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Jaeger-LeCoultre watches are distinguished by their quiet beauty on the outside. The inner workings are, however, anything but restrained. The brand has always been one of the great innovators in the industry. At one point, even Patek Philippe was sourcing its calibers from them. The majority of Cartier models run on Jaeger-LeCoultre movements. In addition to the all-time classic, Reverso, today’s favorites are the distinguished-looking dress watches from the collections, Master Control, Master Ultra Thin, and Master Calendar. The series embodies the essence of the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand, discerning understatement and extraordinary watchmaking skills.
Most importantly, Jaeger-LeCoultre is known for its great manufacturing depth. All watches with the emblem of Jaeger-LeCoultre are equipped with in-house calibers. Very few other well-established watch manufacturers, apart from Rolex and Zenith, can compete with this claim. In its long history, Jaeger-LeCoultre has developed over 400 patents and over 1,200 different calibers. These achievements rank the Le Sentier headquartered Jaeger-LeCoultre as the absolute number 1 among all Swiss watch brands. Differently than most competitors, the company has dominated in an extraordinarily broad spectrum of horological sub-disciplines throughout its existence. Even the innovative power of the brand is not limited to any one core competence, but all- encompassing: from the first pocket watch without winding key to the distinctive rotary housing of the Reverso.
This is the collection of timeless and elegant watches. The protagonists are called Control, Ultra-Thin, Compressor and Memovox and each of these names is preceded by the title Master.
The Reverso is one of the absolute design icons in the watch collector’s market. The rotatable housing made the watch popular in the 1930s for the game of Polo because you could protect dial and glass against impact from hits. Today Reverso is one of the timepieces that carry forth the spirit of the past and remain popular throughout time. One thing is predictable: The rectangular Art-Deco elegance of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Reverso will still be fashionably stylish even 100 years from now.
The women’s watch collection of Rendez-Vous appeals with exceptional elegance and grace. The appearance is dominated by the marked Arabic numerals, which are often placed in segmented dials. The housing size variance from 27 to 38 mm JLC offers a wide range covering every stage from discreet to oversized and provides the appropriate model to appeal to every woman’s taste.
All watches sold by Jaeger-LeCoultre undergo a 1000-hour test series. This is not only longer than for other brands, but also more comprehensive as the procedure tests the movement plus the entire watch. These tests move beyond location-independent accuracy screening to include the influence of pressure and temperature as well as examining impact, magnetic and water resistance. After passing all the tests, the watch earns the seal of “1000 hours control” which is engraved on the bottom of the case.
An ongoing discussion exists in the lofts of horology about pros and cons of unidirectional or bi-directional rewinding automatic mechanisms. Equally debated are the advantages of either using spherical or ruby-mounted timepieces. In the case of Jaeger-LeCoultre, they decided for a ball-bearing unidirectional winding rotor. To increase the robustness of their watches, they have lately expanded the use of ceramic ball bearings.
As our shop focuses on high quality wrist watches, clocks of all kinds might get lesser attention from us, but the Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos is anything but an ordinary clock. It is driven by the pressure fluctuations in the density of air and thus performs as a virtual perpetuum mobile. The name Atmos is somewhat misleading, because the air does not “breathe” and it is not blown in and out of bellows, but instead it expands and contracts within a pressure box. A temperature change of just 1 degree Celsius is sufficient to power the watch for a full two days.
With a volume of only 0.2 cm ³ the caliber is 101 remains the smallest mechanical movement in the world to this day. It weighs less than a gram. Moreover, as if that were not impressive enough, the watch was developed in 1928 – a time when watches were just coming into vogue. Today, decades after the 101 was introduced, coming up with small watches that offer reliability and the required features for everyday use remains the most daunting challenge for watchmakers. The LeCoultre’s interpretation of a micro caliber even then withstood the test in practice and had a power reserve of up to 33 hours. The brand received its ultimate accolade in 1953 when Elizabeth II wore a Jaeger-LeCoultre with the smallest of all movements on her wrist during her coronation.
In 1931 Jaeger-LeCoultre presented the Reverso, one of the absolute classics among watches which still ranks among the most popular watch models of the world. The art-deco icon with its rectangular casing however is just one of many legends from the House of JLC: the model Memovox shares the place of most famous alarm wristwatch in the world with Vulcain Cricket. It is now called master Memovox part of the Master Collection by Jaeger-LeCoultre.
1833: Charles-Antoine LeCoultre opened a clock studio, from which arises the LeCoultre trademark in 1833. Initial successes quickly establish the potential of the newcomer. For example, LeCoultre receives the gold medal at the world exhibition for his extraordinarily accurate movements in 1850 in London.
1928: The company invents a mechanism, which leverages the temperature difference of the room environment and thus creates a virtually self-winding watch. A few years later, Jaeger-LeCoultre patents the invention and produces the table clock Atmos.
1929: The caliber 101 is developed and it is still today the smallest mechanical movement in the world.
1931: Jaeger-LeCoultre launches the Reverso. With its rotating case, the timepiece is designed for the sport of Polo, but quickly becomes a style icon of Art Deco.
1950: The Memovox model is presented and continues to be one of the most famous alarm clock models today.
1951: The Futurematic is added to the JLC collection as the world’s first automatic watch that works entirely without a crown. The time is set with a rotating mechanism in the base of the housing.
1956: The Memovox automatic, is brought to market as the world’s first alarm clock with automatic winding.
1958: A watch designed specifically for researchers and expedition members, the new Geophysics has a waterproof, rugged housing.
1959: The Deepsea Alarm is the first dive watch-alarm clock in the world.
1965: The Polaris improves the acoustic signal of the Deepsea Alarm, so that the alarm clock is still clearly audible under water.
2004: Marks the launch of the model Gyrotourbillon – a model with a Tourbillon, turning in several directions.
2020: JLC launches four new models of its iconic Master Control Collection.
If you wear a watch by Jaeger-LeCoultre, you are making a statement for deliberate understatement. Nevertheless, or maybe even especially for this reason, Jaeger-LeCoultre is one of the most popular watch brands on the red carpets of Hollywood. Diane Krüger for example swears by the Art Deco design of the Reverso. The German actress is not the only one to favor the watch with the rotary casing. Many other female and male stars are fans of this classic watch, like Lucy Liu and Pierce Brosnan. Even Jay-Z, in addition to the Royal Oaks and Big Bangs he also possesses can sometimes be seen wearing a Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin. Al Pacino too is a fan of JLC. He owns a Master Reserve de Marche and a Master Geographic Ultra-Thin. Robert Downey Jr. wears a Master Compressor sports diver, which perpetuates the legacy of its legendary ancestors Deepsea Alarm and Polaris. Ethan Hawke prefers his Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Hometime.