Steal Vs. Splurge: Jaeger-LeCoultre Or Longines: Which Ultra Thin Gets The Win?
There are a lot of cool-looking thin quartz watches, don’t get me wrong. I would give my eye teeth for an Omega Dinosaure, for example. But you know how people always say, “It’s what inside that counts”? Ultra-thin watches are probably the only time where that’s really true. And there’s no question that what is inside this watch – an amazing piece of machinery – versus what’s inside the Longines (a battery) makes it a way more interesting prospect. It’s not cheap, but you’ll probably never get sick of it.
This is a bracing, scenic cold lake of a watch. At 39mm, it’s sizable but not overlarge. Those long stainless steel dauphine hands are nice and sharp, and so are the hour markers. The details that aren’t strictly useful, like the sunrayed silver background, the double hour marker at 12, and the JL engraved on the crown add elegance without interfering with the watch’s inherently restrained vibe. I could live without the date window.