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Tropical 1960s LeJour Chronograph 'Venus Cal. 188'

$ 1,650

LeJour was founded in the 1960s and is perhaps best known for the PVD-finished watches they made in collaboration with Heuer in the '80s. Despite largely flying under the radar, the Swiss manufacturer still put out quite a few beautiful watches, many of which were inspired by aviation, sailing, and auto-racing. 

This fantastic chronograph from the early days of the brand falls squarely into the latter camp, exuding quite a bit of that iconic Heuer vibe with its black dial with matching dual registers. The tropical dial and lovely alpha-style hands add to the overall aesthetic and make this a watch that is both easy on the eyes and very hard to come by.

SPECS

Stock # LJCHRON188
Brand LeJour
Style Chronograph
Model N/A
Serial N/A
Size Men's
Material Stainless Steel
Dial Black "Tropical"
Millimeters 37
Strap 2pc handmade leather strap

 

CASE & BRACELET

The stainless steel case appears to have been lightly polished in the past but retains crisp angles and texture with gentle signs of honest use. The case retains its original pump pushers and unsigned crown. The case back features all factory markings fully intact with gentle wear and tooling marks present. The watch is supplied on a two-piece leather strap.

DIAL & HANDS

The original glossy black dial has taken on a mottled tropical finish with specs of grey, brown, and maroon throughout. The strontium-lumed Arabic numerals have aged to a dark green patina and exhibit minor degradation when inspected under UV light. The  original strontium-lumed white alpha hands have aged to an equally dark patina and match the dial perfectly, under UV light inspection the minute hand displays some very minor lume loss and remains stable.

ACCESSORIES 

None. The watch was recently serviced and is keeping time perfectly, backed by a 1-year warranty of accurate timekeeping.