SpotlightJaeger-LeCoultre Makes Its Way To The Multiverse Of Madness, With Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is one of the most awaited movies of 2022, especially since last year’s record-breaking Spider-Man: No Way Home added fuel to the fire lit by the limited series WandaVision, which helped pave the way for the multiverse. And as Doctor Strange opens the doorway to the multiverse, one thing that will be accompanying him, aside from his sentient cloak of levitation, will be the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar. This isn’t the first time this timepiece is making an appearance on the big screen. The perpetual calendar watch made its debut in the first Doctor Strange movie in 2016. It was famously the watch that Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr Stephen Strange picked out from his watch wardrobe early in the movie. It was slightly different from the watch that’s available for purchase, as it had a solid caseback, to make room for an inscription, from Strange’s love interest Christine Palmer (Rachel McAdams), which read: ‘Time will tell you how much I love you’.

Perpetual Madness In The Multiverse

In the Sam Raimi-directed Multiverse of Madness, the watch continues to play an intrinsic role for Doctor Strange. It becomes a point of reference during key moments during his journey through the mystic arts. The Jaeger-LeCoultre is a tangible element that serves as a connection between the past and present. Based on what we do know, from Spider-Man: No Way Home, about how events in time can get altered when the multiverse opens up, it’s quite understandable how time itself will play a key role as the plot unfolds. (In the Spider-Man film, Peter Parker seeks Doctor Strange’s help to erase the memories of the people who know that he is Spider-Man. The spell that Strange casts triggers the opening of the multiverse, and all hell breaks loose.)

Of particular note among the visuals released is the image that shows Cumberbatch as Strange, working on the watch in some way, with magnifying lenses and tools and whatnot (© MARVEL 2021)

Of particular note among the visuals released by Jaeger-LeCoultre (courtesy Marvel Studios), however, is the image that shows Cumberbatch as Strange, working on the watch in some way, with magnifying lenses and tools and whatnot. It appears as though the timepiece plays a fairly more significant role than being a reminder of the past in an alternative present. Moreover, if you’ve seen the official trailer of the film, there’s full shot of the Jaeger-LeCoultre. It’s all cracked and battered as Strange’s reflection appears on the glass. Aside from the ominous nature of this visual, it’s quite clear that the watch has more of a role than being a leitmotif.

Timeless Classicism In The Multiverse

The timepiece itself is dress watch perfection by Jaeger-LeCoultre, sized at a very agreeable 39mm, and presenting the classic white dial-black strap combination with steel. It goes perfectly with Cumberbatch’s suave appearance as Stephen Strange, in a business suit and even in a black-tie ensemble. Moreover, the perpetual calendar complication is quite appropriate for a film that has to do with timelines that go into perpetuity, especially as something that has been defined in measurement and numbers indefinitely into the future. As the brand have expressed: ‘the timeless classicism provides [an] emotional anchor in a world of constant change [in the film]’.

It goes perfectly with Cumberbatch’s suave appearance as Stephen Strange, in a business suit and even in a black-tie ensemble (seen here) (© MARVEL 2021)

The perpetual calendar complication is apt for a film that has to do with timelines that go into perpetuity, especially as something that has been defined in measurement indefinitely into the future (© MARVEL 2021)

With the moon phase indicator at 12 o’clock, and the date, day and month at three, nine and six o’clock respectively, the dial also displays the year between seven and eight. With the sub-dials recessed, the moon phase aperture bevelled and the hands and indexes faceted, there’s actually a lot of visual depth in the display, on a dial that is seemingly quite plain. All the indications are powered by the Jaeger-LeCoultre automatic calibre 868, which can be seen through the exhibition caseback, unlike the version of the watch that Doctor Strange had in the first film. The decorations include Geneva stripes, circular graining, as well as polished and bevelled edges of the components. This perpetual calendar will need no adjustment until 2100, so long as the movement is kept running, and there are no changes in its timeline.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin EXPLORE THE COLLECTION

That cannot be said for Doctor Strange though, as we know that the timelines and realities are going to be in disarray with the doors to the multiverse open. Amid the madness, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Master Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar promises to make a significant presence on screen when Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness releases in theatres on May 6.

Benedict Cumberbatch also wore his Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar at the premiere of the new Doctor Strange film, on May 2, at the El Capitan theatre in Los Angeles, California