Worn & Wound
Jaeger-LeCoultre Enhances the Master Ultra Thin Power Reserve with Subtle Updates
Many in the watch community are predicting that 2024 will be year where we see a wider adoption of avant-garde and modern design as the pendulum continues to swing away from vintage inspired classicism. This is a good thing, and worth celebrating. But there will always be a market for elegant, classic designs. The kind that have been nailed down and perfect for decades, and define the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. There isn’t a brand out there that is more in tune with this style of watchmaking than Jaeger-LeCoultre. Similar to Rolex, they iterate slowly, and don’t adhere to the (false) notion that buzzy new releases are required as part of an industry cycle. They just kind of do their thing, and it almost always results in a beautiful object. Their latest, the Master Ultra Thin Power Reserve, is familiar in many ways but has several small changes that make it even more refined. Jaeger-LeCoultre’s ultra thin watches are a niche of a niche unto themselves. For years, even before the current Thinness Wars really took shape, JLC has been adept at getting the best possible performance from impossibly thin movements, and taking advantage of their diminutive dimensions by housing them in exceedingly well designed watches that take full advantage of their size. For the new Master Ultra Thin Power Reserve, JLC’s Caliber 938 has been reworked slightly to increase the total power reserve to a healthy 70 hours without drastically changing the movement...
