A rare craft (Métier Rare®) at the heart of the dial

Jaeger-LeCoultre has chosen to endow this new creation with a finely chiselled dial. This subtly textured watch face represents the distinctive, individualised and ‘touch of madness’ characterising the Duomètre Unique Travel Time. Each tiny bump or ridge bears the imprint of the master artisan who has lavished such dexterity on creating it. This distinctive technique belongs to the art of hand engraving. It consists in removing material by performing movements in all directions using a special graver, so as to create an astonishing, finely granular and shiny surface. The dial is unique in terms of its appearance that is at once rough and delicate, as well as because the work of the artisan is entirely free, guided only by personal talent and never exactly identical. Contemplating this chiselled dial naturally makes one picture the master engraver literally holding his breath in sculpting this landscape of relief effects that gives the watch its true personality.

Minutes tailored to personal desires

On the Duomètre Unique Travel Time, the combination of the reference and destination time zones is adjustable to the nearest minute. Thanks to the Unique Travel Time system, the traveller can set the time-zone display to all continents and countries, whatever the time difference. In practical terms, this means he can de-synchronise the minutes to create his own time.

Despite the complexity of the mechanism, Jaeger-LeCoultre wished to emphasise the pleasant, user-friendly nature of the watch so as to release it from any handling difficulties. As part of this desire to ensure smooth, simply operation as on all Duomètre models, the same crown serves to wind the two barrels. Turning it counter-clockwise winds the timekeeping barrel, while a clockwise rotation winds the travel time-zone barrel. Once the basic setting has been made, adjustment is purely intuitive.

Beautiful through and through

After the pleasant blow of the first visual encounter, the eye is drawn to the overall harmony of the watch, as the seductive nature of the Duomètre Unique Travel Time unfolds through an infinite series of details. The latter will delight all those for whom such an object makes time stand still. In a cleverly orchestrated sequence of operations involving countless hours of patient attention, successive stages have led to the birth of this watch imbued with a studied aura of sophistication.

The domed globe representing the earth is a playful reminder of the kind of globe people love to spin on its axis. The gaze lingers pleasurably on the satinfinish counters creating a delightful contrast with the chiselled dial and the appliques that provide a certain sense of volume.

In addition to the case, the movement is also the object of refined finishes, including hand-bevelled german silver bridges and the exclusive “côtes soleillées” developed by Jaeger-LeCoultre. This concern for both outer and inner decoration is inspired by the grand tradition of pocket-watches by the Grande Maison and confirms the innate kinship of the Duomètre Unique Travel Time with the spirit of Haute Horlogerie. Finally, the back of the watch springs an attractive surprise, since it reveals the engraved names of the cities corresponding to the 24 time zones. An authentic invitation to travel the world.

ORIGIN OF THE DUAL-WING® CONCEPT

There is a ‘before and after’ the unveiling of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Dual-Wing® concept, which has proved a watershed event. Not so long ago, requiring that a traditional calibre reliably handle an additional complication as well as indicating the time implied the risk of jeopardising the precision of the movement’s operation. Such an apparently insoluble situation in light of physical laws and micromechanical limits was bound to spur the inventive instincts of the Jaeger- LeCoultre teams. Working at the heart of the Vallée de Joux, the watchmakers of the Grande Maison adopt a rigorous approach. Rather than seeking to improve existing options, the teams of the Manufacture thus opted to start from scratch. The blank-page option gave rise to a twin-type architecture exploring uncharted territory in reconciling the smooth running of the watch, with both complications and precision.

Duomètre, combining functions with uncompromising precision

The culmination of months of careful thought is named Dual-Wing®. It stands for two separate and independent mechanisms united within a single case: one dedicated to precision and the other to functions, both linked to a single regulating organ ensuring extremely accurate running.

Introduced within the Duomètre à Chronographe, this decisive invention gave rise to the first chronograph maintaining the same degree of accuracy whether or not the chronograph is activated.