As a lover of chronograph watches this one from Le Jour really grabbed me, with it’s interesting case shape and striking dial colour. As I hadn’t yet got hands on with a Tiffany dial I wasn’t certain about it but I took the risk and will hopefully be able to explain during this review why I’m happy I did. I’ll be going over the watch’s specs, movement and key features as well as a bit of history on the brand and hopefully give you a good feeling for this watch.

Specifications

• Diameter 40mm

• Thickness 14.5mm

• Lug to Lug 48mm

• Lug Width 22mm

• Water Resistance 10ATM/100m

• Screw Down Crown and Pushers

• Movement Automatic Swiss Made Sellita 500

Brand

Originally formed in the 1960s as a manufacturer of mechanical sport watches, the brand eventually ran into trouble, like much of the Swiss watch industry, due to the quartz crisis that came about when other countries watch makers started to make use of new technologies and created battery powered, cheaper and more accurate watches. Like a lot of the Swiss watch industry Le Jour was forced to close it’s doors during this time, as they went out of business.

The company revived in the 2010’s and are embracing their roots specializing in mechanical high end sports watches. The brand is now well known within the watch enthusiast community for making quality and interesting timepieces.

Positive Points

This watch first grabbed me with it’s stunning Tiffany Blue type dial. I understand the appeal attached to this colour, I’d actually shyed away from purchasing a Tiffany blue watch previously as I assumed it was simply hype, but I understand now why the Casio MTP-1302PD-2A2VEF with the Tiffany dial is such a popular one. The colour is aided by the grooves running horizontally along the dial. That adds a level of depth and contrast with the sub dials that would otherwise be lacking. The applied white indices and white hands make this watch very readable and the day/date display with the only text on the dial above and below it gives the dial a bit of symmetry that would be missing without it. An argument could be made that for the price of this watch $1500USD a colour matched wheel might be expected, however, I’d argue that a Tiffany Blue day/date wheel might be a little hard to read, and so I like the white wheel with black text.

The case is another thing about this watch that deserves a bit of praise. At first glance 14.5mm looks to be very thick for a watch of this size, and you’d be forgiven for thinking that this would make the watch overly bulky and maybe a little top heavy. However, a substantial amount of the bulk is in the stepped caseback that disappears when on the wrist. This can be contrasted with something like my Mido Multifort Chronograph, which has the same thickness, but because the caseback is flatter it looks every bit as thick as it is.

The case shape is very unique with sharp angles everywhere and that continues with the screw down crown and pushers. This is not for someone who is looking for a traditional looking watch, and if that’s what you want Le Jour have some other chronos that would fit better such as the Roadster which is also more affordable. I like the uniqueness though and find that the sharp angles catch the eye better than a circular watch. The look is almost Gerald Genta-esque, and with the supplied bracelet almost has the look of a watch with an integrated bracelet such as the immensely popular Tissot prx and Christopher Ward The Twelve. I don’t like an integrated bracelet as I like changing out straps, and with the straight lugs in this watch any straight edge 22mm strap can look like it was made for this watch.

Negative Issues

I’ve spoken at length on the positives of this watch’s case. However, there are some problems with it to. As previously stated the unusual shape creates some sharp edges, which while looking great does dig into the wrist at times, and I’d say that this watch is not a great choice when working out as quick and exaggerated movements will cause uncomfortable digging. A final word on the case; I do like the siae and feel that they have done a good job of hiding the thickness in the caseback but it does feel a little top heavy and imbalanced.

The bracelet looks great however it doesn’t feel as luxurious as it looks. It rattles a lot and I dislike bracelets that don’t have micro-adjust available on it, especially on a sports watch. A butterfly clasp is fine on a dress watch, but if I’m going to be moving around a lot I won’t to be able to adjust the length of the bracelet without going through the hassle of removing links. Again Le Jour seem to have gone for form over function with this bracelet. The bracelet also squeaks constantly unless very tightly fitted and as a final point I must say that it does pinch a bit.

Another issue linked to the build quality of this watch is due to the crown. There does seem to be an issue with the crown stem as whenever the crown is not screwed down it is very wobbly and does not feel very secure.

Movement

This watch uses the Sellita SW500 with 25 jewels, and a high beat frequency of 28800vph. The movement has a power reserve of 56hrs as well as having a flyback chronograph and day/date complications. Sellita seems to have taken over from ETA as the most popular Swiss movement for brands that don’t have in house movements. And this movement is a good one, when I’ve checked the accuracy with my app I got a result of +8.7s/d. There are plenty of luxury watch aficionados that may scoff at that, but this is not a COSC certified watch and I personally think that is a perfectly reasonable accuracy at this price point.

Conclusion

Despite the negative issues with this watch I would still happily recommend it. The most serious issue with it in my opinion is the bracelet and that bracelet can easily be swapped out. I do think any potential buyers of this watch should keep these issues in mind and if they sound like they could be deal-breakers, then maybe look elsewhere; as I’ve already said Le-Jour do an alternative chronograph that is a little more classically shaped, but if you’re looking for a chrono that’s a little different I’d suggest taking a look at this one, definitely a keeper.