Famously nicknamed the “Watchmaker of Watchmakers” due to its history as a movement supplier to some of the industry’s most prestigious brands, Jaeger-LeCoultre possesses a level of technical prowess that few can match. Additionally, while JLC still produces simple time-only watches, the brand also enjoys pulling out all the stops and creating ultra-complex timepieces that combine traditional artistic techniques with multiple heavy-hitter complications. For its latest release of 2024, the brand has created exactly this type of watch, and the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184 represents an artistic expression of the brand’s mega-complicated statement piece.
From a core functionality standpoint, the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184 is largely the same watch as the brand’s Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpétuel, which first debuted in 2019. Like its predecessor, the new model features a bi-axial Gyrotourbillon with a perpetual calendar, and it also includes a Westminster Chimes minute repeater, a dead-beat minute hand, and a one-minute constant force mechanism. However, the new Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184 takes things up a notch with a smoked sapphire dial adorned with Grand Feu enamel and a solid gold case that features decorative lacquered side plates. Additionally, while the new Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184 is making its debut appearance in 18k pink gold (ref. Q5253470), the brand will also be following up with a white gold version (ref. Q5252470), and both models will be produced as limited editions of just five examples.
Measuring 43mm in diameter by 14.1mm thick, the case of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184 is constructed from 80 separate components, and it showcases brushed, polished, and micro-blasted surfaces that highlight the fluid lines of its silhouette. Sapphire crystals are fitted to both the dial side of the watch and its screw-on caseback, while water resistance comes in at 50 meters, and adorning the sides of the case are decorative plates that showcase a linear geometric pattern in black lacquer that echoes the motif on the model’s Grand Feu enamel dial. Sitting at the 3 o’clock location is a signed crown that offers access to the movement, and rather than using a traditional slider or push-button to operate its minute repeater mechanism, the Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184 features a retractable pusher that is mounted flush with the side of its case.
The dial of the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184 follows the same fundamental layout as what can be found on the original Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpétuel from 2019, with the time and calendar displays occupying the upper portion of its dial, while the bi-axial Gyrotourbillon and Westminster Chimes minute repeater are proudly showcased on the lower portion of its display. The central section of the dial is constructed from a piece of transparent smoked sapphire, and rather than being surrounded by open-worked sections that reveal the full structure of its minute repeater’s gongs, the new Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184 features decorative plates surrounding the smoked sapphire section, which are embellished with Grand Feu enamel that forms the same linear geometric pattern that can be found on the side of the case.
Just as its name suggests, the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184 is powered by the brand’s Calibre 184 manual-wind movement, which is immaculately decorated with partially open-worked plates to further reveal its intricate mechanics. Running at a frequency of 28,800vph with a power reserve of 50 hours, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 184 is an extremely complex creation that is equipped with the brand’s signature bi-axial Gyrotourbillon, and it also features a perpetual calendar, a dead-beat minute hand, a one-minute constant force mechanism, and a Westminster Chimes minute repeater. Running at a frequency of 28,800vph with a power reserve of 50 hours, the JLC Calibre 184 consists of 1,052 individual components, and it takes approximately five months to assemble, with the entire process carried out by a single watchmaker.
Unlike a normal tourbillon, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Gyrotourbillon features a spherical structure that rotates on two perpendicular axes, and the 126-jewel Calibre 184 also features a perpetual calendar mechanism that can be set either forward or backward, which simplifies the user experience and prevents owners from accidentally damaging their movements with an improper setting process. While most of us are quite familiar with the concept of a perpetual calendar or tourbillon, a Westminster Chimes minute repeater is a bit more obscure of a complication. Named after the melody played by the Big Ben clocktower at London’s Westminster Palace, a Westminster Chimes minute repeater plays the same famous tune, which requires four hammers to strike its gongs, rather than having just two hammers like a traditional minute repeater.
Fitted to the lugs of the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184 is a two-piece black alligator leather strap that features a large-scale pattern on its outer surfaces with a small-scale lining. Additionally, while Jaeger-LeCoultre does not offer any dedicated shots of the strap or its clasp, the hero image for the watch reveals that the strap is completed by some type of deployant-style folding clasp (rather than a traditional pin buckle). Additionally, since only the pink gold reference Q5253470 has been formally been unveiled at this time, there are currently no images of the white gold Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184, although it is relatively safe to assume that the deployant-style clasps for both versions will be crafted from either 18k white or pink gold to match their respective cases.
While I’ve always been a fan of the classic time-only Reverso, my absolute favorite Jaeger-LeCoultre watches are the ones where the brand flexes all of its horological muscles and produces an ultra-complex and artistic timepiece that rivals some of the most exclusive offerings within the industry. While the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184 is exactly this type of watch, it also has the price tag to match, and this new halo-piece offering is priced at $995,000 USD. At nearly a million dollars, the Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184 is hardly intended for casual buyers, and both the pink gold (ref. Q5253470) and white gold (ref. Q5252470) models will be produced as limited editions of just five examples. While the Calibre 184 itself isn’t a new creation, it is undeniable that the new Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184 is incredibly impressive from both an aesthetic and technological standpoint, and it sits right near the top of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s modern catalog. For more information on the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184, please visit the brand’s website.
