I’m a Marvel junkie. If you’ve read this publication long enough, you’ve probably already figured that out.
So you might well imagine that when I was sitting in the theater in 2016 watching the first Doctor Strange movie – absolutely mesmerized – I almost fell off my seat when the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar showed up on screen, all big and shiny in Stephen Strange’s watch box.
Benedict Cumberbatch at the Hollywood premiere of ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ (photo courtesy Jaeger-LeCoultre)
An Easter egg at the premiere of Spider-Man: No Way Home, in which Dr. Strange played a life-altering part for both Peter Parker and the Marvel universe altogether, told me that the theme started by and the starring role of this watch wasn’t quite over yet. I became quite impatient for the next Doctor Strange feature film, fueled on by the foreboding Marvel “What If . . . Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?” episode and the outstanding, future-hinting “Wandavision” series (both available to stream on Disney+).
At the Spider-Man: No Way Home film premiere in Los Angeles on December 13, 2021, a movie whose theme largely explored the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s so-called multiverse, Benedict Cumberbatch (Dr. Strange) wore the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar. This might not seem strange as is, but as a brand ambassador in the previous two years Cumberbatch had really only been wearing Polaris models in public. This was indeed a departure for those who pay attention to this sort of thing – and a certain callback to the first film.
Dr. Strange’s origin story, Doctor Strange, came to theaters 2016. The good doctor was an ultra-successful and ambitious neurosurgeon who becomes a powerful sorcerer after a car accident robs him of the use of his hands.
Before his life-altering trauma, the title character, played by an absolutely brilliant Cumberbatch, had a definite penchant for the finer things in life – including an ill-fated Lamborghini and a dresser drawer full of fine watches neatly stowed in winder cuffs. The watch he selected to wear on the fateful evening was a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual. As we discovered during the film, this watch had special meaning for him aside from being a beautiful, classic timepiece, engraved as it was with a dedication on the back: “Time will tell you how much I love you, Christine.”
Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ (photo courtesy Marvel Studios)
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar and Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness
Jaeger-LeCoultre has confirmed that the Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar will feature again be in the new film, Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, which is finally being released on May 4, 2022 in Europe and May 6, 2022 in the U.S.
The watch was not visible in any of the Avengers films in which Dr. Strange played a part, nor in Spider-Man: No Way Home, as worldly possessions are not part of Dr. Strange’s present incarnation. However, in the multiverse anything can happen and apparently does . . . So this will only be the watch’s second appearance in a Marvel film and third, as far as I can see, on the red carpet.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar
Judging from the stills provided by Marvel for promotion of the watch’s product placement, and by the cast members (characters) included, I can imagine in what context it will show up and I am very excited to see it.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange doing something to his beloved JLC in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ (photo courtesy Marvel Studios)
One of the stills (above photo) even shows Dr. Strange playing watchmaker with the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar. I cannot fathom where this fits into the film yet, but I know I am going to like it!
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar first appeared on the market in 2013. Housed in a very wearable 39 mm case in a choice of pink gold or steel, it is only 9.2 mm high – hence the descriptor “ultra thin.” At the beginning, it was only available in white or pink gold, with the steel version coming a bit later.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar
Refined, contemporary, and elegant, it features a finely balanced dial with a moon phase display at 12 o’clock and calendar indications on three subdials. This is the most classic perpetual calendar arrangement I can think of, and it is beautifully done here.
The movement, Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 868, was entirely developed and produced in-house, The modular perpetual calendar mechanism is all the more awe-inspiring when you consider the watch’s svelte height.
The perpetual calendar takes into account the irregularities of the Gregorian calendar, automatically adjusting for months of different lengths and for leap years. As long as it is kept wound, a perpetual calendar needs no adjustment until the next secular year, 2100, and then not for another 400 years.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Dr. Strange in ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ (photo courtesy Marvel Studios)
For a full description of what a perpetual calendar is and what it does, please see Perpetual Calendars: What They Do And What Most Of Them Don’t Do.
For more on the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual, please visit www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/us/en/watches/master/master-ultra-thin-perpetual.
Quick Facts Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar
Case: 39 x 9.2 mm, stainless steel
Movement: automatic Caliber 868/1, 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency, 38-hour power reserve, 336 components
Functions: hours, minutes seconds; perpetual calendar with day, date, month, four-digit year, moon phases; security zone indication (adjustment time warning display)
Price: $23,300
Remark: up to 8-year warranty
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Perpetual Calendars: What They Do And What Most Of Them Don’t Do
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