Memovox
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Memovox ( suitcase word from Latin memoria 'memory' and vox 'voice') describes a series of mechanical wristwatches with an alarm function from the Swiss watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre .
history
A wrist alarm clock was first registered for a patent by the Eterna company in 1908. In 1951, the first wrist alarm clock from Jaeger-LeCoultre came onto the market under the brand name Memovox . The Vulcain company had produced the world's first wrist alarm clock, the Cricket, in 1949. These first Memovox models were equipped with the calibers K489 , K489 / 1 or K601 , which were wound by hand. It should be noted here that the K601 also denotes a later quartz movement from Jaeger-LeCoultre.
By separating the energy supply for the time and alarm functions in two separate barrels , it was ensured that the watch's power reserve was not reduced by triggering the alarm function. As a result, Memovox watches had two signed crowns . Memovox watches were also sold by Cartier , Gübelin (here under the name Ipsovox ), Dunhill and Van Cleef & Arpels with their own brand imprint on the dial and their own bridge engraving . From 1955 the Memovox was also equipped with the caliber K814 , which had a date display.
Due to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act , the Memovox models for the American market were printed and engraved with LeCoultre instead of Jaeger-LeCoultre until 1980 . The caliber for the American market were in the United States in watch case built that were produced there. The dials and case shapes used in the USA differ accordingly . An exception is made of stainless steel case backs, which are always embossed with LeCoultre on the inside of both European and American Memovox watches . The Memovox was sold in North America by Vacheron-Constantin-LeCoultre , a subsidiary of Longines- Wittnauer .
Automatic wrist alarm clock
In 1956 Jaeger-LeCoultre brought out the world's first automatic watch with an alarm function, the Memovox Automatic, with the caliber K815 . The winding of this clock was carried out with a pendulum oscillating mass, which oscillated at an angle of about 110 °, was limited by two springs and stored the energy in the barrel for the time display.
To mark the company's 125th anniversary, the Memovox Parking was sold in 1958 , with markings on the central alarm disc on the dial for setting the parking time. At the same time, the Memovox World Time was also offered, on whose alarm clock the time zones were printed and which could therefore be used to calculate the time in other time zones.
Automatic wrist alarm clock for divers
In 1959, the world's first diving watch with an alarm function , known as the Deep Sea Alarm Automatic ( E857 ), was developed, which contained the caliber K815 . This watch had a non-rotating bezel .
Automatic wrist alarm clock with date
Also in 1959, the Memovox Automatic (model E855 ) received a date display with the automatic caliber K825 . This caliber consisted of 241 individual parts and around 45,000 units were built for ten years. The K825 was used in the models of the E855 , the E859 (also known as Polaris ) , which appeared in two versions from 1965 and 1968 , and in the E861 .
The watch case of the European version of the E855 was made in stainless steel , in 14-carat yellow gold with a stainless steel bottom, in 18-carat yellow gold and in 18-carat red gold . The dials of the European E855 existed in silvery-white, black, gold-colored (only in gold cases), red or lapis lazuli- like paintwork. The indices of the European E855 appeared one after the other in changing forms over the ten years: short and thin, long and thin, rectangular with three broad stripes, short with a black middle line (French ébène , ebony) or briefly without a middle line. The first form of the indices of the European E855 came with superimposed Arabic numerals “12” instead of the “JL” logo . The last two forms of the indices came with a triangle attached to the central alarm disc of the dial to indicate the alarm time, the triangle was painted on the models before. The first two forms of indices were with clock hands in dauphine offered form, the last three on the other hand with baton pointers,. Only the European version of the E855 model with a white dial was produced with all of the aforementioned forms of indices.
The K825 was also manufactured in E855 watches by Jaeger-LeCoultre for Alfred Dunhill and Gübelin (here under the name Ipsovox ), the pendulum rotor of these models was only engraved with the names of these companies (instead of Jaeger-LeCoultre), and the dial was printed accordingly and provided with another applied logo. The US version of the E855 was also offered by Brooks Brothers with its own word mark on the dial .
The E861 was the last watch model to have the K825 caliber . The watch case of the E861 , equipped with the successor caliber K916 and new dials, was reused in the later model E873 .
Automatic wrist alarm clock with date for divers
The E859, which was sold from 1965 and called the Polaris , was a diver's watch with an internal rotating bezel, which means that the watch had a third crown. The stainless steel watch case had an enlarged diameter of 42 mm. This watch was offered in two editions (from 1965 and 1968) with different dials and hands. A total of 1714 pieces of both variants were produced. The 1965 version had face -on indices and dauphine hands, while the 1968 version indices were printed and had bâton hands. An additional perforated case back made of nickel-plated brass with 16 holes allowed the version from 1968 an improved sound transmission of the alarm clock in order to compensate for the sound attenuation by the wrist and the water.
Memovox speed beat
The caliber K916 was used in the Memovox models from 1969. This caliber was equipped with an increased swing frequency of the balance wheel of 28,800 vibrations per hour and was therefore referred to as a speed beat , compared to the K825 with 18,000 vibrations per hour. In addition, the K916 was equipped with a winding rotor mechanism that could use the full 360 ° in both swing directions to store the mechanical energy in the barrel for driving the timing function.
The caliber K916 was offered simultaneously in different watch cases: as Polaris II called E870 with oval case and rotating bezel, the E871 with a wide, rectangular housing, the E872 with upright rectangular housing, the E873 with an oval body, the E874 and the E875 with classic, round case ( E874 with gold-plated case and indices made of lapis lazuli), the E876 with a cushion-shaped case and the E877, known as the Memovox Snowdrop , in a round monocoque design. All cases with K916 (except the E874 ) were offered in stainless steel, the models E873 , E875 and E877 also in 18- carat yellow gold. The models of the E861 , E870 and E873 were with European watches on the dial with GT for French. Grande Taille 'large size' printed, while American watches with HPG for engl. High Precision Guaranteed . The K916 was also used in watch cases from Girard-Perregaux with a corresponding rotor engraving . These watches were provided by Girard-Perregaux self (internal designation caliber GP 080) and, with an additional brand logo, even from Tiffany & Co. sold. The K916 with its own rotor engraving in watch cases was also sold by Favre-Leuba under the name Memo-Raider . In addition, models with manual winding and the caliber were K911 under the name Memodate offered simultaneously in yellow gold case of Van Cleef & Arpels at a time zones - bezel (model Traveler World Time ) and with gold-plated case and a dial with Roman numerals of Hermès .
Gong pen and perpetual calendar
Due to the quartz crisis , the K916 and K911 calibers were installed from 1969 to the end of the 1980s. For the company's 150th anniversary in 1983, no special Memovox model was developed due to the crisis. For the 35th anniversary of the Memovox, the Memovox Jubilee with K916 in yellow gold came out in 1986 with a quantity of 350.
It wasn't until 1989 that the next technical development came with the Grand Réveil and the K919 . The K919 was the first caliber in the world to have a time function with automatic winding, an alarm function with a gong and a perpetual calendar with a four-digit year display and moon phase display . Thanks to the gong, the “snarling” of the early Memovox models gave way to a “ringing”. The Grand Réveil was offered with cases in yellow gold, rose gold or platinum .
In 1994 came with the manual winding caliber K914 (with gong) is currently the only Memovox and the world's first alarm wristwatch with transparent back made of sapphire crystal out. At the same time, the K918, a wrist alarm clock with automatic winding and a gong , was offered, however, not as the Memovox, but as the Master Reveil . Both calibers were cased in stainless steel or rose gold and fitted with white or black dials.
Vibration alert
As a further development of the Grand Réveil , the Master Grande Memovox followed in 2003 with the K909 and from 2006 the Master Grand Réveil with the caliber K909 / 1-440C and an additional vibration alarm . Both watch cases were offered in rose gold and platinum, the latter also in stainless steel.
The Memovox was from 2003 with the caliber K956 stocked and encased in stainless steel or rose gold, as of 2004, the Amvox 1 in stainless steel or titanium . This caliber is also used in the diving watches of the Master Compressor Memovox (in stainless steel or rose gold) and the Master Compressor Extreme-W-Alarm (with a second time zone and cases in stainless steel or titanium).
In 2008, for the company's 175th anniversary, the Memovox International was released in stainless steel or rose gold, the Tribute to Polaris 1965 in stainless steel or platinum, the Tribute to Polaris 1968 and 2011 two variants of the Tribute to Deep Sea Alarm Automatic in stainless steel, based on the design the original EU and US versions.
literature
- Franco Cologni, Douglas Kirkland and Maurizio Galimberti: Jaeger-LeCoultre. La Grande Maison . Éditions Flammarion, 2006, ISBN 9782080116130 .
- Zaf Basha: Jaeger LeCoultre , self-published. ISBN 9780615223872 .