Why I Own The Jaeger LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Date

When I first started with this hobby, I immediately felt a preference for watches on leather straps. Sports watches just didn't appeal to me at all, and while they have grown on me, I still tend to prefer the ones on leather straps.

My very first luxury watch was the Breitling Navitimer pictured above. Before buying it, I tried a number of different watches. Initially I thought I'd go for one from Longines, but as it so often is, it just didn't feel right on the wrist (looked way better in photos). I knew I wanted a blue dial, and the Navitimer had the visual complexity I was looking for back then. I think the outer, creamy bezel ring sold it for me, as it frames the dial so well.

It didn't take long, however, before I felt the need for a simpler, classier piece. At the time I had this idea that a dress watch was largely for when I wore a suit, so I wanted to start small. I couldn't justify another big purchase on a watch I saw myself wearing a handful of times per year.

I got lucky and found exactly the one I wanted second hand, a great deal on an Orient Star. Orient blows me away when it comes to how good they are at their price point, and I think this watch really embodies it. If memory serves I paid between $300 and $400 for it. Absolute bargain!

Having owned the Orient for some time, I came to realize that it matches a lot of outfits great: I didn't reserve it for suit occasions only. Furthermore, a colleague of mine was wearing an A. Lange & Söhne Saxonia Thin with a casual outfit at a company event. That watch got me hooked on Lange (which you can read more about here), but it also showed me just how versatile dress pieces can be! It was at that point I decided to "upgrade" the Orient. The gold case, white-ish dial and brown leather strap was a winning combination for me, so I knew I wanted a watch in the same style.

In the summer of 2022 I was in Vienna. Compared to Norway, the amount of watches they have available to try on in that city is next level. I think I tried on something like 15 different watches in this style alone, along with a plethora of others. Like a child in a candy store, I could not get enough. I tallied up my watch store visits, which amounted to 23 in 4 days...

One of my first favourites was the Omega DeVille. At the time, I remember prefering yellow gold over red gold. That quickly changed though, as I tried on a number of various options from Glashütte Original, to Lange, Vacheron and so on. The Saxonia felt too small for me, the Patrimony a little too classic and plain. Nothing felt better than the DeVille!

But then, I found the Master Ultra Thin Date:

This is actually the watch I now own, the very first time I tried it

Now, I had seen it multiple times, but JLC in general felt a bit too generic for me. I had a great talk about watches in general with the sales guy, however, who urged me to try it on the wrist. It's hard to describe how much a watch can change from being behind glass to being put on the wrist! It was an absolute stunner, and this was the first time I had tried on a watch which completely transformed in a positive manner on my wrist. I even took side-by-side shots with my Orient, which highligh just how big of a difference there is between these two watches:

Not surprisingly, of course, but still. Now, I'm not one to buy impulsively, and as I was leaving Vienna, I got a business card with notes on a possible deal (I got a great offer).

When I came back home I had some soul searching to do. I was really happy with my Orient, and the Jaeger would be a big step-up in terms of price compared to my most expensive purchase at the time. Was I ready to commit? I didn't know JLC particularly well prior to visiting Vienna, but I learned quite a lot there and continued my research online. Their history really appealed to me (and it still does), and particularly the "Watchmaker of watchmakers" phrase stood out. At the time, I was unable to articulate why their brand spoke to me so much more than a lot of the others. I have later boiled it down to three points:

1. The Watchmaker of watchmakers. It says a lot about what you have accomplished when this is a phrase you actively use, and that is accepted and repeated by the industry, enthusiasts and collectors at large.

2. Their technical expertise, in particular the accuracy and reliability of their movements. The 1000 hour control, the various records they've held over the years. In general it seems to me that a lot of watchmakers focus on the design and finishing, and to an extent some neglect the movements. Nothing could be further from the truth with JLC, and I really respect that.

3. They take on the hardest challenges. The most complex watches JLC produce are truly pieces of art. Incredibly complex, with a visual beauty to match. The rarest JLCs are the most beautiful watches I know about. Sadly, regardless of availability, I will likely never be in a financial situation to own one. There are several watches I could list here, but one of my absolute favourites is the Westminster Gyrotourbillon:

Picture from Hodinkee

Having read up on them, I e-mailed the store in Vienna. The watch hadn't been sold, and the offer they gave me was still valid. I paid a deposit and returned to pick up the watch some time later.

It was way after I got the watch that I came across a really interesting YouTube-video about various dress watches in this style. From one of my favourites, IDGuy, I think I realized why I fell in love with this design so much: It strikes the perfect balance between classic and modern. See the video here: The Perfect "One Watch" - Calatrava, Patrimony, Ultra Thin or ... ?

The Jaeger LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Date is subtle, versatile, gorgeous, brilliant. It goes with a ton of outfits, it wears great (light and very comfortable) and I think it's highly underrated. It really opened my eyes to a brand that I had previously thought of as generic and uninterestin. JLC are now part of "my personal" Holy Trinity (along with Lange and Vacheron). There are multiple JLC watches I consider for the future, and they have everything from aspirational pieces to grails I'll never get.

For now though, I'm super happy with the Master Ultra Thin Date.