Jaeger-LeCoultre
The stature of Jaeger-LeCoultre has grown dramatically in recent years for the quality of its designs and the innovation it brings to watchmaking - and its latest concept timepiece called Master Compressor Extreme LAB looks certain to raise its profile further.
Jaeger-LeCoultre was a manufacture long before it became fashionable to be so, and for many years has had the ability to make all the parts for a watch in-house.
In the past five years, the company's design team has earned an enviable reputation for its work, but the new Master Compressor Extreme LAB, launched at the SIHH show, takes the company into an entirely new realm.
It is almost an understatement to describe the Extreme LAB as revolutionary because it incorporates so many innovations. The new Calibre 988C movement that powers this watch operates without any form of lubricant, and is capable of running smoothly for years without any deterioration in performance. Jaeger-LeCoultre claims that even at temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius, when the oils or grease in a conventional watch freeze and stop the movement, the Extreme LAB continues to function normally - and it operates just as well at temperatures as high as 60 degrees.
This important new movement has a balance which features entirely new geometry, and the escapement utilises more resistant materials. These features, combined with the latest-generation tourbillon regulator, enable the 988C movement to establish a new precision benchmark.
