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JLC Master Ultra Thin Moon Rose Gold Review

pistebasher

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In my collection I recognised the need for an ultra dressy gold watch. I considered various Calatrava and Vacheron Constantin options but ultimately settled on the Jaeger-LeCoultre Ultra Thin Moon. JLC, as the ultimate movent provider to all three of the "Holy Trinity" holds every bit the brand equity to me as Patek, AP and VC, without the pretence those brands carry. It's a watch enthusiast's choice. There are two excellent options on the market from GF and ZF respectively but having seen how closely the ZF Fifty Six resembles my gen of that same watch (it really is practically a NWBIG rep) I settled on this choice. JLC calls this colour "eggshell" and it's not-quite-white hue is brilliantly pulled off by ZF.

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At 39mm this isn't a large watch by the standards of today, but for a dress watch it's about as large as someone of my wrist size should really go to stand any chance of it sliding comfortably under the cuff. It also looks and wears bigger than 39mm suggests, because there is an incredibly thin bezel compared to the proportions of the the dial. Photo against a Breitling Heritage 42mm for comparison.


On the wrist the strap drops down on lugs very close to the dial so it will accommodate a wide range of wrist sizes very elegantly. Detail wise the dial is sublime, as is the quality of the RG plating. The alignment of hour markers is flawless and the sub dial that shows the date is perfectly aligned and is very easily progressed via the recessed toothpick pusher on the right of the dial.


The moonphase is progressed via the toothpick pusher on the left and is a true moonphase, not an AM/PM indicator as on lesser quality reps. Pulling the crown out one stage allows one to hand-wind the watch and one further stage to adjust the time.

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The movement is beautifully decorated and the gold rotor a great match for the case. The strap is fairly good as rep straps go although a little "plasticy", if that is a word, compared to a real quality alligator like on the VC. The buckle is JL stamped and of high quality.


All in all this is another OUTSTANDING release from ZF and is an excellent match for gen in colours, feel and presence. The rotor is quiet and, considering the high complexity movement, has been running with accuracy of within 3s per day. Thanks to Ryan at InTime for his usual excellent advice and service.
 

RiffRalf

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10/7/19
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Thanks for the succinct nice review. As the owner of a gen birth year JLC dress watch, which was wayyyy too long ago, I affirm that you can't go wrong with a dress piece from La Grande Maison
 
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WatchCool90210

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having trouble deciding between this and a Calatrava.

Which is rep is more 1:1?

Is the JLC NWBIG as the CALATRAVA is?
 

pistebasher

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having trouble deciding between this and a Calatrava.

Which is rep is more 1:1?

Is the JLC NWBIG as the CALATRAVA is?

Which calatrava are you considering? There are many different types of vastly different quality! These JLC moon phase whether you get the GRF or the ZF versions are exceptional quality replicas and very difficult to distinguish from genuine.
 

WatchCool90210

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Which calatrava are you considering? There are many different types of vastly different quality! These JLC moon phase whether you get the GRF or the ZF versions are exceptional quality replicas and very difficult to distinguish from genuine.

thanks 4 reply.

i think im going with the JLC UT MP in RG.

The hard part now is deciding between ZF or GF.

The consensus seems 2 b that GF is the way 2 go(i read they have a better moon phase and strap)?
 

pistebasher

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thanks 4 reply.

i think im going with the JLC UT MP in RG.

The hard part now is deciding between ZF or GF.

The consensus seems 2 b that GF is the way 2 go(i read they have a better moon phase and strap)?

Strap on either will be "ok" at best, standard for reps. As per a previous post the watch face itself seems to be indistinguishable. Just get whatever one your TD of choice has available!
 

WatchCool90210

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Strap on either will be "ok" at best, standard for reps. As per a previous post the watch face itself seems to be indistinguishable. Just get whatever one your TD of choice has available!

thanks again 4 reply.

just read about the AZF factory?

Havent seen any QC of their RG model tho.

Need this beauty on my wrist asap; leaning GF.
 

pistebasher

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thanks again 4 reply.

just read about the AZF factory?

Havent seen any QC of their RG model tho.

Need this beauty on my wrist asap; leaning GF.

If you are talking about the third option without a factory name on some TDs for just under $300 my understanding is that it is good value but not quite at the standard of the ZF and GR versions. This is just what I was told by trustytime .
 

mikeanh77

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thanks 4 reply.

i think im going with the JLC UT MP in RG.

The hard part now is deciding between ZF or GF.

The consensus seems 2 b that GF is the way 2 go(i read they have a better moon phase and strap)?

i got a ZF
asside from it being a bit loud,
all went great after 2 years of ownership, no service yet though
 

crashuid

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I got the ZF and it is running fine but the strap quality is a issue for me. Did anyone replaced the strap? Thanks.
 

mech500

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I got the ZF and it is running fine but the strap quality is a issue for me. Did anyone replaced the strap? Thanks.

Just need to make sure you get the right stiffness and thickness - otherwise it’ll look like the strap is wearing the ultra thin watch.
 
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Booonin

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Great review! I recently tried gen on a wrist - really good!

But - i don’t understand how the moon phase works - so you have to manually adjust the moonphase? or how does it work?
 

pistebasher

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Great review! I recently tried gen on a wrist - really good!

But - i don’t understand how the moon phase works - so you have to manually adjust the moonphase? or how does it work?

It works in the same way as a date wheel. Every 24 hours the movement adjusts the moonphase to reflect the phase of the moon as it will appear that evening. There is a handy moon phase tool on the Patek Philippe website which I use to set it.
 

Booonin

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Thank you! so on this watch it works the same way as gen basically? that cool
 

drillerz

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OP how is the RG plating holding up on your watch? I really like that color but I'm wary of precious metals on reps.