The present lot is a rare example where a watch dial bears only a portion of a brand’s name. The collaboration between Paris-based Edmond Jaeger and LeCoultre led to their official merger in 1937. During their early years, watches with only the LeCoultre name on the dial were sold to the American market, and it is believed the more uncommon watches with only Jaeger on the dial were sold to the French market. Even though Jaeger-LeCoultre was manufacturing their own movements and supplying them to other brands in the 1940s, they did not manufacture a chronograph movement at the time. Accordingly, the present watch houses the robust, well-made Universal Genève caliber 285.
The present lot may be 70 years old, but it remains in pristine unmolested condition. The glossy black dial, with silver printing, glows and radiates light in the most serene way. The chronograph minutes counter features three longer markers indicating the 3,6,9 elapsed minutes. This interesting dial configuration is found on some chronograph dials and used at a time when phone calls in Western Europe were billed in three-minute increments. The large flat bezel serves to further enhance the impression of size, giving the watch a contemporary aesthetic certain to please any vintage chronograph enthusiast.