Posted by As I have mentioned several times already, clocks is a big part of the Jaeger-LeCoultre heritage – yes, clocks and I am not only referring to the Atmos.
1-days, 2-days, 8-days, “baton” movements, … So many that it is hard to keep track…
Many years ago I saw a beautiful table clock for sale. I fell in love with the clock right away and had to have it…!
This is a typical 8-days table clock from the 1950’s.
Round, frame made of brass with a crystal dial which allows you to see through the clock. And the very characteristic “eyes” hands that Jaeger-LeCoultre use on many of their clocks!
I fell in love with the dial colour – here it looks almost brown, but in natural light it shifts over to a lighter more purple colour…
Jaeger-LeCoultre made a lot of different clocks back in the 1950’s with large metal frame, transparent dial which make the movement “hang” in the air…
Here are examples from the 1950’s – several 8-days- and Baton movement clocks. In the centre, the Atmos.
And here – catalogue scans from 1953 (left) and 1955 (right):
As said, there were a lot of different clock models to chose from back then – these are just a few examples!
Now, did you make the same observations like I did once I came home with my new clock?
For one, all these clocks have a three digit reference number. As I wrote in the title – my clock is reference 9627 – four digits!?
Second observation, most of the transparent dials looks to be with clear, colourless crystal.
Third observation, if you look at the reference 316 shown above – this clock also have Roman numbers. Look at number four – displayed as “IIII” which is commonly used on watches instead of the normal Roman four “IV”.
Yes, most Roman number watch dial’s looks like in this ad from 1947, four written like “IIII”:
Hm, did I just make a mistake with this clock..?
Four digit reference, … “9627”
Coloured crystal dial, … And number four – “IV”!?
Checking the details, it looks too good to be an replacement crystal…
All details still there – the encircled “8”, indicating 8-days movement, Swiss… It all looks good! But it’s hard to know for sure…
Could the “IV” been a mistake? Or they run out of “IIII” when making the frame so they took a spare “IV”?
Several years later I found a Jaeger-LeCoultre Clock catalogue from 1952. Yes, a whole catalogue only for clocks –
From the July 1952 price list you get that this catalogue is rather thick. 70 references, of which all but one are three digits.
And yes, the last reference is 9627!
I finally found a document with the clock inside. Rule #3 Patience is a virtue.
OK, so the reference existed, now the question is – how did the 9627 look like in the catalogue?
“IV”! I haven’t seen that on any other Jaeger-LeCoultre clock, but here it is “IV”.
The transparent crystal look maybe a bit darker, but hard to tell if in any colour or if clear…
Wait, the description reads “8-days movement, amethyst, transparent”.
Here it gets transparent that English is not my first language – amethyst, I google it and… Wikipedia says “Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz.”
As mentioned – in natural light the dial is more towards purple… Guess after almost 50 years, the acrylic crystal have turned a bit in colour…
If this would have been a wrist watch for sale I bet the description would say “Tropical dial“! (It’s not a wrist watch and it is not for sale)
By finding the document of the 9627, I could clear any doubts regarding this clock.
Which is very good, because I have been enjoying it a lot ever since I got it!
The Amethyst transparent dial makes the 9627 shift in character depending on light and direction of light… I find this clock beautiful and alluring…
For reference: the round frame is 210 mm in diameter, 13 mm thick. Base is 220 mm x 60 mm and total height is 250 mm. Weight: 1.6 Kg.
If you like clocks, make a search here on my blog – Clock
As said many times, the Jaeger-LeCoultre universe is both deep and wide, please come join me in my journey trying to uncover it all!
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