
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Jaeger-LeCoultre wristwatch, self-Winding centre-seconds, 1970s
- Maker / attribution
- Jaeger-LeCoultre (brand / maker)
- Date
- 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- stainless steel
- Auction house
- Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
- Lot
- Lot 341-37
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: LOT 37, Monaco, July 21, 2021
- Catalogue title (original)
- Jaeger-LeCoultre Ref. E 873, self-Winding, centre-seconds, date, alarm; “Memovox” “Speedbeat Gt”; stainless steel (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (lot Lot 341-37), this is a wristwatch by Jaeger-LeCoultre, made in Switzerland, dated 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: stainless steel. The record is illustrated with 2 photographs.
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
Fine and rare, stainless steel, self-winding, tonneau-shaped, gentleman’s wristwatch, two-tone silver and blue colours dial, with centre-seconds, date and alarm.
Lot specifications (Antiquorum)
Model: “Memovox” “Speedbeat GT”; Reference: E 873; Case No.: 1 275 099; Dimensions: 38 x 44 mm; Signature: dial, case and movement
Inscriptions & marks
dial, case and movement
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
Automatic (self-winding) watches
Self-winding watches use the wearer's motion to wind the mainspring. Abraham-Louis Perrelet and Breguet made 'perpétuelle' pocket watches with oscillating weights in the late eighteenth century, but the principle only became practical in the wristwatch. John Harwood patented a bumper automatic in 1923; Rolex's Perpetual rotor (1931) winding in one direction, and later bidirectional rotors (Eterna, Felsa Bidynator), established the modern form. Micro-rotors (Universal Genève, Buren) and peripheral rotors made automatic watches thinner.
What to look for
- A semicircular rotor turning 360° over the movement, or a 'bumper' weight that rebounds between springs.
- 'Automatic', 'Perpetual' or 'Self-winding' on the dial.
- A sealed screw-back case, since automatic watches are wound less often by the crown.
Dating clues
- Bumper automatics: 1923–c. 1955.
- Full rotors: from 1931 (Rolex); widespread after c. 1950.
- Micro-rotors: from 1954–1958.
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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