Jaeger-LeCoultre E 558 Deep Sea Master Mariner “Barracuda” – the Box

So, I started to write the history of the Jaeger-LeCoultre reference E 558 Deep Sea Master Mariner “Barracuda”. About how I find it strange that no documents for the first two years of the watch existence…

Now I though it’s time to continue with the box for this watch…

I am not sure how many sales ads I saw with the E 558 on top of or inside one of these boxes… To me, that is just wrong! Especially if your watch is the Jaeger-LeCoultre version…

Jaeger-LeCoultre E 558 with LeCoultre box – not a correct match

Jaeger-LeCoultre watches did not originally have LeCoultre boxes. In the 1970’s when LeCoultre started to be branded Jaeger-LeCoultre in the North American market, there might have been a possibility that a LeCoultre watch would have a Jaeger-LeCoultre box, but not vice versa…

No, this box I would say belongs to the dress version of the LeCoultre Master Mariner from the mid-end of 1950’s.

Can I prove it? No, but there are indications which strongly points in that direction.

Here is an LeCoultre Master Mariner ad from 1957, the year before the 125 years anniversary. Notice the text ‘Over a century of “The Most Exceptional” watchmaking’.

That phrase ‘Over a century’ I only observed in boxes and documents pre-1958. After that its “125 years anniversary” or “over 125 years”…

LeCoultre ad 1957 – Master Mariner “Over a century of…”

Also, consider the style of the LeCoultre logo and the “Master Mariner Automatic”.

Looking inside the box – same style of logo, same sign with the model name and again, the ‘Over a century of “The Most Exceptional” watchmaking’.

LeCoultre box – Master Mariner “Over a century of…”

Another indicator is the text hidden under the watch holder…

“A double duty box, to hold jewellery, studs and cigarettes”. That watch boxes could double as cigarette boxes were a quite common argument in the end of 1940’s and in the 1950’s, but not in the end of 1960’s or early 1970’s…

LeCoultre box – “A double duty box, to hold jewellery, studs and cigarettes”

So, my take on this is that if your E 558 is a Jaeger-LeCoultre version, the standard blue box from the end of 1960’s and early 1970’s is the correct box for this watch!