HowTo – Determine the age of your Jaeger LeCoultre watch

Sometimes you really want to dig into the history of that watch you just found. For some brands you can easily get in contact with the brand and ask for some (free) information from the archive (more on that here). In other cases you just want a quick check on the serialnumber to determine the year that a watch is built. This is especially useful with military watches since these require the watches being built somewhere prior to or during 1914-1918 for the first world war or prior or during 1939 – 1945 for the second world war. I dare to say that most military watches offered on eBay actually are most certainly not.

I recently purchased a copy of Zaf Basha’s “Jaeger LeCoultre”, which is a great resource on JLC as a brand and a rundown of the best movements and watches they made in their rich history. I have quite a few books about watches but this one is by far one of the best and I would like to encourage anyone to find yourself a copy. (ISBN 0615223877)

On this page was a table with serial numbers per year, however I received a friendly request to remove it by it’s copyright holder. However I have permission to provide lookups, so if you want you can an email to info@timetowrite.nl with your serial number and I will provide you with the correct year.

If you open up the case of your Jaeger, Jaeger-LeCoultre or LeCoultre wristwatch you can usually find a serial number like in this example below. The 269.000 serial number points to a production year of somewhere around 1943.

I hope this helps you out, please know that these lists are available for a lot of other brands as well. Success!

35 Comments on “HowTo – Determine the age of your Jaeger LeCoultre watch”

    1. Hi there friend… i feel comfortable addressing you as such seeing how many people you have helped out, your awesome for that! I myself am in need of your help… the only info i am able to provide would be the markings on the outside as well as pics due to me not having the courage to open the watch myself. Thank you

      1. If you don’t have the appropriate tools and the knowledge to properly open watches then I would like to suggest to ask a proper watchmaker (not a jeweler) to open it up for you. They can also inspect the condition of the watch movement for you. Please know that a properly maintained watch can easily outlive you.

  1. I bought my JLC this morning with a serial number of 146.2.17.

    Thank you for any information you can give me.

    1. If you could please send me an email (info@timetowrite.nl) I will gladly provide you with the requested information.

      1. Hi I’m EH I just acquired a Lecoultre master mariner ser#1272414 I can’t seem to find anything my email is ehlocklear75@gmail.com please reach out or call I have a few omega constellation watches that are from 50s as well

    1. In that case I strongly advise you to seek out a professional watchmaker/repairer, they can also tell you if the watch is in proper working order.

  2. I inherited my JLC from my father and would like to determine its age and value. The serial number is 399717.
    Are you able to help?
    Thank you.
    IG

  3. I bought my Jaeger LeCoultre with a serial number of 244.270.

    Thank you for any information you can give me.

  4. Thank you thank you for this! I’ve been everywhere online trying to dig up info on a family estate piece. You were so quick and generous in your assistance to determine a date – a date by the way that I hadn’t even been considering, opening whole new avenues of research. I enjoy doing research like this, it’s a lovely puzzle. But sometimes you get stuck and it stops being fun. I’m now unstuck, yay! Thank you!

      1. Hi
        I wonder if you could help …… I’m trying to date my mechanical Jaeger classique Model no.250.8.86 Serial no. 1835364 any ideas please .
        Kind regards
        Keith

  5. I have a Le Coultra mens watch oval shape with a leather and sued band number 1204 098. I think it was purchased around 1970.
    Trying to find out wat year it is and the value

  6. Hello I have a Jaeger le Coultre Reverso with on the mouvement and case serial15248 could you give me the date of production please.
    Best Regards
    Roland

  7. Good call , an actual watchmaker. I do know of a shop that is local to me…. although it is currently closed due to … well anyways , i was hoping you would still help me out? My JLC also has the numbers 146.2.17 on the case as did Stephens. My watch looks like the Master Hometime Aston Martin except these few differences… the faint A.M. logo under the 3 o’clock hour , also lacks the red tip on the watch hands as well as there being just the hour and minute hand with the second being on a seperate dial. My JLC does not appear to have the 975H calibre as does the Master Hometime. Thanks again for the watchmaker tip and any other info you coukd help me with would be much appreciated ..thank you.

  8. Hi, do you have information on dating more recent Jaeger LeCoultre watches, e.g., from the 2000s? Mine is a Master Control Geographic (white gold) with a serial number of 3,073,314 (cal. 929/3)

    1. Sadly not, for modern watches the only way is to request an Archive Extract from Jaeger LeCoultre directly. Which sadly is quite expensive.

  9. Hey, nice site, well done!

    I have lecoultre Powermatic with the serial 569174. Appreciate if you can help with the date. Thank you

  10. hi I have a JLC watch and I came across your wonderful site and was wondering if you could give me any information on it please
    it has a white face
    with a second hand in its own little circle just above the number 6
    it has a complete numbered face 1 through 12
    its a chrome round case with number on back B490012
    brown leather strap
    it has a number inside 637884
    any information will be helpful
    many thank

  11. 3 JLC Reversos:
    1. Case Serial:25060 .Acier Staybrite. Art Nouveau Batons .Le Coultre
    I think it’s very early? (from1931?)
    2. SS,Yellow Gold.
    Case serial..1738984
    3 .SS . Serials 270.8.62 over 2829929
    Purchased new .Amsterdam 2004
    I’d appreciate your comments re dates of manufacture ,
    Thanks ,John .NZ

  12. Just scrolling through the comments I think you must be an amazingly patient person. I guess it comes from having so much time on your hands (that’s a joke btw). I also have an older LeCoultre that I would like to date, but instead of asking here, I think I’ll send an email with a couple of photos of the watch, as well as the serial and case numbers. Hoping it’s a 72 VJ but I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

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