Hello fellow JLC enthusiasts. I have been a long time reader on these forums and appreciate all the information and images the community shares. Until a few years ago I was in the dark to the true depth of the watch word. I wore watches my whole life starting with an indigo Timex as a kid, a Victorinox, some Fossils, and then a Burberry automatic GMT that I wore for years in my early twenties. I remember how much I loved that Burberry with its sapphire crystal and "Swiss Made" on the dial - how little did I know. While I am now critical on the choice of a Burberry, it did help me along on my watch journey.
It wasn't until approximately three years ago that I made the decision that I wanted an automatic watch. After viewing several videos by a certain YouTube channel I ended up with a homage Squale. This watch taught me so much about what I liked and did not like about a watch. I quickly learned that I did not appreciate that my watch, which at the time was the most I had ever spent for a watch, was in large part designed after the Rolex Submariner. I like the Submariner and grew up dreaming of having that watch someday, but for the cost of the Squale I could have had so many watches with their own design. I had also chosen the 30 atmos model, which was unnecessarily thick and overkill for the person that barely goes for a swim let alone never goes diving. I also didn't appreciate the the how flashy the ceramic bezel was, the top coated sapphire which I quickly scratched, nor finding straps for the odd 21mm lugs. On the other hand, I appreciated the case finishing and I liked knowing that there was an automatic movement powering my wristwatch.
Two years ago I made the decision to purchase my second automatic watch and gave myself the budget of $1,000 - an amount I thought I would never spend on a watch. I wanted something that was dressy enough to wear for my wedding with a nice strap, had moderate water resistance, and ideally a GMT complication. While I do not frequently travel across time zones, my wife and I were traveling to Paris for our honeymoon and there is a romanticism I (I believe many of us) associate with the complication. After looking at what I am convinced was every watch in the price range, I decided to purchase the Hamilton Jazzmaster GMT. The second I put this watch on I knew it was more my style. The watch had its own identity, it had a the GMT function, it was thiner, and it had a display case back. While the ETA in the Hamilton is not much to look at compared to something like a JLC, I helped further my interest in automatic watches and really cemented my passion.
One year later/one year ago I once again gave myself a larger budget and decided that I would get something "nicer" for my 30th birthday. Having not grown up around anyone passionate about watches, Rolex was always the first thing that came to mind. With Rolex still being substantially out of budget, I decided that I would look at Tudors. My final decision came down between the Tudor Ranger and the Black Bay 41. I tried on the Ranger, and it did not quite click. I much preferred the domed sapphire that came on the Ranger, but the more formal style of the Black Bay won out. I would guesstimate that I wore the Black Bay upwards of 300 days last year. I am a fan of the snowflake hands, the depth of the lacquer black dial, the legibility, the symmetry, and the simplicity. However, with the simplicity and symmetry came with the sacrifice of the date. While the date remains constant for 24hrs and time continuously changes, I think I may reference the date more frequently than the time - my own deficiency and no fault of the Tudor.
So another year passed and the itch for a watch started back up. This year I decided that I would take the next step and my parameters required a date, an in-house movement, and display case back. I wanted a thin, dressier watch that could also be dressed down somewhat with the right strap. I also wanted something that would compliment the Tudor, so I all but ruled out black dials. My choices were narrowed down to something in the Zenith Elite family or a JLC Master Control. The three categories that the Zenith held the advantage were the domed sapphire, larger power reserve, and price. If the post in the JLC forum or the title of thread did not give it away, I went with the Jaeger LeCoultre. Honestly, I thought I was going to end of with a Zenith with a fume palladium dial over the standard Master Control, but then a sector dial was posted and I put in a very aggressive offer and much to my surprise the seller accepted it.
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It wasn't until approximately three years ago that I made the decision that I wanted an automatic watch. After viewing several videos by a certain YouTube channel I ended up with a homage Squale. This watch taught me so much about what I liked and did not like about a watch. I quickly learned that I did not appreciate that my watch, which at the time was the most I had ever spent for a watch, was in large part designed after the Rolex Submariner. I like the Submariner and grew up dreaming of having that watch someday, but for the cost of the Squale I could have had so many watches with their own design. I had also chosen the 30 atmos model, which was unnecessarily thick and overkill for the person that barely goes for a swim let alone never goes diving. I also didn't appreciate the the how flashy the ceramic bezel was, the top coated sapphire which I quickly scratched, nor finding straps for the odd 21mm lugs. On the other hand, I appreciated the case finishing and I liked knowing that there was an automatic movement powering my wristwatch.
Two years ago I made the decision to purchase my second automatic watch and gave myself the budget of $1,000 - an amount I thought I would never spend on a watch. I wanted something that was dressy enough to wear for my wedding with a nice strap, had moderate water resistance, and ideally a GMT complication. While I do not frequently travel across time zones, my wife and I were traveling to Paris for our honeymoon and there is a romanticism I (I believe many of us) associate with the complication. After looking at what I am convinced was every watch in the price range, I decided to purchase the Hamilton Jazzmaster GMT. The second I put this watch on I knew it was more my style. The watch had its own identity, it had a the GMT function, it was thiner, and it had a display case back. While the ETA in the Hamilton is not much to look at compared to something like a JLC, I helped further my interest in automatic watches and really cemented my passion.
One year later/one year ago I once again gave myself a larger budget and decided that I would get something "nicer" for my 30th birthday. Having not grown up around anyone passionate about watches, Rolex was always the first thing that came to mind. With Rolex still being substantially out of budget, I decided that I would look at Tudors. My final decision came down between the Tudor Ranger and the Black Bay 41. I tried on the Ranger, and it did not quite click. I much preferred the domed sapphire that came on the Ranger, but the more formal style of the Black Bay won out. I would guesstimate that I wore the Black Bay upwards of 300 days last year. I am a fan of the snowflake hands, the depth of the lacquer black dial, the legibility, the symmetry, and the simplicity. However, with the simplicity and symmetry came with the sacrifice of the date. While the date remains constant for 24hrs and time continuously changes, I think I may reference the date more frequently than the time - my own deficiency and no fault of the Tudor.
So another year passed and the itch for a watch started back up. This year I decided that I would take the next step and my parameters required a date, an in-house movement, and display case back. I wanted a thin, dressier watch that could also be dressed down somewhat with the right strap. I also wanted something that would compliment the Tudor, so I all but ruled out black dials. My choices were narrowed down to something in the Zenith Elite family or a JLC Master Control. The three categories that the Zenith held the advantage were the domed sapphire, larger power reserve, and price. If the post in the JLC forum or the title of thread did not give it away, I went with the Jaeger LeCoultre. Honestly, I thought I was going to end of with a Zenith with a fume palladium dial over the standard Master Control, but then a sector dial was posted and I put in a very aggressive offer and much to my surprise the seller accepted it.
