Jacques Lemans Riedl Carinthia Watches Age Determination
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Brand overview: Jacques Lemans in brief
- Founded: 1975
- Founders: Alfred and Norbert Riedl (Carinthia, Austria)
- Headquarters: St. Veit an der Glan, Austria
- Philosophy: Affordable, reliable quartz and automatic watches, "Swiss Made"-like designs, international distribution
- Production volume: high (hundreds of thousands of watches annually since the 1990s)
Understanding Serial Numbers & Model Numbers
Position:
-
Case back: usually engraved
- Example: “Model No. 1-1117C”, “Ref. JL-42-1”, or “N-210A”
Meaning:
- The model number reveals the series and design, not the year of manufacture directly.
- The serial number (if available) is used internally ; there is no publicly available year-to-number mapping list.
- Older models (pre-2000) often only have a reference number , not a serial number.
- Newer models from around 2010 onwards have laser engravings or QR codes → indication of more recent production.
Jacques Lemans GmbH is an internationally operating Austrian watch and jewelry company founded in 1974 by Alfred Riedl and headquartered in Carinthia . [ 1 ]
Other brands of the company are Pierre Petit and Alpha Saphir . [ 2 ]
Story
Jacques Lemans GmbH initially manufactured and distributed only watches. The company was founded in the mid-1970s by its current owner and managing director, Alfred Riedl, in St. Veit an der Glan, Carinthia, and has remained family-owned ever since. At the beginning of the company's history, Alfred Riedl himself traveled throughout Austria and frequently to Germany to sell the products.
Awards
- In 2020, the watch and jewelry publisher Meth Media conducted a survey in which watch retailers, jewelers, goldsmiths, and watchmakers selected their favorite watch brands. Jacques Lemans was awarded the title of most popular brand and top watch brand in the price segment up to €250. [ 3 ]
Sponsorship
Jacques Lemans was an official cooperation partner of Formula 1 for ten years due to a collaboration with Bernie Ecclestone. [ 4 ]
Since 2010, the company has held the title of “Official Timekeeper” of the EuroLeague Basketball Final Four and the “ STIHL Timbersports ” [ 5 ] World Championships.
The football stadium in St. Veit an der Glan is called the Jacques-Lemans-Arena.
Dating based on model series
Jacques Lemans regularly released clearly defined collections.
Here is an overview of typical production phases :
| Period | Typical collection / Note | mark |
|---|---|---|
| late 1970s – 1980s | Classic dress watches, hand-wound quartz movement | Simple designs, series like Classic with a minimalist logo |
| 1990–2000 | Geneve , Sport , Design Collection | Quartz movements (Miyota, ETA), simple "JL" logo, hardly any automatic movements |
| 2000–2010 | Formula 1/2 , Liverpool , Rome , London | Often stainless steel, date window, "Water Resistant 10 ATM" engraving |
| from 2010 | Automatic Collection , La Passion , Highland , Rome II | Automatic movements (Miyota 821A, ETA 2824), mineral/sapphire crystal |
| from 2015 | Eco Power , Sport Automatic , UEFA Champions League Edition | Solar technology, QR code engraving, more modern emblem |
| from 2020 | Classic Automatic , Hybrids , UEFA | Updated logo, laser or QR serial numbers |
Clock movement (movement number / caliber)
Jacques Lemans does not use its own calibers, but rather purchased movements.
These provide important clues about the production period :
| Type of work | Origin | Period | Watch line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miyota JS20 / OS20 | Japan (Citizen) | 1990–present | Chronograph (quartz) |
| ETA 2824-2 / Sellita SW200 | Switzerland | ca. 2008–present | Automatic models “Automatic / Geneve” |
| Seiko VD53 / VH31 | Japan | from 2015 | New chronographs |
| Ronda 5040.D / R1169 | Switzerland | 2005–2018 | Sporty quartz models |
| Miyota 821A / 9015 | Japan | 2010–present | Classic Automatic Series |
If you can see the movement through the glass back (e.g., "Miyota 821A") → the watch is usually from after 2010 .
Design and logo indicators
| feature | Time period |
|---|---|
| “JL” monogram without additional text | early 1990s – 2000 |
| “Jacques Lemans Geneve” | ca. 2000 – 2010 |
| “Jacques Lemans Austria” | ca. 2010 – 2018 |
| “Jacques Lemans Since 1975” + QR code | from 2018 |
Summary
| Notice | Age range |
|---|---|
| “Geneva” logo → Quartz works | ca. 1995–2010 |
| “Austria” / Glass floor automatic | ca. 2010–2016 |
| QR/laser engraving as standard | from 2018 |
| Miyota 821A / Seiko VH31 / Ronda Z series | after 2015 |
| Email support with photo | most accurate method |
Source: Watchwiki, Google, AI