DESCRIPTION:
WW - LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm Diver, ref E857, bumper automatic, 39mm x 47mm to lug tips, 19mm lug width, original stainless steel screw back case with faceted lugs and fixed dive bezel inset with radium luminous material, period correct rubber Swiss tropic basket weave strap, original black dial with white minute track along perimeter, Demone Diving Regulators logo at 6 in white, 17J cal K815, case s#843632, mvt s#1480102, triple signed. Includes period correct unsigned and open Jaeger LeCoultre paperwork. Demone was a diving company formed by Robert Dempster, a machine shop owner in Illinois, with one of the first licensed Scuba diving instructors from NAUI, Al O'Neal. Al had an idea for a diving regulator that was vertically mounted so the diver wouldn't hit the back of their head whilst diving. Unfortunately for the pair, Demone products didn't sell particularly well and just a few years later they were no longer in business. The machine shop of Robert Dempster is still in business being run by his children in Oak Lawn, Illinois. It is believed this was the personal watch of Al O'Neal as Robert wasn't a diver.
CONDITION:
Mvt: Running, fresh watchmaker's overhaul in 2020, alarm functions and sets properly, nearly mint cosmetic mvt condition overall, hardly any oxide to steelwork, hardly any fine scratches to plates; excellent dial with light surface spotting, several light oil spots at dial's center, discoloration to outer minute chapter; fine-plus hands with light luminous paint loss on minute hand; unpolished case shows light wear, lug chamfers are sharp on three of the four lugs, numerous light dings on lugs and case sides; crowns with several small dings; good plastic crystal with several small dings.
ESTIMATE:
$20000
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$40000
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