{"product_id":"jaeger-lecoultre-mark-xi-as08316","title":"Jaeger-LeCoultre Mark XI","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThrough much of World War II, allied aviators were donning the American-made A-11 service watch. While this tough-as-nails timekeeper performed meritoriously for soldiers and airmen alike, Britain's Ministry of Defense found that the production specifications of the A-11 were too broad and resulted in timepieces too imprecise for effective navigation.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eAs an answer to the A-11, the MoD issued new standards for the watches issued to its RAF pilots. The new standard, coded 6B\/346, required chronometer-grade performance and anti-magnetic properties. For the production of this new timepiece, the MoD turned to major European manufactures, eventually giving contracts to two: International Watch Company and Jaeger-LeCoultre.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThe resulting timepiece was the Mark XI Pilot's watch.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIn addition to the relatively standard features present on the A-11 (center seconds, hacking and a stainless steel case), the Mark XI featured a soft iron dial and dust cover which shielded the movement from magnetism.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eWhile IWC produced their version of the Mark XI with their existing Calibre 89 (which found its way into many IWC models of the era), Jaeger-LeCoultre filled their orders with a 12.5 ligne, 16-jewel Calibre 488\/SBr movement — a movement that was only used in the Mark XI series — making the JLC executions much more sought after by collectors.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThis particular example, issued to the Royal Australian Air Force, dates to circa 1953 and features a 34.6mm 'Staybrite' steel case with an acrylic crystal, a 'big' crown, a smooth bezel, and a matte black Radium' dial with printed 'Arabic' indices and a matching handset — in the unique style of the Mark 11 series, with a rectangular hour hand, a 'syringe' minute hand, and a white seconds hand.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eThis piece comes fitted to an Admiralty Grey Phoenix® NATO strap with stainless steel hardware and is powered by Jaeger-LeCoultre's Calibre 488\/SBr hand-wound movement.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\"\u003eIf you're a dedicated collector of military watches — or you simply have a respect and appreciation for well made things, history, or beautiful objects — it's going to be hard to pass up such an important timepiece as this!\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jaeger LeCoultre","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40159798132823,"sku":"40980052","price":10650.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0809\/1255\/products\/AS08316_40980052_JAEGERLECOULTRE_MARKXI_E.161-6.jpg?v=1681224476","url":"https:\/\/www.analogshift.com\/products\/jaeger-lecoultre-mark-xi-as08316","provider":"Analog:Shift","version":"1.0","type":"link"}