Jaeger-LeCoultre: A Winning Combination

For the first time in the history of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture, a moon-phase aperture and a tourbillon have been combined within the same model.

We're talking about the company's newest addition, the Master Ultra Thin Tourbillon Moon, which features both of these traditional mechanical complications on its dial: a tourbillon at 6 o'clock and the astronomical complication at 12 o'clock.

But don't forget to take a look at some of the other important features. Firstly, the moon-phase display not only shows the Northern Hemisphere moon phases.

The familiar depiction of the moon against the night sky is surrounded by a ring with the phases of the moon in the Southern Hemisphere in symbols on the left, and the age of the moon in numbers on the right. This convenient triple indicator was developed within the walls of the JLC Manufacture last year.

Secondly, the shape of the Dauphine hour and minute hands matches the hand which indicates the date. The most impressive thing about how it moves is the gliding jump it makes at midnight on the 15th to the 16th each month. All of this has been done to ensure a perfectly unobscured view of the tourbillon. The tourbillon weighs a mere 0.3 g thanks to the titanium it's made of, and is mounted on a thin rose-gold bridge.

The complication is kept running by the new JLC Cal. 983, with a frequency of 28 800 vibrations per hour and a 45-hour power reserve. It's been designed based on the tourbillon-equipped Cal. 978. This is the same movement that helped Jaeger-LeCoultre's Master Tourbillon watch win the international Chronometrie 2009 contest organized by the Watch Museum of Le Locle.

Those who like to take a quick look at the dial and then flip over the case to examine the details of the movement are perfectly justified. The skeletonized tourbillon bridge allows you to keep an eye on how it's working even on the caseback side, and the rose-gold rotor has been made in the shape of the JL logo.

The case is made of rose gold, the Le Grand Rose alloy to be more precise, which is also magnificent! The new case material was only introduced this year, and according to its creators, it has a remarkable sheen and depth of color.