Jaeger LeCoultre Master Compressor Chronograph Q178T471

Every dive is a confrontation, a combat, a fight in and against an environment that is magical and magnificent but, in the final analysis, hostile and not natural to human beings. Therefore it is of the utmost importance to be able to rely on one”s equipment, an essential condition that is even more important when carrying out sensitive, silent missions. With its super-rugged grade 5 titanium case, unidirectional bezel and ability to remain watertight to 1000 metres, Jaeger-LeCoultre”s Master Compressor Diving line meets the most stringent requirements for a diving watch. So it is natural that professional divers – those for whom each dive involves performing challenging feats and surpassing limits – choose these timepieces. Jaeger-LeCoultre is constantly conferring with experts, such as snorkelling record holder Patrick Musimu, about the relevance of its latest innovations. It has signed a partnership with the United States Navy SEALs, the Navy”s elite unit of combat swimmers. To mark this agreement dedicated to challenging achievements, the Master Compressor Diving line is adding three limited series having a shot-peened ceramic bezel and engraved with the Navy SEALs emblem. The eagle brandishing a trident in its talons is a symbol of excellence for these extraordinary timepieces, the Master Compressor Diving Alarm Navy SEALs, the Master Compressor Diving Chronograph GMT Navy SEALs and the iconic Master Compressor Diving Pro Geographic Navy SEALs.

Like their namesakes, some of the best soldiers in the world, the high-tech Navy SEALs pieces combine uncommon performance and endurance. All SEAL equipment is subjected to very strict quality testing. Designed with the same goal of outstanding performance and exceptional sturdiness in mind, the ultrasophisticated Master Compressor Diving Navy SEALs line is made to be water-tight at record depths and incorporates new technical advances that make the watches both safer and even more of a pleasure to use – even in the most extreme environments.

Since 2007, Jaeger-LeCoultre”s Master Compressor Diving collection has been the nec plus ultra of diving watches. This collection, a technical answer to the stringent NIHS 92-11 criteria (ISO 6425) established by the Swiss watchmaking industry, does not simply meet the requirements of shock resistance, watertightness to 100 metres minimum, and safety thanks to a unidirectional rotating bezel; it elevates its exceptional performance to the level of a new standard. Indeed, the three Master Compressor Diving models exceed the required standards in all respects. The high-tech, super-rugged sapphire-blasted unidirectional ceramic bezel is protected against misuse to guarantee perfect safety; stamped oversized hour-markers and numbers and the use of superluminova provide excellent legibility even in the darkest places; and the shape of the case, which is designed to resist the high pressure at great depths, ensures perfect watertightness to depths of 300 to 1000 metres depending on the version.

Jaeger-LeCoultre”s Master Compressor Diving, among the most successful professional technical instruments, obviously could not long remain unknown to the United States Navy SEALs, who are always on the lookout for advanced items to supplement their equipment. So the birth of an association – dedicated to excellence and achievement – with this elite unit was almost a foregone conclusion.

The saga of Jaeger-LeCoultre”s diving watches
Jaeger-LeCoultre has already been a pioneer in diver safety for a half-century now. In 1959, the Manufacture introduced its Memovox Deep Sea, the first diving watch in history to include an alarm function to acoustically signal that it was time to return to the surface. This innovation made Jaeger-LeCoultre”s self-winding 815 calibre with alarm function one of the most iconic calibres of its day. In 1965, this principle was further perfected, giving rise to the legendary Memovox Polaris. The superposed layers of the Polaris” triple case back acted as a resonance chamber to optimally amplify the sound and keep it from being muffled by the diver”s suit. Subsequent additions to the impressive list of diving watches signed by Jaeger-LeCoultre included the Master Marina Barracuda in 1968, the Memovox Diving Chronograph in 1969, the Memovox Polaris II in 1970, and the Master Mariner Deep Sea in 1972. These first creations already had two significant characteristics so revolutionary that they then became one of the minimum technical requirements for diving watches made by the Manufacture. The first was excellent legibility, which was ensured by the watch”s imposing diameter and later supplemented by oversized luminescent numbers. The second was an excellent seal, provided by the patented Piquerez Compressor system, the forerunner of the compression crowns and keys that equip today”s models.

Extraordinary strength of character
The new Navy SEALs collection gives divers a choice between three additional functions, each meeting their needs in its own way: a depth gauge with world time, an alarm, or a chronograph associated with a second time-zone display. All of the models have two wristbands: one in leather with a vintage design, in titanium, in rubber-moulded or articulated rubber versions; and the other in black Cordura, a super-rugged material perfectly suited to diving. Reliability and safety brook no compromise.

Master Compressor Diving Chronograph GMT Navy SEALs

The Manufacture”s engineers justifiably consider reliability and safety to be indispensable requirements for a diving watch. Accordingly, they have made the 1500-piece limited edition titanium watertight to 1000 metres and the 500-piece pink gold version watertight to 300 metres. This watch is a member of the very select circle of timepieces that combine the chronograph function with a second time zone. The new self-winding mechanical movement, Jaeger-LeCoultre”s Calibre 757, operates at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour and has a 65-hour power reserve. The black and white dial is perfectly legible despite the amount of information it provides: hours and minutes in the centre, chronograph function display on the centre second hand, hour counter at 9 o”clock and minute counter at 3 o”clock. The operating indicator takes the form of a disc alternating white and black with white streaks as it rotates. Inspired by the hometime/traveltime principle patented by Jaeger-LeCoultre, the second time zone indicated by a skeletonised hand is supplemented by a day/night indicator appearing in an aperture at 12 o”clock. The crown at 3 o”clock is flanked by two pushpieces that are covered with black rubber and sport the line”s iconic compression fins – the pushpieces that operate the chronograph. This highly technical instrument is 46.3 mm in diameter.

NAVY SEALs: sensitive missions in the most diverse aquatic environments
This elite corps of the U.S. Navy consists of seasoned soldiers with exceptional physical and mental qualities who are all trained to carry out particularly sensitive operations. During the training, which is famous for being extremely demanding and includes the famous ”hell week” during which the candidates sleep a total of only six to eight hours, they receive physical training in diving, reconnaissance, camouflage, and movement methods, and theoretical training on currents, waves and position, to prepare them for action in the most difficult aquatic environments. This clandestine unit of combat swimmers is named SEAL, an acronym for SEa, Air et Land. Its history goes back to World War II: in 1943 the U.S. naval command formed a group of volunteers under the name "Navy Combat Demolition Units." This group”s job was to identify military installations to be destroyed so the United States Marine Corps could land with greater safety as it progressively re-took the Pacific atolls. So its members paved the way for the Marines and built infrastructures needed to conduct the war, such as landing fields for aircraft, port facilities and bridges. During the Korean War, the unit adopted the name ”Underwater Demolition Teams” (UDTs). It took a new form in the 1960s, being subdivided into two distinct teams. Team One was assigned to the Pacific fleet and Team Two to the Atlantic. Like their name, their mission has gradually changed after the end of the Cold War and the scope of their activity has been expanded. These U.S. Navy commandoes have become elite units trained for action in all sorts of hostile situations, for example, the war on terrorism.
SEAL equipment, which is at the forefront of technology, must be absolutely reliable. In this context, the partnership that has the Navy SEALs and Jaeger-LeCoultre joining forces to create the Master Compressor Diving Navy SEALs collection makes complete sense. It is this very quest for reliability and performance that governs Jaeger-LeCoultre”s design process for its diving watches – timepieces designed by professionals, for professionals.

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