Some variety in JLC
First, I want to say that I love JLC. The Reverso and Master Control collections are some of my favourite watches and I hope to have a piece in my collection, one day. I love the history of the brand and what it stands for. However, having recently looked at some of their historic pieces under their 'Collectibles' collection, I couldn't help but wonder whether the current JLC design language is pigeonholing them into an aesthetic that is at the risk of becoming one-dimensional and boring.
In my opinion, excluding their ultra-high complications, JLC has really three 'collections'. The Reverso collection, the Polaris collection and what I'm terming, the Classic collection (grouping both Master Ultra Thin and Control collections, the Duomètre collection and the Rendez-Vous collection). In the case of the Classic collection, you're more or less looking at steel/gold case watches with white dials and varying complications and finishes.
Yet when I look at their 'Collectibles' collection, I see pieces like this:
And this...
And this...
And finally this...
Hell, I even went looking on C24 and found this...
Now, I'm a realist. It's probably going to cost a pretty penny to set up manufacturing to produce any of the above, at scale. I get it. However, my point is JLC made some really cool watches back in the day, that in my mind, are unmistakably JLC! And aside from the odd limited release in the last 10 years, (eg Geophysic, Tribute to Deepsea), I can't help but feel that for the foreseeable future, we're going to get 'more of the same' eg Reverso, Polaris and white-dialled watches.
Am I the only one that longs for some variety in JLC's collections and a permanent return of pieces from their back-catalogue?
(BTW, I think the Memovox should be it's own line, rather than a complication, mingled in with the above)
Adventures of a watch tragic.
Love JLC and the history and their traditional watch building methods. I truly understand what it takes to make these timepieces and it's truly amazing.