It appears the answer is Yes. Reports indicate that Jaeger-LeCoultre may soon wear the “King of Complicated Watches” crown, as the manufacture is set to release the new Duometre Grande Sonnerie “Hybrid Mechanica 55″ which will reportedly boast a whopping 26 complications, including one that plays Big Ben’s Westminster Chimes from beginning to end in succession.
The Mechanicca 55 Grande Sonnerie will handily best IWC’s Il Destriero Scafusia (cir. 1993, 21 complications) and Vacheron Constantin’s Tour de l’Ile (cir. 2005, 16 complications). And it will just surpass the Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega with 25 complications including its own Westminster chimes. It even rivals highly complicated pocket watches such as the Breguet Ref. 1160 “Marie-Antoinette”, the Patek Philippe Henry Graves (cir. 1933, 24 complications), and the grand-daddy of them all, the Patek Philippe Caliber 89 (cir. 1989, 33 complications).
Now don’t forget your checkbook because, according to the the Financial Times, this amazing new watch will cost you a cool $2.5 million. Well, I am being a bit disingenuous here because the watch is actually exclusively available as part of a set of three highly complicated Jaeger-LeCoultre watches – meaning that for your $2.5 million JLC will also “throw in” a couple more of the world’s finest watches – the Gyrotourbillon and the Reverso a Tryptique. The trilogy, will be limited to 30 sets and will be presented in a customised, six-foot tall, 800 kilo safe. What to say but “Wow!”
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