The Lebois & Co Heritage Chronograph Atelier Coquille d’Oeuf Enamel

The title Lebois & Co. could be acquainted to some, for 2 causes. One, as a result of we’ve coated this model fairly extensively over the previous few years, taking a look at its preliminary releases – the Avangarde Date and the Venturist – and its fairly profitable Heritage Chronograph assortment. Second, the title itself is way from new (based in 1934) and has been introduced again to life by Tom van Wijlick, a Dutch entrepreneur who’s additionally answerable for the comeback of the previous model Airain and its Sort 20 and 21 pilot’s watches. Now targeted totally on its chronograph mannequin, Lebois & Co. has delivered some interesting editions already, with the current Black and Gold, or the salmon mannequin right here, however the newest model, a souscription mannequin, pushes the idea even additional with a grand feu enamel dial. 

Lebois & Co. is one in every of these watchmaking corporations that, like so many others, didn’t survive the arrival of quartz actions and ceased manufacturing in 1972. The property of the Dodane household, identified primarily for the eponymous model and its pilot’s watches for the French military, the model remained dormant for nearly 40 years, up till Van Wijlick introduced it again with a Kickstarter marketing campaign and the Avantgarde Date, a contemporary interpretation of a time-and-date watch. It was adopted by the Venturist in 2018, a device watch with a contemporary really feel. However the mannequin that really introduced again consideration to the model was the Heritage Chronograph, a vintage-inspired stopwatch constructed along with the group of followers. The end result was nice, properly constructed and outlined the place the model was heading.

Now, in 2025, Lebois & Co. begins to think about extra high-end editions of its chronograph, and the primary in line, a watch that can be provided in a restricted yearly manufacturing, by means of a souscription course of, is all in regards to the dial… As for the bottom watch, nothing new to report. It’s nonetheless the identical good-looking, properly proportioned retro-styled chronograph we’ve come to know from its preliminary launch. This implies a 39mm case product of metal, with brushed surfaces and good polished bevels. With the ultra-domed sapphire crystal on high, it’s a bit thick (14.3mm), however that’s typically the case with fashionable chronograph actions. An attention-grabbing aspect, the form and ending of the chronograph pushers, which present nice consideration to element.

For this version, which comes with a reputation that can be not possible to pronounce for non-French audio system, the choice was made to make use of a grand feu enamel dial. It’s completed in a heat, elegant color named coquille d’œuf, which might be translated as eggshell (sure, it sounds fancier in French…) The dial is made by famend dialmaker Donzé Cadrans, a Swiss specialist on this craft. It’s composed of three separate components (most important dial and two sub-counters). The dial is fired at over 800 °C, after which, the curved, multi-level floor is printed by hand utilizing enamel-based inks, then fired as soon as extra to completely fuse the graphics into the enamel.

The result’s a dial with a heat, barely vintage attraction. Lebois & Co. selected right here to make use of black Breguet numerals and to border the dial with a pulsation scale, giving it a classic medical chronograph vibe. Time is indicated by a pair of blackened leaf-shaped palms and the chronograph is a basic bi-compax format.

Beneath the sapphire again is the calibre LC-450, the hand-wound model of the La Joux-Perret L100 sequence column wheel chronograph actions. Utilizing the bottom structure of the 7750, it’s outfitted with a column wheel, runs at a frequency of 4Hz and shops about 60h of energy reserve. The ending is sort of properly completed with blued column wheel and screws, perlage and Côtes de Genève.

Accessible by means of a souscription course of, the manufacturing of the Lebois & Co Heritage Chronograph Atelier Coquille d’Oeuf is proscribed to simply 25 items per 12 months. The retail value can be EUR 9,800, with a deposit of EUR 2,940… Fairly a step up from the three,000 euros of the usual editions. For extra particulars, please go to www.lebois.com.