JLC 476

The Calibre 476 was the first automatic movement from Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Introduced in 1946, the Calibre 476 came 20 years after John Harwood and Blancpain presented the first automatic wristwatch and 15 years after the Rolex “Perpetual” went into production. It was a bumper movement, not a 360º rotor as in today's watches, but it boasted a respectable 40 hour power reserve and was accurate enough to be certified a chronometer in later years. It ran at 18,000 vph.

The 476 was the basis for the 1948 JLC 481, the first from the company with a power reserve indicator.

Note that Cal. 476 is often stamped “12A”, leading to confusion about the naming of this movement.

• JLC 481

• An interesting page of JLC history: Automatic watches