Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Extreme World Alarm Tides of Time: Big Name, Big Watch

This one’s got it all. Meet the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Extreme World Alarm Tides of Time Limited Edition of 350 pieces. And believe it or not, the name reads far shorter than the endless list of special features and complications.

At 46.5mm in stainless steel and titanium, this Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Extreme World Alarm is one of the largest sports watches the Le Sentier watchmaker has ever issued. As a bigger, tougher, and more complicated evolution of the 2000s “Master Compressor” series, the Compressor Extremes upped the ante in every way.

“Extreme” stands for extreme toughness. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Extreme World Alarm features a two-part case comprised of a titanium inner cradle and a stainless steel exterior chassis. Jaeger-LeCoultre designed the outer structure to provide a suspension buffer for the inner chamber which is suspended on springs. In combination, these elements allow the Master Compressor Extreme case to endure instantaneous impulses of up to 500g.

Want more? You’ve got it; Jaeger-LeCoultre uses the additional volume of the Compressor Extreme case to install lever actuated quick releases for the straps. Pull the tab and remove the strap. Pull the tab and install the new one… yes, it’s that easy.

Complication rules the day when you own this bi-metallic bruiser. Each Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Extreme World Alarm incorporates an alarm that can be set with a double-digital adjustment mechanism and even switched off for occasions when the system’s intrusion is unwanted.

A world-time reference system provides simultaneous display of the hour in each of the globe’s 24 principal time zones. Each of the features time zones is represented by a prominent reference city, and this being the UNESCO Tides of Time limited edition, three time zones are represented in blue print by UNESCO Marine World Heritage Sites: Tubbataha, Scandola, and Galapagos.

As a limited edition devoted to maritime conservation, the Extreme World Alarm Tides of Time is an accomplished aquatic adventurer. Its Jaeger-LeCoultre-patented Compressor Crown technology enables both instant access to the crown functions and 100-meter (330-foot) water resistance. One half-twist of each wing-lock fully enables each crown, and the same minimal effort provides a tight seal. Jaeger-LeCoultre’s effortless system is both stylish and infinitely easier to use than the stubborn screw-down units of traditional dive watches.

Inside the fortress-like Compressor Extreme case, Jaeger-LeCoultre mounts its formidable caliber 912. An in-house movement like all JLC alarms, the caliber 912 is a hot-rodded version of the venerable automatic Memovox Cal. 918.

The upgrades start with a world-time function and continue with an alarm on/off switch, a titanium alarm gong, a rugged free-sprung escapement, a laser-welded hairspring (at both points of attachment), high-efficiency un-lubricated ceramic winding-rotor bearings, and the mechanically superior unidirectional winding mechanism of the latest Jaeger-LeCoultre automatic movements.

While the conventional Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Extreme World Alarm is a regular-production item, the highly-sought Tides of Time variant is a limited edition of only 350 units.

See this Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Extreme World Alarm Tides of Time in high-resolution images at The 1916 Company.