Here is the world's smallest mechanical watch movement, and you'll be surprised to learn that it was originally made 80 years ago in 1929. It celebrates its 80th anniversary this year. It is the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 101, and it is still made today. The contemporary version of the Calibre 101 has been souped up a bit. For example the original movement had 78 parts while today's Calibre 101 has 98 parts. Meaning that over the years it was possible to shrink parts down even more and keep them in the same space. The movement is so small it is almost novelty worthy. It is 14mm long, 4.8mm wide, and 3.4mm thick. Really little and it weights around a gram. Still a good part of the movement is done in gray gold which is not exactly light - there is just not that much material here.
No way that this movement is an automatic - there is no room for a rotor. It is a manually-wound movement 19 jewels. Most small movements are done in this linear fashion which is probably a bit more efficient than the typical circular movement that we normally see. Though we need circular movements to fit in circular watches. The Calibre 101 is a pain to make - enough said. Think about it. All hand made and decorate, hand adjusted, it frustration trap for all but the most experienced and talented watch makers. For this reason, so few of the movements are made. Sources say that since 1929 just over 2000 Calibre 101 movements were made by Jaeger-LeCoultre. That is about 25 a year, signaling a very limited production. There is another reason for such limited production. I don't think that the movements are very practical. They are essentially small, for small's sake. Women's watches don't need to be that small, and if they are, a small quartz movement can often suffice. Still, there are some interesting applications for the watch in high-end jewelry pieces where you can boast the size of the movement in relation to a price justified by a timepiece studded with precious jewels. Take these two pictures watches for example, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Joaillerie 101 Etrier (above), and the Jaeger LeCoultre Joaillerie 101 Manchette (below) watches. Each has the Calibre 101 movement and you can easily see these haute joaillierie watches make use of the movement's dimensions and size. Though, there are jewelry watches and not meant for any serious type of time telling. Look at how small the face is! Plus, these highly limited watches are wildly expensive with such a limited market. This makes the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 101 movement an interesting spectacle, but barely something for broad use.
In the end, movements such as this are for record setting purposes and bragging rights. In the ongoing pissing contest that is the high-end luxury world of watches, practicality or logic doesn't always need to make sense. Jaeger-LeCoultre is happy enough having the title of "maker of the world's smallest mechanical watch movement," among other glorious titles and recognitions. Plus, it is nice to know what human hands or machines for that matter can do and how small they can become. For most of you this tiny mechanical movement will be a curio and topic of occasional conversation. For the select people on the planet who own watch with a Calibre 101 movement inside, they might have to squint to ever see it.
