FP Journe and Jaeger LeCoultre sports chronographs vie for supremacy in this week’s “VERSUS” luxury watch showdown on Watchbox Reviews. Tim Mosso guides watch collectors through a comprehensive overview of two luxury watches for the sake of comparing and contrasting. Features, stats, value, ergonomics, and collector’s notes for all luxury watches showcased in “VERSUS” will be discussed in-depth while offering insights into the relative strengths of each piece. Watch buyers seeking to understand how Rolex, Patek Philippe, Omega, Audemars Piguet, and other premier luxury watches compare will find regular shootouts as we roll out this new series. While Tim’s production of roughly 30 luxury watch videos per week will continue unabated, the arrival of “VERSUS” heralds Watchbox Reviews’ evolution to offer higher quality insights and entertainment value to watch collectors, watch buyers, and watch enthusiasts.

Jaeger LeCoultre’s Master Compressor Extreme Lab 2 and FP Journe’s Linesport Centigraphe Sport Titanium offer dramatically different takes on the high horology sports chronograph watch. Both chronographs cost around $50,000 U.S. when new and sell for around $35,000 U.S. when pre-owned. Both are composed principally of titanium and offer dynamic chronograph timing displays. But that’s where the similarities end; watch collectors will consider both because that’s how the human heart works, but these watches take dramatically divergent paths towards winning watch buyers’ hearts and minds. The Jaeger LeCoultre Master Compressor Extreme Lab 2 is a 300-piece limited edition as show in this feature. Its 46.8mm grade 5 titanium case and ceramic bezel enclose a JLC caliber 780 movement with a power reserve indicator, a GMT second time zone, a multi-function crown with its own display and column wheel, a chronograph with BOTH a 60-minute digital counter and a 24-hour register; automatic winding and a vertical clutch/column wheel chronograph architecture complete Le Sentier’s mechanical magnum opus. Outside the shock-resistant case, the JLC Master Compressor Extreme Lab 2 sports a hacking-seconds lever for precise setting, a quick-release lug system for swapping between the leather and rubber straps included with purchase, and a 3,000-Euro double-ardillon pin buckle with two degrees of micro-sizing adjustment and a quick-release function for shuttling between straps.

FP Journe’s Linesport Centigraphe Sport Titanium has been in production since 2014; the Centigraphe Sport Aluminum preceded this model from 2011-2014. Each FP Journe Centigraphe Sport includes a 42mm dark titanium case with matching three-link Journe bracelet and rubber guards to prevent scratches and scuffs; the entire Centigraphe Sport Titanium has a mass of 72 grams. The patented FP Journe rocker-actuator permits monopusher chronograph aesthetics with twin-pusher chronograph functionality. Each Centigraphe includes three displays for its chronograph function: a 1-second foudroyant, a 20-second counter, and a ten-minute counter. The foudroyant display can resolve intervals as short as 1/100th of a second. The manual wind Centigraphe features a manufacture caliber 1506 crafted from aluminum; it has a mass of only 12 grams. The 80-hour power reserve drives a free-sprung balance and a complex dual drivetrain that pivots on 50 jewels. By driving chronograph functions off the barrel arbor and the going train – regular time – off of the barrel itself, FP Journe ensures that the Centigraphe does not suffer a reduction of balance amplitude when the chronograph is operating. Unlike the standard Centigraphe, the Centigraphe Sport features a fully luminescent dial courtesy of Super Luminova paint. Unlike the enormous 16.2mm-thick Jaeger LeCoultre, the Centigraphe Sport measures a manageable 11.6mm thick; this sports chronograph can double as a dress watch when required.

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