Okay, so I’ve been obsessed with watches lately, and I’ve had my eye on this particular one – the Jaeger-LeCoultre JLC Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire. It’s a real beauty, but let’s be honest, the price tag is way out of my league. So, I thought, why not try to make my own version? A little ambitious, maybe, but hey, you gotta dream big, right?
First things first, I needed to do some research. I spent hours online, reading articles and forum posts about Jaeger-LeCoultre watches. I learned that the real deal is made with some seriously top-notch materials like high-grade stainless steel. Some guy on a forum was talking about buying a JLC on Chrono24 and someone else was warning that there are fakes on the site. Mine came with a paper, but no box. It made me nervous. Then I saw another post about a comparison of a Jaeger LeCoultre vs a LeCoultre and I thought I was safe. Also, I found out that the price of the real one recently went up to $10,600! Crazy, right? It used to be like $8750, still crazy but even crazier now.
While I was deep in my research, I stumbled upon some info about imitation watches. Apparently, there are stores that specialize in selling high-quality knock-offs. I even saw some ads for discounted “authentic” luxury watches, which seemed pretty sketchy. But then I saw an ad that said “Want a Jaeger-LeCoultre JLC Duomtre Sphrotourbillon Original Order? Check out this affordable imitation.” and it got me thinking, maybe an imitation wasn’t so bad.
My initial goal was to find a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Date, but that changed. I started digging around for parts. I remembered my grandpa had an old watch with a mechanical movement stashed away somewhere. I called my mom, and after a lot of rummaging in the attic, she found it! Score! The movement was a bit dusty, but it still worked. That was a huge win.
Now for the dial. Honestly, this was the trickiest part. I wanted it to look as close to the real Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire as possible. I played around with a few ideas, but that is still a work in progress.
So, that’s where I’m at right now. It’s been a fun project so far, and I’ve learned a ton about watches. I’m still working on putting all the pieces together, but I’m pretty happy with how it’s turning out. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll even be able to afford the real deal. But until then, I’ll be rocking my homemade version with pride!
- Researched like crazy about Jaeger-LeCoultre.
- Found my grandpa’s old watch for the movement!
- Working on making the dial look similar to the original.
It’s not perfect, but it’s mine. And that’s what matters, right?
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