
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
LeCoultre Dress Watch 18K YG W/ Ribbon-Style Lugs "Cal. 480/CW", 1950s
- Maker / attribution
- Jaeger-LeCoultre (maker)
- Date
- 1950s
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- LCDW
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Craft & Tailored (LCDW)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 1950s LeCoultre Dress Watch 18K YG W/ Ribbon-Style Lugs "Cal. 480/CW" (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles (stock number LCDW), this is a wristwatch by Jaeger-LeCoultre, made in Switzerland, dated 1950s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 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
Dealer description — Craft & Tailored
Jaeger-LeCoultre has been one of the leading watch manufacturers and more impressively watch movement manufacturers since the early 1900s, though their dignified roots date all the way back to 1844. Jaeger-LeCoultre or "JLC" for short, produced some of the most important movements for other manufacturers including Patek Philippe, Cartier, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron Constantin. JLC created a multitude of its own extraordinary watches throughout the company's tenure as one of the leading Swiss watchmaking houses. Case in point, this beautiful and modest LeCoultre dress from the 1950s featuring a case set in 18K yellow gold with features fancy "ribbon" lugs and a classic dial. This LeCoultre employs the venerable Cal. 480/CW manual wind movement. Stock # LCDW Brand LeCoultre Style Dress Watch Model N/A Serial N/A Size Men's / Unisex Material 18K Yellow Gold Dial Champagne Millimeters 31 Strap 2pc Handmade Leather Strap CASE & BRACELET The charming and unique 18K yellow gold case features beautifully crafted lugs that appear almost ribbon-like on the wrist. The case exhibits minimal evidence of previous polishings and gentle signs of use throughout. The unsigned crown is believed to be original to the watch. The watch comes supplied on a 2pc handmade leather strap. DIAL & HANDS The original and classic champagne dial uses an array of different marker structures for an interesting and handsome result. The dial exhibits some elements of age expected for a non-waterproof watch of its age, but no damage. The original yellow gold dauphine hands are in excellent condition. ACCESSORIES None. The watch is keeping time, but the service history is unknown. A movement service can be provided upon request.
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
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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