Jaeger Le-Coultre Memovox cal. 489
Today's story takes us back to the distant year of 1952, to the very beginnings of the development of wrist alarm watches. In 1947, Vulcain introduced the first true mechanical wrist alarm watch – the Cricket. Two years later, Jaeger-LeCoultre (hereafter JLC) developed its response – the Memovox, which was showcased at the Basel fair in 1951. The Memovox became one of JLC’s most famous watch lines.
The first Memovox movement was designated as caliber 489 (later 489/1), and just two years later, JLC introduced its successor, the caliber 814. Somewhere in between, however, came the hero of today's article – the caliber 601.
Before continuing, allow me a brief detour. To better understand the story ahead, it is necessary to mention some interesting details regarding the sale of JLC watches in the USA. Due to the high import duties imposed by the United States after World War II to protect its domestic industry, JLC decided to operate in the U.S. market under a different brand name – LeCoultre. For the U.S. market, cases were sourced locally, and only movements were imported from Switzerland, with final assembly taking place in the United States. The marketing and sales of LeCoultre watches were handled by Longines-Vacheron.
Movements made for the U.S. market also had to be marked according to U.S. regulations. The movement had to clearly display the manufacturer’s name, movement designation, and the number of jewels. On LeCoultre Memovox movements, all this information was engraved on the top plate. In contrast, JLC movements produced for other markets typically featured only the Jaeger-LeCoultre inscription on the top plate, while the movement designation was placed on the edge of the movement (which often also appeared on LeCoultre versions), and the number of jewels was usually not indicated.
Cal. 489/1 for USA market
Cal. 814 for USA market
814 mark on the edge
Let's now focus on the Memovox 601.
There are quite a few urban legends surrounding this watch, making it difficult to determine what is true and what is not. In an interview with one of the owners of this watch, I came across information that almost nothing was known about the 601 movement until around 2000. Even JLC had no records of this watch in its archives. Around 2000, well-known JLC expert Zef Basha identified the watch, and JLC then began collecting photos from owners to add to their archives. How much of this is true, I cannot say. However, the fact that this watch was nearly forgotten is supported by the absence of this movement in Michael Philip Horlbeck’s book, "The Alarm Wristwatch", where every other JLC alarm movement made up until the book's release is thoroughly described. The book was published in 2007.
On the other hand, Leonhard Beitl did include the watch in his comprehensive book "Alarm am Arm – der mechanische Armbandwecker von A-Z," published in 2009. Pity that this book is only available in German.
The most striking feature of the Memovox 601, immediately noticeable to any Memovox enthusiast, is the alarm-setting hand. All other Memovox watches, including modern ones, use a disc for setting the alarm!
Memovox 601 with alarm hand
Standard Memovox with alarm disc
To avoid any misunderstanding, there are watches from other brands that used JLC movements and featured an alarm-setting hand. JLC did not widely offer its Memovox movements to other companies. One of the first examples of a JLC movement with an alarm hand was the Memo Rider watch by Favre-Leuba (which had an ownership connection with JLC between 1969 and 1978). For this model, JLC exclusively modified the JLC 916 movement into a version with an alarm hand, designated as Cal. 917.
Later, JLC also sold the 917 movement to other brands, the most well-known being IWC, which used it in their IWC GST Alarm watch.
Additionally, JLC used an alarm hand in its Grand Réveil models, which were powered by the Cal. 919 and 909 movements. However, these were quite different from the Memovox models due to their multiple complications.
Favre-Leuba Memo Rider with cal. JLC 917
JLC Grand Reveil cal. 919
JLC Grand Reveil cal. 909
On the photos on the left you can see all three stated watches. On all three watches the alarm hand is clearly visible, there is no disc. I have to point out that the 919 watch picture was taken from the web while other two are my photos of the watches from my collection (as are all others in this article).
As a curiosity, I would like to mention that, in some exceptional cases, JLC used movements from other brands with an alarm hand in its alarm watches. However, these alarm watches are not Memovox models.
As the first and most visible feature of the 601 Memovox is now solved, we can move to the other aspects. Let's start with the analyses of the movement.
As can be seen from the images below, the Cal. 601 movement is practically identical to the Cal. 814 movement. The technical difference between the 814 and 489 is that in the 814, two bridges from the 489 are combined into one. The same combined bridge is also present in the Cal. 601 movement. Therefore, it is very common in the description of this watch to come across the claim that the 601 is actually a transitional movement between the 489 and 814. However, Beitl disagrees with this conclusion in his book. According to him, the 601 is a spin-off version of the 814 movement. This is supported by the fact that of about 2000 Cal. 601 movements that were made (this figure is cited everywhere, but I haven't found the source for this claim) the serial numbers of these 2000 movements are in the range of 734,980 to 745,520. All other serial numbers within this range are supposed to belong to the 814 movements, which suggests that the production of the 814 and 601 took place simultaneously. My movement has the serial number 744,845, making it one of the last ones made.
I should also mention that I have read on some forums that the 601 is supposed to be 1mm larger than the 489 and 814. I can state with certainty that this is not the case. All three movements have the same diameter of 28.4mm. I admit that a different size would surprise me greatly, as these are technically almost identical movements (with the aforementioned bridge and, instead of a disk, a pointer).
JLC 601 movement
Serial number and the 601 mark at the edge
Exact serial number of my movement
Based on all the markings on the movement, it can be concluded that the movement was made for a watch intended for non-USA markets, as it is marked with Jaeger-LeCoultre but does not bear the indication of threaded jewels. The movement marking is only located on the edge, and there is none on the bridge. This is also supported by the inscription on the dial, which reads Jaeger-LeCoultre and not just LeCoultre.
You are probably wondering why I emphasize that the watch was obviously made for the non-USA market? The next photograph provides the reason. The case was clearly made in the USA (by the Wadsworth company), and furthermore, the inside of the backplate is signed by LeCoultre. If we were to judge by the case alone, the watch was intended for the USA market!
The inner side of the backplate also reveals that the case is gold plated. Please be aware that the serial number on the backplate has no relation to the serial number of the movement and that is how it should be. At that time JLC did not have unified serial numers of the case and the movement.
Memovox as the name of the watch was at that time is shown only on the front side of the backplate.
Inner side of the backplate
Backplate with the Memovox sign
The case diameter is very small—just under 32mm. As far as I know, there is no Memovox with a smaller case than this. There are some Memovox models with the 489 movement housed in the same case. However, all of them bear the LeCoultre brand. The USA market tended to favor slightly smaller watches, whereas the European market preferred slightly larger ones. For the European market, Memovox watches smaller than 33-34mm were generally not produced. Consequently, this means that the 601 is actually the smallest Memovox with the Jaeger-LeCoultre insignia.
The unusual combination of "JLC" and "LeCoultre" branding, which is unique among all Memovox models, along with the small case size, has sparked much speculation among Memovox enthusiasts about who the watch was actually intended for. The most common theory is that the 601 was made for the U.S. market—but for a very specific segment: the U.S. military stationed at bases outside the United States. How much truth there is to this, I do not know. An even bolder theory suggests that the 601 was specifically commissioned by the U.S. military, which preferred an alarm hand instead of a rotating disk for better readability. This speculation would support the idea that the 601 was a parallel model to the 814.
Let’s now focus on the dial. Despite the watch having an alarm hand, the dial has retained the structure of an inner disk in a different shade than the outer ring. However, the fact that the inner disk does not actually rotate has an important consequence. The "Jaeger-LeCoultre" inscription is placed on the inner disk below 12:00. The "Jaeger-LeCoultre" inscription (and the same applies to "LeCoultre") is extremely rare on the inner disk of Memovox models. It would be incorrect to say that it never appears, but such cases are truly rare—by my estimate, fewer than 5% of all Memovox watches have the brand name on the inner disk. The standard placement is on the outer ring just below 12:00 or even above 12:00. The reason, once again, lies in the function of the disk in all other Memovox models. Since the disk rotates, the brand inscription would also rotate, meaning that depending on the position of the alarm disk, the inscription could end up anywhere—potentially even completely upside down.
Another consequence of using a hand instead of a rotating disk is the placement of the alarm setting markers. In the 601, the inner disk serves as the alarm dial, featuring 12-minute increments. In contrast, other Memovox models typically have the corresponding markers positioned on the inner side of the outer ring.
The hands on the 601 do not differ in any way from those used on Memovox watches of that era; similar or even identical hands can be found on many models from that time.
The dial of the JLC 601
JLC 601 from the Beitl book
I am attaching a picture of the JLC 601 from Beitl’s book. Upon close examination, we can see that my watch has both crowns in a different shape than those on Beitl’s. His watch features completely flat crowns, while mine have a conical shape. Since I recognize Beitl’s book as an absolutely reliable reference in the field of alarm watches, I can conclude that my watch does not have its original crowns. However, I am 100% certain that these crowns once belonged to another Memovox model, as conical-shaped crowns are quite common in Memovox watches.
I should also mention that I found another version of the Memovox 601 on forums, which, according to its owner, is extremely rare but entirely original. Unfortunately, I have only come across a single instance of this rare model, so I simply cannot confirm whether another truly original version exists alongside this standard one.
Let me now wrap up all main features, that makes Memovox 601 so specific:
- it is the only Memovox with the alarm hand instead of disk;
- it is the only Memovox which is a hybrid between Jaeger-LeCoutre and LeCoultre;
- it is one of the smallest Memovox watches, probably the smallest of all Jaeger-LeCoultre models;
- the movement 601 is the rarest of all Memovox movements with cca. only 2000 pieces produced;
- it is one of the few Memovox watches with brand insignia written on the inner disc.
Let's take a look at how such a small watch wears on the wrist. To recap, the watch has a diameter of just under 32mm, with a lug-to-lug (L2L) measurement of a more wearable 37mm due to the elongated lugs. The thickness is 10.5mm, including the crystal. Since it was obvious that the watch would look rather odd on my 19cm wrist, I asked a friend with an 18cm wrist for help, as well as my wife, and I took pictures of the watch on her wrist as well. Whether you would wear it or not is for you to decide.
601 on my wrist (19 cm)
601 on my friend's wrist (18cm)
601 on my wife's wrist
Despite its age, the watch still runs very well, and I also recorded how loudly the alarm rings. The ringing duration is a few seconds longer than what is captured in the recording.
Friends often ask me how much such a unique watch is worth. Answering that question is nearly impossible. This is a highly specific collector’s piece—interesting to JLC collectors (of whom there are many) and alarm watch collectors (a smaller group). In 2009, Beitl valued a well-preserved example at €2,400, which was about 30% more than comparable JLC watches with 489 and 814 movements from that era. Considering inflation and the rising prices of vintage watches over the past 15 years, a comparable value today would be around €4,000–€5,000.
However, it is also important to note that the recognition of this watch has significantly increased over the years. Many collectors who had never even heard of it in 2009 now actively seek it. Blog discussions suggest that it is not uncommon for the watch to sell for much more—sometimes even in the €8,000–€17,000 range. But as mentioned, in this case, everything depends on how badly a collector wants it and how urgently the owner needs to sell it.
P.S.: In this article, I have tried to summarize all available information, both reliable and speculative. I cannot confirm the absolute accuracy of any of the details provided. However, I would be grateful for any additional comments or insights that could further shed light on the history of this unusual watch.
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