Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic 1958 800652J

Rolex makes a beautiful watch with a long history of exploration and professional pursuits but it wasn't the only manufacturer outfitting the intrepid way back when, Jaeger-LeCoultre did too. One watch in particular has a great story, the 1958 Geophysic Chronometer Reference E 168 - the Geophysic for short. It was only produced for a single year and it was an absolute quiet goliath of a piece. Nondescript in appearance it was loaded with a hacking seconds, shock resistant, manual-wind chronometer movement wrapped in an antimagnetic cage - this thing was something. Limited to only 1,068 pieces - 1,038 in steel, the balance in gold - it's a collectible darling today, which means hardly anyone will get to wear this little terrier of a watch. Despair not, however, in April 2014 Jaeger surprised everyone by not only re-imagining both versions but by adding a platinum model as well - all to the plaudits of watch journalists the world over. Everyone loves the new Geophysics and for good reason: with the exception of a slightly larger case they look almost identical to the originals, and they pack as relative a technical punch - this is terrier 2.0 and it's killer. The full name of this platinum version is the Geophysic 1958 ref. Q800652J. The case is 38.5mm with the clean 12-6, white-grained dial and luminous sword hands. On the inside? The highly technical, highly precise Jaeger-LeCoultre in-house automatic caliber 898/1 that has been regulated by Jaeger to run at -1/+4 seconds a day, which is more precise than a COSC-rated chronometer. Again with a hacking seconds mechanism, shock protection, ceramic ball bearings in the winding mechanism and that antimagnetic cage this watch is outstanding. And there are only 38 of them worldwide so if you want one the secondary market is the only place to get 'em. What makes the original Geophysics so great is that they were produced to coincide with Jaeger's 125th Anniversary, but more than that they were intended for use by professionals participating in the International Geophysical Year. According to the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, in 1952 the International Council of Scientific Unions "proposed a comprehensive series of global geophysical activities to span the period July 1957- December 1958. The International Geophysical Year (IGY), as it was called...was intended to allow scientists from around the world to take part in a series of coordinated observations of various geophysical phenomena." Among the areas of study, "aurora and airglow, cosmic rays, geomagnetism, glaciology, gravity, ionospheric physics, longitude and latitude determination, meteorology, oceanography, rocketry, seismology, and solar activity. In addition, a technical panel was set up to attempt to launch an artificial satellite into orbit around the earth." That was pretty heady stuff in the late 1950s and the Geophysics were at the heart of it. In and amongst the science the Cold War was well on its way to consuming the attention of a great many people and the Geophysics played a role there as well. On July 23, 1958 the USS Nautilus - the world's first nuclear powered submarined - left Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on a top secret mission titled Operation Sunshine to attempt the first undersea crossing of the North Pole. On August 3, 1958 the Nautilus and her crew of 116 men completed the impossible, they had reached the geographic North Pole - Geophysics were on board. These were watches made to be worn hard in the field by some of the toughest and smartest individuals the late 1950s had to offer - today's versions were designed with the same folks in mind. This platinum number is a gorgeous watch with the aesthetics to accompany you anywhere and the technical prowess to outlast you by half a century.