
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Jaeger Lecoultre wristwatch, Deep Sea Master Mariner made in 1500 Examples, circa 1970
- Maker / attribution
- Jaeger Lecoultre (brand / maker)
- Date
- c. 1970
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- diameter 37 mm
- Auction house
- Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
- Lot
- Lot 368-43
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: LOT 43, Geneva, May 11-12, 2024
- Catalogue title (original)
- JAEGER LECOULTRE, SWITZERLAND, REF. E 558, DEEP SEA MASTER MARINER, MADE IN 1500 EXAMPLES, STAINLESS STEEL (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (lot Lot 368-43), this is a wristwatch by Jaeger Lecoultre, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1970. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: diameter 37 mm. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Antiquorum catalogue description
A fine, attractive,, self winding diver's wristwatch with date and revolving bezel
Lot specifications (Antiquorum)
Model: Deep Sea Master Mariner; Reference: E 558; Caliber: K883, 17 jewels; Diameter: 37; Signature: dial, case and movement
Inscriptions & marks
dial, case and movement
Provenance
Property of a Swiss collector
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Dive and water-resistant watches
Keeping water and dust out of a wristwatch was a long-standing challenge. Rolex's screw-down Oyster case (1926) and Omega's Marine (1932) were landmarks; in the early 1950s Blancpain's Fifty Fathoms and Rolex's Submariner defined the professional dive watch with rotating bezels for timing dives, luminous dials and high water resistance. The ISO 6425 standard (1982) later codified what a 'diver's watch' must do.
Dive watches became icons of post-war design and exploration, and their evolution — helium escape valves, ceramic bezels, saturation-diving depth ratings — records the history of underwater work.
What to look for
- Unidirectional or bidirectional rotating bezel with minute markings.
- Screw-down crown and case back; depth rating printed on the dial.
- Luminous hands and markers (radium before c. 1960, tritium c. 1960–1998, then Super-LumiNova).
- Reference numbers on the case between the lugs or inside the back.
Dating clues
- Screw-down Oyster cases: from 1926.
- Professional dive watches: from 1953.
- Tritium 'T' marks on dials: c. 1960–1998.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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