I never looked at the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Memovox while it was in production, mainly because I thought that the crown locks are very ugly. It wasn’t until I saw the watch at a watchmaker/dealer that I realized how beautiful the dial is and found out that the sound in this particular model is just what I wanted. I’ve looked at Memovox models and most of the older models are rattling instead of chiming, but this one sounds like an old alarm clock, not just like a trapped woodpecker.

The dial is asymmetrical in a good way. The white crescent that is used when you set the alarm is starting at 37 and ending at 3 (if you align with the minute markers) and it somehow looks perfect. The glossy look of the black dial, the white markers and the internal rotating bezel; it just looks right. The red arrow of the seconds hand is the icing on the cake.

I decided that I had to have this watch, crown lock or not. I still do not love them and they are not that easy to operate, so even though I like to keep one locked and the other open (white/red) just to add a bit of colour, I often just leave them open. I would never consider taking the watch closer to water than washing my hands anyway, so it does not really matter to me if I can take a diving watch like this to the bottom of the ocean. Still, I’ve learned to accept the crown locks and who knows, one day I might love them, too.

The third crown – without crown lock – is for operating the inner rotating bezel and this is also a really usable feature on this watch as it is more precise for timing than the alarm, which can be set with a precision of approximately 15 minutes. The fact that the alarm is not that precise does not matter much nowadays as we all have our phones if we need a reminder and having an alarm in a mechanical wristwatch is just because it is so intriguing that it is possible to fit an alarm into a wristwatch.

One thing I don’t like is the so-called quickset date, which is anything but quick: You turn the setting crown past 12 to 2, then back to 10 and then back to 2 and so on. It is not quick and as for the other watches I have with this “feature”, I usually note what date it is when I put it away and leave it for a month until I put it back on, so the date only needs to be adjusted a day or two.

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Memovox is a big watch – 41.5 mm and around 15 mm thick – but it sits surprisingly comfortable on the wrist. The strap on mine is the original and slightly worn alligator strap and it is smooth and comfortable. Yes, it is a heavy watch, but I like it when you can feel that you are wearing a watch. I do like a display back, but when you cannot have that, the gold medallion on the back is quite something to show as well.

You get a lot of watch for your money with one of these in steel and the great sound compared to other old memovox models. The new memovox models have great sound as well, but they dig in a lot deeper in your bank account.

I’ve gone from not even considering to look at the watch to having this as one of the watches I will never part with, so it just goes to prove that you should always have a look at the watch in the flesh before you decide whether you like it or not.