.svg){kind=icon}
New to the Group | Introducing a Discussion on the Jean Lassale Calibre 2000
Hi ALl
New to the group, so I figured I would introduce myself by starting a discussion that might be of interest.
I have been collecting watches "quietly" for many years, mostly reading, researching, and learning rather than posting. Most of my active forum experience has actually been on automotive forums, but I have always enjoyed following watch discussions from the sidelines. This seems like a smaller and more focused group, so I thought I would give it a shot and hopefully contribute something useful.
To that end, I thought I would start a conversation around a watch in my collection that many people may not have encountered, although I am hoping some here have. I wanted to talk about the Jean Lassale, specifically the Calibre 2000.
So here is the TLDR on why I wanted to bring this watch up and why I think it deserves attention.
Research Dossier: Jean Lassale Calibre 2000 (1976)
1. Historical Significance and Rarity
Brand Origins: Founded in 1976 by Jean Bouchet Lassale in Geneva.
The Era: Independent Swiss production from 1976 to 1979 is widely considered the Golden Era for collectors. Most later Lassale watches transitioned into Seiko owned quartz production, so the early mechanical versions are often viewed as the true Holy Grail pieces of the brand.
Movement Pedigree: The Calibre 2000 automatic and the Calibre 1200 manual movements were so advanced for their time that after the company collapsed, the designs were licensed and adapted by major Swiss houses. These became the basis for Vacheron Constantin Calibre 1160 and Piaget Calibre 20P.
2. Technical Innovation: The "Floating" Architecture
Thickness: 2.08 mm for the automatic movement.
Engineering: The movement achieved its extreme thinness by eliminating traditional bridges and instead relying on a baseplate only architecture.
Ball Bearing Axis: The movement uses 14 microscopic ball bearings, approximately 0.20 mm each, to support the gear train and the central rotor.
Exhibition Back Value: My specific example has a factory exhibition case back, which from what I understand is particularly uncommon. It allows the floating architecture to actually be seen, which is normally hidden behind a closed case back.
That is the core historical and technical context behind why this watch caught my attention and why I thought it might be worth discussing here.
I am curious if anyone here has handled one of these in person or has spent time studying them. I would be interested to hear whether this is a movement that people here view as historically important or more of an interesting side branch in the evolution of ultra thin watchmaking.
The reason this topic really came to the surface for me recently was that the watch needed service, and the repair estimate was not trivial. It forced me to decide whether this was a watch worth saving or whether it should quietly fade into history as one more casualty of an ambitious but fragile engineering idea.
There is also a bit of humor in all of this. Sometimes when I see this watch sitting in the winder next to pieces like my Blancpain Fifty Fathoms and my JLC Deep Sea, it feels like the oddball in the group. Yet at the same time, the more I read about it, the more it feels like it may be one of the more intellectually interesting watches in the box.
Curious to hear what others here think, especially from those who have restored one, owned one, or studied the movement in depth.
--
.svg){kind=icon}