Jaeger LeCoultre Swiss

MANUFACTURING TIME

Calibers produced in-house from the first step to the last, timeless collections, consistent quality from basic movements to the most complicated models and more than 170 years of experience: can one really blame the French for worshipping Jaeger-LeCoultre watches?

Antoine LeCoultre founded his “farm-workshop” in the Joux Valley of the Swiss Jura, in 1833. The man who would eventually be considered the “grandfather of horology” specialized in high-end calibers, which he sold both under his own name and to other brands. In 1890 the company made a modest 125 movements. Yet in the years since, all the great names in watch-making, from Audemars Piguet to Patek Philippe, from Cartier to Vacheron Constantin, have lined up to movements from LeCoultre at one time or another.

An amazing piece introduced in 2007 is the Master Compressor Extreme LAB, not only the first oil-free mechanical watch but one that promises to run forever. This piece, at about $240,000, is horologically ahead of its time, adding to the forty calibers manufactured by this company, which has one of its mottos: “For Jaeger-LeCoultre, achieving the impossible is the norm.