United

CWJ497-AP001
CWJ497-AP002

CWJ497-AP001 and CWJ497-AP001 were crafted from a pair of US-market LeCoultre Cal. 497 Futurematics, circa 1955. As “Artist’s Proofs” these pieces were created for the Cloister Collection.

With these two US-spec ten karat gold filled LeCoultre Futurematics, we completed mechanical overhauls of the movements before applying Cloister’s Mirror Treatment, plating the original brass dials in eighteen-karat yellow gold. We replaced the “LeCoultre” monikers with the full “Jaeger-LeCoultre” naming convention of European versions of the Futurematic, and rendered accenting text monochromatically in gold on one version in contrasting white on the other. We replaced the standard “Futurematic” text with the art deco font found on the “Porthole” Futurematic, lowering it to balance the dial composition. In an homage to the original US-spec Futurematics from which these watches were created, we retained factory “red only” quarter-moon power reserve indicators on both pieces before commissioning contrasting bespoke Parisian straps, one in vintage calf and one in matte crocodile. We installed period-correct Jaeger-LeCoultre tang buckles on both watches.