Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber JLC 896

Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber 896 is an ultra-thin automatic watch movement with 32 jewels and a beat rate of 28,800 vph. The notable features of this calibre are that it is a true no-date with a small seconds subdial at 6:00. This style is reminiscent of classic pocket watches.

At 3.98mm, the cal. 896 is categorized as an ultra-thin movement. JLC refers to it as “ultra-flat”.

According to JLC, each caliber 896 is tested rigorously for 1,000 before leaving the factory.

In Jaeger-LeCoultre’s own words:

“In its pink gold version, the Master Ultra Thin Small Seconds watch is housed in a fine-gauge (8.1 mm) 39-mm case, designed to accommodate its ultra-flat movement, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 896. This mechanical self-winding movement marks the hours, minutes and seconds with exemplary precision.” -JLC Master Ultra Thin Small Seconds official product page

New Vs Old Generation:

At the time of this post (7/2024), the caliber 896 is still found being used in the current JLC Master Ultra Thin Small Seconds model, however, there are some differences between “896” signed movements past and present.

For example, the current calibre 896 has 32 jewels:

The previous version of the 896 had 34 jewels:

The total components has also changed, although the previous version’s total components count is unconfirmed.

Additional Resources:

• JLC 896 official search results