Recently, I inherited a windup pocket watch. Tiny and well-made, it keeps impeccable time. I dimly recognized its marque, Jaeger-LeCoultre, as one of distinction in clockmaking. (I have always coveted its Atmos, a clock as close to a perpetual-motion machine as any designed: it is powered by changes in the ambient temperature.) So what were Jaeger et al. up to these days?
The company turns out to have a much wider range of timepieces than I imagined. (Like, 200 of them.) Or than I could afford. (Their top-of-the-line Reverso Repetition Minutes sells for US$65,000.)
A philistine can get a Jaeger-LeCoultre for a grand, but the real joy in owning one is in the craftsmanship that goes into the few hundred mechanical parts. No batteries required: many are self-winding (automatique, as they say), using a ratcheted weight that responds to the motion of your wrist.
What's sad is that a cheap electronic Timex keeps time as well as the very best watches humanity can craft. That almost makes me wonder if I shouldn't keep my new watch in the nearest safe-deposit box. Well, almost.
Jaeger-LeCoultre watches: approximately US$1,000 to $65,000; Atmos: starting at $1,595. Jaeger-LeCoultre: (800) 552 8463, +1 (703) 665 2459.
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