Jaeger-LeCoultre harnessed its hundred and fifty years of expertise in watchmaking engineering to create the original Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication in 2010. Over the last 10 years, the masterpiece has undergone many facelifts, including the Master Grande Tradition Tourbillon Céleste that came last year. For 2020, the Swiss watchmaker has debuted the latest iteration of the timepiece that features a fresh new look along with packing the combination of the most technically challenging complications in horology – a minute repeater and a celestial vault. The addition of the orbital flying tourbillon into the mix further elevates the mechanical complexity of the timepiece. Starting with the caliber 945, it’s a legendary movement that packs a lot of complications in a very elegant package. It capitalizes on the expertise of the Grande Maison in chiming mechanisms since its foundation in 1833. The minute repeater complication of the watch features the brand’s patented cathedral crystal gongs and trebuchet hammers.
Coming to the celestial vault complication of the timepiece, the talented watchmakers at Jaeger-LeCoultre have invented a complex mechanism based on the sidereal day to depict a stunning sky-chart of the Northern Hemisphere night sky as seen from its home in the heart of the Vallée de Joux, in the Swiss Jura Mountains. A sidereal day is based on Earth’s rotation measured relative to the ‘fixed’ stars, which takes precisely 23 h, 56 min and 4.1 seconds. It is displayed with the help of the Orbital Flying Tourbillon that makes a complete, anti-clockwise circuit of the dial.
The new look of the latest version of the Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication features a new design of the dial that gets a shrunken down star map and a multi-layered configuration that amplifies the beauty of the celestial theme. A jewelry-style laser-welded metal lattice structure represents the connection between astronomy and horology by echoing the pattern of the constellations and gives a hypnotic effect to the dial. Two versions of the new timepiece will be produced in limited numbers of eight pieces each: a pink gold version with black dial and a white gold version with blue dial and 44 baguette-cut diamonds — totaling 3.76 carats — set on the bezel.
