: Zaf Post Number: 4562 Registered: 05-2003 Rating: N/A |
I don't know when or why they would have changed, other than future trademark development and integration with their European designs. |