Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Watches
Early wristwatches, mostly before the 20th century, were worn primarily by women. (Men preferred pocket watches.) These micromechanical wonders were often thought more of as jewelry than timekeepers but nevertheless did keep accurate time. Unsurprisingly, one of the first manufacturers of watches for women was the Swiss luxury brand, Jaeger-LeCoultre. The Rendez-Vous collection of watches are modernized versions of the incredible first watches for women manufactured by this brand. A wide variety of styles, sizes and complications are available in this superb collection.
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Night and Day Indicator
Jaeger-LeCoultre offers several watches in the Rendez-Vous collection with a playful complication known as a night and day indicator. It is easy to mistake this complication for a moon phase indication, but it is definitely different. A moon phase indication rotates once every 29.5 days (its synodic period), while a night and day indicator rotates once every 24 hours. The rotating night and day disc features a sun on one half and a moon with stars on the other. A half-circle cutout on the dial shows one half of the disc as it rotates, indicating whether it is night or day. This is not the most useful complication in the world of horology, but it certainly is one of the more fun.
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Perpetual Calendar
In October 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced his new calendar, now known as the Gregorian calendar. The pope likely didn’t realize this at the time, but his calendar would eventually complicate the job of horologists around the world greatly. The challenge with the Gregorian calendar is multifaceted. First, not all months have the same number of days. Second, every four years the month of February has one additional day. This was done to keep the calendar synchronized with the astronomical year but makes it difficult for a mechanical timekeeper to keep track of the correct date. The perpetual calendar complication inside certain models of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Rendez-Vous collection keeps track of not only the correct number of days in each month but also the additional day added every four years during a leap year. To top it off, Jaeger-LeCoultre displays the perpetual calendar complication with an absolutely beautiful guilloché dial, set with diamonds for hour markers.
Jaeger-LeCoultre's Tourbillon
The word tourbillon means “whirlwind” in French, which is an apt description for what the mechanism looks like as it is running. Note that a tourbillon is not a complication, as it does not display any additional information to the wearer of the watch. What it is instead is something wondrous and magical — a mechanism that works to counter the force of gravity on the most important parts of a mechanical watch. Instead of a pendulum (like those found in clocks), a mechanical watch uses a balance wheel and hairspring. This regulating organ oscillates back and forth in much the same way that a pendulum does. The important difference is that a balance wheel and hairspring is portable, whereas a pendulum is not. One issue with the arrangement of the balance wheel and hairspring is that its rate of oscillations is susceptible to change because of the force of gravity acting upon it when the watch is in different positions. This is why we often see watches advertised as being tested in different positions. The tourbillon mechanism mostly solves this issue by constantly rotating the regulating organ as it oscillates. The end result is an averaging of positional variations, which in turn makes for a very precise watch. The tourbillon mechanism in the Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Tourbillon is definitely mesmerizing to look at but is also beneficial for the isochronal characteristics of the watch.
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Moon Phase Complication
The moon phase complication is very popular and seen in many watches from many brands. In the Rendez-Vous Moon, Jaeger-LeCoultre tries a new take on the well-known complication. For most moon phase complications, a small half-circle hole is cut in the dial at 6 o’clock. Underneath this hole, a disc rotates during the synodic phase of the moon. This works well, but the indication is somewhat small and difficult to read. Jaeger-LeCoultre addresses this issue with the moon phase in the Rendez-Vous Moon by enlarging it a great deal. The moon now rotates around the central hands arbor and is roughly twice the size of the standard moon phase indicator. This makes for a more stylized version of the classic complication, which is a joy to observe and use.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Pricing and Availability
On resale markets, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous is a popular watch. References like the Q3468421, a Rendez-Vous Night and Day, sell for about $5,000. A similar reference but in gold, Reference Q3612420, sells around $22,000. Many Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous watches are diamond-set, which can cause large differences in pricing.