Jaeger-LeCoultre Medico-Compax Cal.285 – 18K Rose Gold Pulsations Chronograph · 1950s Collector Vintage · Two-Register Doctor’s Watch

🔥 A museum-worthy relic from the golden age of chronograph engineering — preserved with its original pulsations dial, rose-gold presence, and the legendary Cal.285 heartbeat. This is the type of vintage treasure that rarely resurfaces in true, unpolished honesty.

“Time-Keeper’s Reverie”)

Some watches tell time. Others hold it still. This piece belongs to the latter — a quiet artifact of precision, history, and human hands at work.

DESCRIPTION

In the realm of early medical chronographs, few designs balance functional ingenuity and poetic restraint like the Jaeger-LeCoultre “Cal.285 Medico-Compax.” Emerging in the 1950s — a period when mechanical instruments were still the frontline tools of diagnosis — this watch reflects a purity of purpose that modern horology can only admire from afar.

Its dial, printed with “GRADUADO PARA 15 PULSACIONES,” is a direct window into a world where doctors relied on mechanical precision to measure human life. A single activation of the chronograph, a count to fifteen heartbeats, and the pulsometer scale delivered a patient’s vital reading. Its design is neither decorative nor symbolic — it is purposeful, human, and quietly heroic.

The 18K rose-gold case, untouched by modern polishing, carries the warm and honest patina that only decades of careful existence can create. The dial, once a salmon-hued surface, has matured into a deep vintage tone — a transformation that only time can orchestrate. Every index, every numeral, every trace of aging contributes to its presence as a historically expressive object.

At its heart beats the Jaeger-LeCoultre Cal.285, one of the most respected mid-century chronograph movements — appreciated for its architecture, hand-finished anglage, Breguet overcoil, and the unmistakable signature of early JLC engineering. The movement’s tactile, pillar-wheel engagement reminds the wearer that mechanical timekeeping was once an intimate craft, not an industrial process.

For collectors of medical chronographs, rose-gold mid-century dress chronographs, or early JLC calibers, this watch represents an era-defining artifact — rare, honest, and overflowing with character that cannot be replicated today.

HIGHLIGHTS & FEATURES

• 1950s Jaeger-LeCoultre Medico-Compax
• Doctor’s pulsometer scale (“GRADUADO PARA 15 PULSACIONES”)
• 18K solid rose-gold case, bezel, and lugs
• Original dial with deep vintage patina
• Two-register chronograph layout
• Column-wheel architecture
• Cal.285 — Breguet hairspring, 17 jewels
• Unpolished vintage condition
• 34.5mm classic mid-century proportion
• New crocodile leather strap (aftermarket)

5️⃣ ITEM DETAILS (WYSIWYG)

Model: Medico-Compax / Pulsations Chronograph
Reference: 124116
Movement: Jaeger-LeCoultre Cal.285 (Manual, Column Wheel)
Material: 18K Rose Gold
Case Size: 34.5mm (36.6mm including crown)
Lug-to-Lug: 43mm
Dial: Original 1950s pulsometer scale
Crystal: Acrylic
Strap: New crocodile leather (aftermarket)
Buckle: Aftermarket
Functions: Chronograph, Pulsometer scale, Hours/Minutes, Running Seconds
Accessories: None

CONDITION REPORT

Dial: Original 1950s surface with uniform aging, rich patina, and intact printwork. No refinish, no artificial restoration.
Hands: Original rose-gold hands with matching aging.
Case: Light abrasions consistent with 70 years of preservation; no major dents, no polishing performed. Gold remains full and strong.
Bezel: Unpolished rose-gold smooth bezel with period-correct wear.
Caseback: Signed and hallmarked; minor surface marks only.
Crystal: Light handling marks, appropriate for age.
Movement: Cal.285 operating correctly; amplitude and accuracy within vintage expectations.
Strap: Brand-new crocodile leather (aftermarket).

WHY COLLECTORS WANT THIS PIECE

The Medico-Compax lineage represents one of the most meaningful intersections between horology and human life. The pulsometer scale is not decorative — it is historical. Doctors, medics, and first responders once relied on this very design to measure the living heartbeat. Combined with JLC’s masterful rose-gold casework and the revered Cal.285, this configuration is among the most charismatic and emotionally resonant mid-century chronographs available.

BRAND HERITAGE: JAEGER-LECOULTRE

Founded in 1833 in the Vallée de Joux, Jaeger-LeCoultre stands as the “watchmaker’s watchmaker,” responsible for more than 1,200 calibers and supplying movements to Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, and Universal Genève. The maison’s mid-century chronograph calibers — including the Cal.285 family — embody the technical purity that made JLC a foundational pillar of Swiss horology. Each piece from this era reflects a level of craftsmanship and intellectual rigor that defined the rise of mechanical precision in the 20th century.

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