Watches and Wonders 2024: The skinny on Jaeger-LeCoultre’s reimagined ultra thin perpetual calendar

Gloria Fung gets the skinny Jaeger-LeCoultre’s latest offering

Watchmakers are constantly vying for the title of making the best and most extreme of a particular movement or design. Ultra-thin watches are one of the categories continually getting challenged, not just because it’s a technical feat to house hundreds of components into a tiny case. It also simply comes down to the fact that these skinny watches are beautiful and comfortable to wear on wrists of almost any size. 

Jaeger-LeCoulture is among the watchmakers that are constantly challenging themselves to shave off those extra millimetres in their watches. Many of the Maison’s sleek, dressy designs naturally lend themselves to taking on this svelt look well. The ultra-thin Reverso, for one, has been one of the most iconic renditions of the house’s flagship design. 

At this year’s Watches and Wonders, the Swiss watchmaker unveils a new, shaved-down rendition of the master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar. 

As the model’s name suggests, the high-complication timepiece features a perpetual calendar that displays the day, date, month, leap year and a moonphase. Naturally, a complication of such magnitude calls for many components. Jaeger-LeCoultre took on the challenge to silm down this complication first launched in 2013. 

This latest edition of the Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar measures a mere 9.2 mm in thickness. With a diameter of 39mm, it’s the perfect dress watch that exudes understated sophistication, be it in the boardroom or ballroom. The elongated lugs create a more tapered fit on the writs, further adding to the comfort factor of this ultra-thin timepiece. 

Across the dial are masterfully laid out counters to display the myriad of calendar indications alongside the hour, minute and second. The moonphase at the 12 o’clock position adds a pop of colour and focus to the sleek dial. 

True to its classic aesthetics, the in-house automatic movement with 70 hours of power reserve is housed inside a brushed case with a polished bezel. The watch is presented in four references, three in pink gold and one in steel. An all-new pink gold rendition that is paired with a midnight blue dial is set to be unveiled later this year.

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