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Advice on a vintage JLC with cal. K886

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2017 2:58 pm
by matrus
Hello experts,

I am being offered a vintage JLC with cal. K886, but I'd like to check a few details as this would be my first foray into vintage JLC.

The watch is marked as 21008 on the inner side of the caseback, and I found another very similar JLC for sale on Chrono24, but there are some minor differences between the two that are raising some doubts (to me).

Particularly, the watch I'm being offered does not have the "Swiss made" label below the date - although this might be because of the photo. The dial doesn't look refinished, but I'm not sure why the "Swiss made" label could otherwise be missing?
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Apart from that, I'm also confused why the bridge is marked as "VXN". From my quick research, it seems that "VXN" was the export code for the US market, in which case the dial would be labeled as LeCoultre and not Jaeger LeCoultre, right? Does this suggest the bridge was transfered from another movement, or perhaps the whole movement from another watch was used?
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Another question - do the buckle and the crown check out?
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What do you think? Is it worth buying this one or should I steer clear?

Thanks for your help and sorry for the potato quality photos!

Re: Advice on a vintage JLC with cal. K886

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 9:11 am
by zafbasha
I'd expect Swiss Made...so not sure. You'd need to see it in person, it's probably refinished.