SPECIFICATIONS
Rare and unexpected Jaeger LeCoultre “Mini Flag”, with an asymmetrical steel case and a JLC 426/2 manual winding movement, from the 1940s.
Steel case measuring 24.5mm x 18.5mm
Original crown
Original plastic crystal
Tubular leather strap
Original buckle
JLC 426/2 manual winding movement inside
ANALYSIS
This small wristwatch embodies all the aesthetic achievements conceptualized by the great Jaeger LeCoultre watchmaker during the late 1940s and mid-1950s. In just a few millimeters, an entire vocabulary of ideas is expressed, becoming material to be artfully shaped.
This is the period in which JLC standardized its prototype circular dial layout for women’s wristwatches, which is immediately recognizable. It frequently features the Arabic numerals 3, 6, 9, and 12, pad-printed in black and interspersed with very pronounced gold-colored arrow indexes. The Jaeger-LeCoultre signature is located at the center at 12 o’clock. The hands are gold-plated and sword-shaped.
This is a typical configuration in the mid-1950s.
If the dials take on this “repetitive” connotation, on the contrary, all of JLC’s creativity explodes in the conception and creation of cases and bracelets. There is no object in these fields that leaves the Jaeger-LeCoultre production facilities that doesn’t reflect profound design research, and this small watch is a prime example.
Around the dial, as described above, is a steel case with an asymmetrical shape reminiscent of a flag. It extends in length and ends at 3 o’clock with a curve that complements the circular profile of the dial and bezel, which are attached to the end. On the opposite side, on the left, the body of the case features a hole for the tubular leather strap. The overall aesthetic is only seemingly disharmonious and unsettling; it is, however, a successful attempt to make the asymmetry visually and sensorially convincing.
This small and wonderful case is finished with a black leather strap that secures with an original logoed buckle.
The crown, hidden on the back, winds the manual JLC 426/2 movement. It is 12.4 mm in diameter and 2.90 mm high; it has 16 jewels and runs at 18,000 vph.
