A Jaeger-LeCoultre Dive Watch
Jaeger-LeCoultre Tribute to Deep Sea Alarm / Credit: Analog/Shift
Mechanical alarm watches were a pretty significant development for the watch industry, something watchmakers had been tinkering for centuries, with early examples recorded as far back as the 1700s. Although many would quickly point to Eterna and Vulcain as key contributors to the history of the alarm watch, another worthwhile chapter in the history of this mechanism is the development of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea; a diving alarm watch.
While a diving alarm watch may not be much of a marvel today, at the time it was quite the feat. Released in 1959, the watch was sold mostly in the United States, with fewer models also sold in Europe. In fact, one peculiarity that is oft-remembered about the Deep Sea is that American-bound model only had ‘LeCoultre’ on the dial, while European models had the full name, ‘Jaeger-LeCoultre’. In addition, the US version also had the full ‘Deep Sea Alarm Automatic’ on the dial, while the European version lacked this distinction. The JLC Deep Sea Alarm featured the Caliber K815, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s first self-winding alarm movement, and had a water resistance 200m. Unfortunately for us, only approximately 1,000 were ever made, with the line dying out in the early 1960s. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber K815 had a slightly longer lifespan; first made in 1956 for the Memovox and phased out in 1966.
1959 Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm US Edition / Credit: HQ Milton
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm would’ve competed with the other Swiss dive watches of the day: the Rolex Submariner, Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, and yes, even the Girard-Perregaux Sea-Hawk. As we mentioned earlier, the 1950s – the post-war period – was a particular time for tool watches, dive watches in specific. Diving and dive watches were in vogue and competition was quite fierce. Counter intuitively, this competition amongst watch manufacturers to produce the perfect dive watch is exactly what allowed the Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm stand out from its peers and what makes it so special today. Yes, the Deep Sea Alarm competed with those other dive watches, but none of them came even close to being a diving alarm watch. And this is exactly the kind of thing that gets JLC so much respect from the watch community today. Even though they did it quietly, they were still miles ahead of the competition, technologically speaking. Moreover, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm was only upstaged when Vulcain released a submersible version of their Cricket, in 1961.
More recently, about a decade ago, Jaeger-LeCoultre released modern homages to the original Deep Sea Alarms; again with two variants for the European and American markets. And again, JLC received high praise for their homages, in particular for keeping them so close to the original designs – something that is often overlooked by other brands.
By: Andres Ibarguen