Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox 18k Türler, 1950s

Dealer description — Analog/Shift

Why We Love It Think about your morning routine. You’re jarred awake by a tinny ringtone, or maybe a soothing ambient noise emitting from an app on your phone. Another tone goes off to let you know of your upcoming meeting; still another to remind you to take your pill. Now imagine that all of those pesky ringtones and annoying alarms could be replaced by the glorious buzzing of a mechanical watch. The mechanical alarm is by far one of the coolest and most gratifying complications available in a wristwatch, and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox is the flagship. This particular example, an 18K gold cased model dating to the 1950s, utilizes the early manually-winding Calibre P489/1 alarm movement, giving it a slimmer profile than later executions. Sized at 35mm, this piece features an untouched and lightly patinated dial with gold faceted applied indices and a silver-toned inner dial ring with blue printed alarm indicator. Best of all, this lovely piece features a second signature at 6:00 from famous retailer Türler, confirming its original European market provenance. This is quite simply a LOT of watch in a beautifully slim and refined package. Don't miss out! The Story The first popular mechanical alarm watch to hit the market was the Vulcain Cricket. Launched in 1947, the Cricket was the first alarm watch to be simple and robust enough to be enjoyed on the wrist, and it gained much accolade, making its way onto numerous notable individuals including several U.S. Presidents. In the late 1940s, Jaeger LeCoultre also began producing it's own mechanical alarm watch to contend with the popular Cricket. Utilizing a unique twin-crown system (the top crown being winding and setting the alarm, the bottom winding and setting the time) and a different alarm mechanism (the Memovox employs a hammer that strikes against a post that is directly welded to the case back whereas the Cricket uses a resonant dual case back design) JLC set itself apart and in so doing, created one of the most iconic models of post-war watchmaking. These early Memovox models were equipped with a Calibre 489 manually-winding movement, robust and energetic models that kept excellent time and offered potent alarm reporting.