Since Jaeger-LeCoultre's founding, the company has produced over 1,242 different calibres, registered approximately 400 patents and created hundreds of inventions.
In 1844, Antoine LeCoultre invented the Millionomètre, which was the first instrument in history capable of measuring the micron, allowing for the precise manufacture of watch parts. The invention was never patented, as no such system existed in Switzerland at the time. However, its unique composition was kept a closely guarded secret, used by the company for more than fifty years. It was presented at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1900.
In 1847, Antoine invented a keyless watch, the second simple and reliable winding and time-setting system to do without a key after Patek Philippe's version of 1845. Instead, it relied on a small push-piece that activated a lever to change over from one function to another. Again, the invention was not patented, allowing other watchmakers to quickly implement the system.
In 1866, for the first time in watchmaking history, LeCoultre & Cie. began to manufacture calibres with small complications in small series, and in 1891 combined the chronograph and minute repeater complications into a double complication calibre. This subsequently led in the mid-1890s to the production of grandes complications, or watches comprising at least three classic horological complications, such as a perpetual calendar, chronograph and minute repeater. In 2004, Jaeger-LeCoultre created the Gyrotourbillon I, its first grande complication wristwatch, featuring a tourbillon gravitating on two axes, along with a perpetual calendar with double retrograde indicators and a running equation of time. In 2006, it released the Reverso grande complication à triptyque, the first watch in history to be equipped with three dials driven by a single movement, and in 2009 the company produced one of the world's most complicated wristwatches, the Hybris Mechanica à Grande Sonnerie with 26 complications.
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In 1907, the LeCoultre Calibre 145 set the record for the world's thinnest movement at 1.38 mm thick, appearing in pocket watches that remain to this day the thinnest in their category. From 1907 until the 1960s, the movement was produced in some 400 copies.
Environmental rating
In December 2018, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) released an official report giving environmental ratings for 15 major watch manufacturers and jewelers in Switzerland. Jaeger-LeCoultre, along with 3 other manufacturers including Vacheron Constantin and Cartier, was given an average environmental rating as "Upper Midfield", suggesting that the manufacturer has taken first actions addressing the impact of its manufacturing activities on the environment and climate change.
In jewelry and watchmaking industry, there are general concerns over the lack of transparency in manufacturing activities and the sourcing of precious raw materials such as gold, which is a major cause of environmental issues such as pollution, soil degradation and deforestation. The situation is especially serious in the developing countries which are top producers of gold, including China, Russia and South Africa. It is estimated that the watch and jewelry sector uses over 50% of world's annual gold production (over 2,000 tons), but in most cases the watch companies are not able to or are unwilling to demonstrate where their raw materials come from and if the material suppliers use eco-friendly sourcing technologies.
Notable models
Reverso
Its name inspired by the Latin “I turn around”, the Reverso was created in 1931 as a watch capable of surviving the hard knocks of a polo game. It originated when a group of polo players asked César de Trey, a watch dealer, to create a timepiece that could withstand the rigours of their sport. César de Trey followed up on the request with a letter to his colleague and watch manufacturer, Jacques-David LeCoultre. René-Alfred Chauvot, a French engineer with LeCoultre, was tasked with developing this new watchcase. Mr. Chauvot designed a reversible case that could protect the fragile dial and glass of the watch. The final design, still in use today, allows for the case to be swivelled in its carrier to protect the watch glass. The design is considered a classic of Art Deco.
A list of notable watches from the Reverso line include the following:
The Reverso Classic Large Duoface Small Second, available in stainless steel.
The Reverso Tribute Small Seconds Burgundy Red, available in stainless steel.
The Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931, available in stainless steel.
Duoplan
In 1925, the LeCoultre Calibre 7BF Duoplan was created in an effort to bring together miniaturisation and precision. The fashion of the period was for small wristwatches, however small calibres often suffered from a loss of reliability. Created by Henri Rodanet, the technical director of Etablissements Ed. Jaeger, the Duoplan was built on two levels – hence its name – enabling it to maintain a large-size balance.
The Duoplan was also one of the first gem-set steel watches and, in 1929, its glass was replaced with sapphire crystal, a first in watchmaking. The Duoplan was insured by Lloyd's of London with a special after-sales service, and a damaged movement could be replaced in a few minutes, leading London-based store owner Tyme to display in its shop window: “You won’t have time to finish your cigarette before your watch is repaired”.
Joaillerie 101
The Duoplan led to the creation in 1929 of the world's still-smallest mechanical movement, the Calibre 101, whose 74 original parts (98 today) weighed a total of approximately one gram. The second family of watches equipped with the Calibre 101, Joaillerie 101 Étrier appeared in the 1930s. In 1953, Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore a Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 101 wristwatch for her coronation.
Atmos
The Atmos Clock is a timepiece of near-perpetual movement needing no human intervention and almost no energy. Invented by Swiss engineer Jean-Léon Reutter in 1928 in Neuchâtel, the Atmos clock has been the Swiss government's official gift for important guests since 1950. Patented in 1928, the first version – known today as the Atmos 1 – was marketed by La Compagnie Générale de Radiologie (CGR) in 1930.
It derives energy from small temperature and atmospheric pressure changes in the environment, and can run for years without human intervention. Wound by a capsule filled with a mixture of temperature-sensitive gases, a 1 °C fluctuation is enough to store sufficient energy to supply the clock with two days' autonomy. Its balance, suspended from a steel-alloy wire thinner than a hair, performs two vibrations per minute; its gearing requires no lubricant. The Atmos' gearing is known for its accuracy: the moon-phase model, for example, accumulates a one-day discrepancy only once every 3,821 years.
The patents were subsequently purchased by Jaeger-LeCoultre in France 1936 and in Switzerland in 1937. The company then spent ten years perfecting the clock before beginning to manufacture it in its current technological form in 1946. In 1988, the Kohler and Rekow design agency created a two-piece limited edition showcase for the clock and, in 2003, the Manufacture released the Atmos Mystérieuse, driven by the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 583 and comprising 1,460 parts.
Futurematic
In 1951, the Manufacture released the Futurematic, the first automatic movement that lacked the ability to be hand wound, the calibre 497, Calibre 497 debuted with the Jaeger-LeCoultre Futurematic and was much more advanced than the earlier JLC 476 and JLC 481. It features a larger balance for improved accuracy and hacking seconds. One unique feature is a lock that holds the swinging weight in place when the mainspring is fully wound. It also features a special 6 hour power reserve, allowing the watch to immediately function when it is put on, rather than requiring it to be wound first.
The Calibre 497 featured a power reserve indicator along with small seconds located at the unusual position of 3:00. There is no crown on either side of the case. The crown to set the time is on the rear of the case.
Calibre 817 was used in the Jaeger-LeCoultre Futurematic and was a modification of the existing Calibre 497. Like that movement, it has a power reserve indicator at 9:00 and small seconds 3:00, but in Cal. 817 and Cal. 837 these are tiny round windows rather than being full subdials. Calibre 827 returned to the full subdial format.
Calibres 817, 827, and 837 were produced from 1956 through 1958, with just 3,500 movements made. About 3,000 of Cal. 817, 1,000 of Cal. 827, and just 500 of Cal. 837 were made.
Approximately 52,500 examples of Calibre 497 were produced between 1951 and 1958.
It has been said that the whole project for the Futurematic almost made the company bankrupt, as they never fully recovered their investment from sales of the Futurematic series of watches.
Memovox
In 1950, the Manufacture released the Memovox (portmanteau of memoria and vox, “voice of memory”), a year after the model cricket was released by Vulcain. Its striking mechanism could be used as an alarm for waking up, appointments, timetables, etc. The first models were hand wound and equipped with the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 489.
In 1956, a Memovox featuring the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 815 became the first self-winding alarm watch in history, while shortly thereafter the company marked its 125th anniversary by releasing the Memovox Worldtime. In 1959, the Memovox Deep Sea was equipped with a specific alarm to remind divers to begin their ascension, and in 1965, the Memovox Polaris was released with a patented triple case back to optimise the transmission of sound under water.
The latter model would go on to inspire the current Master Compressor and AMVOX lines. It was reproduced in 2008 under the name Memovox Tribute to Polaris.
Geophysic
In honour of the International Geophysical Year in 1958, Jaeger-LeCoultre created a watch protected against magnetic fields, water and shocks. The Geophysic chronometer was proposed by long-time employee Jules-César Savary as a watch intended for scientific bases in Antarctica. The watch was fitted with the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 478BWS and featured seventeen jewels, a Breguet overcoil, a regulating spring on the balance-cock, a shock-absorber and a Glucydur balance. The year of its release, the Geophysic was offered to William R. Anderson, the captain of the Nautilus, the first American nuclear submarine to travel between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans via the North Pole.
Grand Complication
JLC produces some complicated watches (Grand complication), e.g. the Master Gyrotourbillon 1 with a spherical Tourbillon. The Duomètre Sphérotourbillon is equipped with a tourbillon adjustable to the nearest second; the Reverso Répétition Minutes à Rideau is equipped with a minute-repeater shutter as a third face covering one of its two dials; the Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication is equipped with a flying tourbillon that follows the rhythm of celestial phenomena and indicates sidereal time, and a minute repeater comprising cathedral gongs; the Hybris Mechanica à Grande Sonnerie is equipped with gongs capable of playing the entire Big Ben chime; the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2 is equipped with a spherical tourbillon principle, a reversible case and a cylindrical balance; the Master Compressor Extreme LAB is oil-free; the Gyrotourbillon 1 is equipped with a tourbillon evolving in three dimensions to compensate for the effects of gravity in all positions.
