Thank you for letting us know about that Watchonista article. I had not seen it before. Here is the link:
https://www.watchonista.com/articles/hi ... -lecoultre
Some points about James Dean watch:
1. It has been called a "Powermatic" in some web publications and forums. While it is true that it looks somewhat like some of the black-dialed Powermatic models, it does not have a power reserve indicator. It is also not an automatic watch. All Powermatics were automatics. The James Dean watch almost certainly has a manual wind cal. 480, which was LeCoultre's workhorse manual wind movement and one of their best.
2. LeCoultre Division (of Longines-Wittnauer) made a number of models in 18K gold with US made cases. Most were made during the late 1940's to early 1950's. Not all were featured in advertising of the time. So it is possible that this model had no formal name, except in a L-W jeweler's catalog that may no longer exist.
3. It is certainly possible that some versions of this watch were made in green gold. However, not all green gold has cadmium content. Please refer to this article:
https://www.thoughtco.com/composition-o ... oys-608016
So I don't necessarily buy the story about these watches being made from "old" pre-1940 gold. That being said, I haven't seen many watches made after 1935 in green gold at all. Could have been a style thing, or it could be because of the cadmium content.
4. The Watchonista article has some very detailed pictures of the dial of this LeCoultre that I have not seen before. Very fancy guilloche work on the dial. I think I've seen a few of these with white or two-tone dials, although I'm not sure if those had 18K yellow gold cases like the James Dean watch. I've not seen one of these in black before. Although among all the Swiss watch companies, LeCoultre seems to have made the most dress-style watches with black dials during the 1950's. I own several of them.
Hope this helps,
gatorcpa