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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
