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When Antoine LeCoultre founded a modest watchmaking workshop little did he know that he would revolutionise watchmaking as the company grew. In the heart of Vallée de Joux in the Swiss Jura Mountains, Jaeger-LeCoultre continually renews its creativity and inventiveness to become the world’s leading luxury watchmaker.
In 1833- Antoine LeCoultre set up a small workshop in Vallée de Joux handcrafting exceptional luxury Swiss watches and clocks imbued with a strong spirit of innovation. His workshop would go on to become Swiss luxury brand Jaeger-LeCoultre.
In the sixteenth century French Huguenot Pierre LeCoultre fled to Geneva to escape religious persecution. Although he obtained the status of inhabitant he left to acquire a plot of land in Vallée de Joux. Over time, a small community formed and in 1612 Pierre LeCoultre's son Antoine built a church there.. marking the founding of the village of Le Sentier.
Antoine LeCoultre founded a modest watchmaking workshop in 1833 and made horological history when he invented the world's most precise measuring instrument at the time: the millionomètre. The invention was never patented, however, its unique composition was kept a secret and used by the company for over fifty years. In fact Antoine LeCoultre was awarded a gold medal for his work on timepiece precision and mechanisation at Universal Exhibition in London. His son Elie LeCoultre joined the family business at sixteen and developed complications that transformed the workshop into Switzerland's most prolific manufacturers, LeCoultre and Cie. Here they developed the first partially mechanised production processes for complicated movements.
An interesting point to note is that Jaeger-LeCoultre is one of the only companies which creates, develops, decorates and produces all its luxury watches and clocks by hand.. within its own workshops. Since its inception and in order to make each watch in its entirety, the company has housed the full range of professions, techniques and technologies under a single roof to give birth to the finest Swiss watchmaking creations.
In 1903 a meeting between Frenchman Edmond Jaeger- who was Paris-based watchmaker to the French Navy- and Jacques-David LeCoultre -- grandson of Antoine LeCoultre- changed watchmaking forever. How did their remarkable collaboration take place? Jacques-David LeCoultre developed ultra-thin pocket watches including the thinnest in the world in 1907 equipped with the LeCoultre Calibre 145. The same year French jeweller Cartier- one of Edmond Jaeger's clients- signed a contract with the Parisian watchmaker under which all Jaeger movements would be exclusive to Cartier for fifteen years. In 1935 Edmond Jaeger acquired the patent for the atmospherically driven clock Atmos from its inventor Jean-Léon Reutter and licensed it to LeCoultre.. intent on developing a modern version. This was an engineering feat for its time and was announced to the public on 15 January 1936.. a year before Jaeger collaborated with Lecoutre and renamed the brand Jaeger-LeCoultre.
In 2013- per Vogue- Jaeger-LeCoultre celebrated its 180th anniversary by commissioning Carmen Chaplin - granddaughter of the renowned comic actor - to direct a short film, aptly based on the subject of time and inheritance. The piece, which features three generations of the Chaplin family - Carmen Chaplin, Patricia Chaplin and Uma Chaplin Bhalla - celebrates the memory of their famous relative, who was himself a fan of the brand.
Till date Jaeger-LeCoultre has produced over 1,242 calibres and registered approximately four hundred patents. Some of its icons include the precise shock- resistant Geophysic chronometer created in 1958.. an alarm diving watch equipped with a patented triple case-back system to optimise the diffusion of sound under water in 1968.. Duomètre collection designed around the dual-wing concept- one to ensure precision and another for the complication- both synchronised by a single regulating part- in 2007.. Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon 3 Jubilee with the chronograph featuring an instant digital counter- in 2013.. Jaeger LeCoultre Polaris associating its watchmaking know-how with a modern sporting elegance- in 2018; Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpétuel further advancing the art of multi-axis tourbillon- in 2019.
Jaeger Lecoultre brings together artisans, watchmakers, engineers, technicians, artists and mechanics under one roof in its quest to create timepieces that represent a concentrated blend of expertise and a powerful cultural symbol.
To be a guardian of unique expertise and heritage in watchmaking
Luxury watches and clocks
