Jaeger-LeCoultre Amvox5 World Chronograph LMP1: One High Performance Machine
- Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Amvox5 World Chronograph LMP1 blends auto and luxury watch style.
- A joint-venture with Aston Martin, each Amvox is an homage to Aston’s history with Jaeger instruments.
- Amvox5 World Chronograph LMP1 Limited Edition includes world timer, chronograph and ceramic case.
- One of only 250 units built, this Amvox5 LMP1 is an exclusive watch with outstanding style.
- This represents a discount of nearly 28% from the MSRP of $20,700.
In June of 2014, an Aston Martin Vantage GTE won its class at the 24 Hours of LeMans in southern France. Perceptive observers and fans with a predilection for luxury watches may have recognized a familiar name on wrists of the victors: Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Now in its tenth year, the partnership between Aston Martin and JLC has yielded three LeMans class wins, one series championship, and five memorable Amvox luxury timepieces.
The Amvox5 World Chronograph LMP1 featured here represents a landmark model in this series. With fewer than 1,500 Amvox5 units produced, it’s a rare watch; the LMP1 variant shown here is one of only 250 in the world.
Originally released for the 2010 model year, the Amvox5 embraced the global reach of modern endurance racing. Given races that span 24 hours, events in disparate time zones, and a fan base spread across six continents, the Amvox5 is tailored to suit.
First, consider its series sequence number.
Although the Amvox5 World Chronograph marks the fourth entry in the model line, its designation as number five reflects JLC‘s deference to race fans and watch collectors in east Asia, where the numbers “4” and “6” bear negative associations similar to “13” and “666” in western culture. For the same reason, the Amvox series recently jumped directly from “5” to “7.”
While the Amvox2 was a racing chronograph for competitors and team members, the Amvox5 World Chronograph is designed as a companion to the race-fan-in-absentia. Armed with a world time display, global AM/PM indicator, a chronograph, a local-time date, and an exotic mix of ceramic and titanium, the Amvox5 brings race tech and watch tech in equal measure.
As a world time watch, the Amvox5 World Chronograph accommodates race fans who wish to follow events in distant time zones.
Given the time disparity –for example– between Toyota Racing’s pit stall at LeMans’ Circuit de la Sarthe and the firms’ Toyota City, Aichi headquarters, simultaneous time zones with AM/PM clarity just plain make sense. For that matter, the same capability is a godsend to distant fans, business travelers, and users who frequently contact distant cities.
Nothing sours a working relationship like a 3 am wake-up call; international business types should consider the Amvox5 World Chronograph as a professional insurance policy.
But the functionality of the Amvox5 World Chronograph delivers on the full promise of its name; Jaeger-LeCoultre’s in-house chronograph caliber is a gem. Racing is a game of numbers, and time is king. Even if a user only operates his chronograph to entertain friends and clock billable hours at the firm, it only serves to highlight why the “chorno” is considered the king of complications; versatility is a virtue.
Based on the JLC “Autotractorized” Cal. 750, the 752 in the Amvox5 World Chronograph is tough and refined in equal measure.
With a robust 65-hour power reserve, laser-welded hairspring for shock resistance, a vertical clutch for smooth engagement, and a column wheel to ensure crisp pusher feel, the 752’s pedigree places it in elite company. As rugged as the legendary Zenith Cal 400 El Primero and a true rival to Rolex’s industry-benchmark Cal. 4130 (Cosmograph Daytona), the 752 is the result of extensive in-house development by Jaeger-LeCoultre‘s renowned R&D department.
It would be appropriate to call the JLC 750-series chronos the “Cadillac” of modern chronograph movements, but a certain sports-car specialist in Gaydon, England might object in this context…
A traditional three-register display features hours, minutes and seconds. Details matter: a discreet three-pronged constant seconds display lies embedded within the latticework of the dial at six o’clock, and a subtle date indication hides just outboard of the seconds.
For that matter, art design and creative expression are central to the success of the Amvox series in general and the Amvox5 World Chronograph in particular.
Each model since the 2004 Amvox1 has served a dual purpose of paying homage to the Aston relationship and appealing to collectors as a luxury watch in its own right. While JLC makes skillful reference to automotive imagery in each Amvox model, Le Sentier’s product planners understood from inception that the generations-long service life of a luxury watch demands style that transcends period vogues and finite co-branding deals.
Small nod-and-wink references recall the imagery of high performance autos; the crowns are wrought in the form of pre-war Aston gas caps; the 270-degree sweep of the dial numerals mirrors the arrangement of Bond-era 1960s AMs; a latticework skeleton centerpiece pays tribute to the long-running grill treatment of Aston road cars. What users won’t see is a prominent Aston logo or nameplate.
Paging Girard-Perregaux and Panerai; this is how you do an auto-themed watch. While the auto fans are well-served, each Amvox is a freestanding expression of good taste and deft luxury watch design. In blunt terms, there’s no overt co-branding to discourage collectors who could not care less about auto racing or Aston.
The Amvox5 World Chronograph LMP1 begins with a ceramic case constructed of the same material as the brake rotors of the Aston Martin LMP1 racing cars.
More than an aesthetic treatment, the matte black material is light on the wrist, virtually indelible, and won’t lose its creased definition over time. Ceramic has been one of the technological revelations of the last decade in the luxury watch industry, and in the Ambox5, JLC combines it for the first time with a world timer and a chronograph.
Titanium is used for the caseback, winding crown, world time crown, and chronograph pushers. Delicate matte finish avoids the appearance of unsightly luster; it would be out of sync with the subtle tones of the Amvox5 LMP1.
Not only is titanium ubiquitous in the motorsports arena, it helps to maintain the light wrist presence of this robust 44mm case.
Few large watches have a magical quality that permits them to disappear on the wrist, but this Amvox5 has that elusive X-factor. Collectors who dismiss large watches for fear of ill fit or excessive weight owe it to themselves to consider an Amvox5.
Color is key in motorsports and luxury watch design.
A memorable livery can elevate a winning race car’s sponsor to immortal status, and the Gulf Racing color palette is a Titan among immortals. Having graced the most celebrated racing machines from Ford, Porsche, Audi, and Aston Martin for forty years, Gulf’s signature blue-orange-white was a natural choice for the 2011 launch of this Amvox5 LMP1 special edition.
Also a practical choice, the use of Gulf colors creates a clear contrast between the dark blue of the dial and the brilliant orange hands of the chronograph displays.
A corresponding splash of color graces the GMT time zone: Aston’s home base. Subtle blue-on-black contrasting stitching enriches the unique leather and textile strap.
The Amvox line has added a decade of success to the eighty-year run of Jaeger dashboard instruments in Aston Martin autos.
This Amvox5 World Chronograph LMP1 allows collectors to become part of an historic tradition. Offered with full factory equipment and indistinguishable from new, it’s one “low mileage” Aston Martin.
Whether as the ultimate accessory for the Aston Martin driver or an essential addition to an haute horlogerie collection, this Amvox5 represents outstanding value.
Auto enthusiasts and luxury watch devotees can agree; watchuwant.com’s Jaeger-LeCoultre Amvox5 World Chronograph LMP1 is a high-performance machine.