Okay, so I’ve been wanting a nice watch for a while, something classy, you know? I finally decided to pull the trigger and get a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Date. But, man, those things are expensive! I started looking around to see if I could find one used, maybe save a few bucks.
I found a seller online, not on like, one of those big official sites, but a smaller platform. They had a Master Ultra Thin Date that looked pretty good in the pictures, and the price was definitely better than new. It didn’t come with the original box, but it did have some paperwork, which was good. The seller seemed legit enough, they answered all my questions, even if it took a little while sometimes. And they had some good reviews. So, after hemming and hawing for a bit, I decided to go for it.
I wired the money, which always makes me a little nervous, but what can you do? Then the waiting game began. Every day I was checking the tracking number like a hawk. Finally, the package arrived! I ripped that thing open like a kid on Christmas morning.
First impressions? The watch looked good. It felt solid, had a nice weight to it. The dial was clean, the hands moved smoothly. But then I started looking closer. I’m no watch expert, but I’ve read enough online to know a few things to check. I whipped out my magnifying glass, yeah I went full detective mode, and started scrutinizing everything.
- Serial Number: I found the serial number on the back and I tried looking it up, but there’s no way to do that. It is said that you need to go to their shop and pay for the service.
- Dial: I was looking real close at those little markers around the dial. Most of them looked okay, but a couple seemed just a tiny bit off, not perfectly aligned. And some little smudges on the moon phase.
- Strap: I paid close attention to the leather strap. Looked well-worn but decent quality. But I am not sure if it is real.
- Movement: This is the tricky part. I don’t have the tools to open the back and look at the movement, which is apparently the best way to tell if it’s real. It is ticking well, I have to say.
I wore the watch for a few days, showing it off to my buddies, most of them didn’t even know the brand, haha. One of my friends, who’s way more into watches than I am, took a look at it. He noticed a few of the same things I did, the slightly off markers, some minor imperfections on the strap. He wasn’t sure if it was real or not either, but he did say that sometimes even real ones can have little flaws.
Honestly, I’m still not 100% sure if it’s a genuine Jaeger-LeCoultre. It could be a really good fake, or it could be a real one that’s just seen some wear and tear. I might take it to a watchmaker eventually and get it checked out, just for peace of mind. But for now, I’m enjoying wearing it. It looks great, and most people wouldn’t know the difference anyway. Maybe ignorance is bliss, right?
At the end of the day, I got a watch that looks like a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Date for a price I could afford. That’s a win in my book. We’ll see what the future holds, maybe one day I’ll be able to buy a brand new one straight from the store. But until then, I’ll be rocking this one, real or fake, and feeling pretty darn good about it.
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