Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Night & Day Two Tone Bracelet (3444120)

Driven by Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 978, the Master Tourbillon laid a prestigious milestone in the history of horological accuracy by winning the Chronometrie 2009 International Timing Competition organised by the Watch Museum of Le Locle. The Grande Maison now proudly presents a new model equipped with this already legendary calibre, the Master Grande Tradition a Tourbillon. This timepiece brilliantly combines the traditional know-how of a Manufacture dedicated to the quest for precision since its founding in 1833, and a spirit of innovation illustrated by the development of avant-garde technical solutions. Featuring a 43 mm case crafted in platinum or pink gold and an understatedly elegant design that has become the hallmark of Jaeger-LeCoultre creations, the Master Grande Tradition a Tourbillon embodies the triumph of precision expressed in an inimitably legible manner.

A victory over time
Chronometry or timing competitions were no small matter until the mid 20th century. These contests first initiated in the 19th century enabled brands and their famous regleurs (precision timers) to periodically face off by vying with each other in finding ingenious ways to earn the much-envied title of "precision champion". In 2009, the Watch Museum in Le Locle decided to revive the spirit of these events that had progressively vanished from the watchmaking scene since the 1960s by organising its very own timing competition. Above and beyond the usual rating tests to which watches were submitted in the classic historical contests, it incorporated unprecedented procedures, including taking account of resistance to impacts and to magnetic fields. Having earned a score of 909 points, the Master Tourbillon de Jaeger-LeCoultre won the first prize and achieved a magnificent victory that was certainly no coincidence.
For almost 180 years, the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre has been entirely dedicated to the passion for innovation and precision. As early as 1992, at the very dawn of the rebirth of mechanical watchmaking, the Grande Maison instated its own control procedure for testing precision and sturdiness, performed on every single timepiece emerging from the workshops of the Manufacture. In 2009, it further extended the scope of these stringent trials by introducing a new battery of tests, the "1000 Hours Chrono Control" encompassing the full set of criteria of the ISO 3159 norm governing the procedures followed by the Swiss official chronometer testing bodies. It nonetheless differs in one crucial respect from the regulations issued by the official bureaux: Jaeger-LeCoultre does not merely verify the accuracy of the movements on their own, without their additional functions, and fitted inside test cases; instead, it performs rating and resistance controls on finished watches complete with their complications and inside their final cases. The timepieces are subjected to a succession of rigorous and varied tests - including mean daily rate, mean variation in rate, rate testing over 16 days in 6 positions and at 3 temperatures, controls of water resistance and the capacity to withstand various shocks. These tests are designed and implemented so as to ensure they closely replicate real-life conditions of use for a timepiece, and thereby offer users the precious assurance of owning a watch that will provide daily proof of its exceptional performances for decades to come.

Three models and an exceptional calibre
Having been inducted following its recent victory into the high-precision movement hall of fame, Calibre 978 - one of the 1,000 calibres developed and produced by Jaeger-LeCoultre - no longer powers the distinguished Master Tourbillon alone, but now also beats at the heart of two other horological creations bearing the prestigious signature of the Manufacture: the Master Grande Tradition a Tourbillon and the Master Date Tourbillon 39.
Its technical characteristics epitomise the results of Jaeger-LeCoultre's ongoing research. The engineers have developed a tourbillon carriage made from a light yet robust titanium alloy and weighing just 0.28 grams. This means very little energy is required to maintain the rotations of the tourbillon and its ultra-light carriage. The energy from the barrel can thus be entirely used to keep the large-sized variable-inertia balance oscillating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour and thus guaranteeing an exceptional degree of precision. In keeping with fine watchmaking traditions, the parts of this calibre are meticulously decorated by hand. The openworked oscillating weight in 22-carat gold, which guarantees a comfortable 48-hour power reserve when the mechanism is fully wound, bears inscriptions relief-engraved using the time-honoured technique of punch embossing. The elegant and refined Master Grande Tradition a Tourbillon now appears in an harmonious 43 mm-diameter case that highlights the majestic stature of an exceptional tourbillon enthroned on its generously sized dial. It is available in two versions: one in pink gold; and the other in a 200-piece platinum limited edition in tribute to the memorable first prize won in the 2009 Chronometrie timing competition and bearing the dial inscription "tourbillon chronometrie". Its functions include a dual time-zone display, a 24-hour indication as well as a pointer-type date displayed on a graduated scale surrounding the applied hour-markers. It makes a bigger jump between the 15th and the 16th of each month so as never to obscure the view of the tourbillon and its bridge featuring even slimmer, purer lines.
The Master Date Tourbillon 39 with its 39-millimetre diameter proclaims its membership of a classic line, radiating a beauty subtly enhanced by the glow of pink gold. In addition to its hour and minute hands, it is distinguished by an original date scale appearing inside the circle of hourmarkers in order to give pride of place to the tourbillon and to compose a discreetly harmonious watchmaking landscape.

The competition-winning Master Tourbillon is a timepiece surrounded by a prestigious aura and which will go down in watchmaking history as personifying the remarkable qualities of Jaeger- LeCoultre Calibre 978. Presented in a 41.5 mm case in steel, pink gold or platinum editions, it is graced with applied gold hour-markers and numerals as well as the inscription "regulateur a tourbillon" - a reminder of the original function of an escapement mounted in a rotating carriage in order to enhance rating precision by compensating for gravity-induced errors. Devotees of horology and of precision are keenly aware of these qualities, and the Master Tourbillon is already one of the finest gems in their collection. It is a treasure that they enjoy both admiring and wearing, secure in the knowledge of daily benefiting from absolute accuracy in all circumstances.