Jaeger-LeCoultre Luxury Swiss Watches

Jaeger-LeCoultre is one of the most famous and prestigious watchmakers in the world, but the company actually tarted out by producing movements for other watch manufacturers, such as Audemars Piguet and IWC. Of course, those brands themselves are very highly regarded, which is a testament to the quality of work done by Jaeger-LeCoultre. Since that time, Jaeger-LeCoultre has gone on to create such amazing timepieces as the Reverso, and it’s clear that the manufacturer has earned its own way to its prestigious place in the world of watchmaking.

In 1833, Antoine LeCoultre opened a modest factory in Le Sentier. The son of a watchmaker, LeCoultre was a gifted watchmaker himself, as well as a brilliant inventor. Just over ten years after the first factory opened, LeCoultre invented the millionometer, which could use measurements accurately to as little as one thousandth of a millimeter. This led to precise components and amazing accuracy in the company’s watches.

This innovation was also indicative of LeCoultre’s motto, “we must base our experience on science.” He used this philosophy to focus on precise movements for his watches, and this is what led some of the premier watch factories in Switzerland to depend on LeCoultre’s movements, parts and tools.

Even the great Patek Philippe was impressed enough with LeCoultre movements to use them until 1910, when they started to build their own from scratch. In the first twenty years of the 20th century, 40,000 movements were produced, which led to a lot of profit for Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Where did the Jaeger part of Jaeger-LeCoultre come in? That was in 1925, when David LeCoultre (grandson of the company’s founder) merged with Edmond Jaeger’s company, which supplied watch movements to the likes of Cartier. Thus, Jaeger-LeCoultre was born. Luckily, the company did not rest upon its laurels, and instead continued to innovate their pieces, including stainless steel cases and the lightest mechanical movement in the world (less than a gram!).

The Reverso, which is perhaps Jaeger-LeCoultre’s most famous watch, was introduced in 1931, with its distinctive ability to be turned 180 degrees within the case. The public immediately loved the Reverso, even if economic conditions of that era kept it from being as widely profitable as it could have been.

Years later, an Italian watch dealer visited Jaeger-LeCoultre’s factory in the 1960’s and saw some of the Reverso watches, and decided to purchase them. They sold so quickly that the model itself was resurrected, and to this day Jaeger-LeCoultre’s most popular watch is the Reverso.

Other models, such as the Memovox, Atmos Clock, Futurematic and more have helped Jaeger-LeCoultre to thrive over the years, as well. Innovations of the company, such as the world’s thinnest automatic, have been used by peers such as Audemars Piguet.

Of course, the quality of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s pieces also has led to so much of the company’s success. It’s nice to know that Jaeger-LeCoultre still produces all of its own components in-house and by hand, with an emphasis on quality control. Look at the Master Control watches, for instance, which each undergo one thousand hours of assembly and testing! It’s clear that with this kind of craftsmanship and attention to detail, Jaeger-LeCoultre will continue to be one of the biggest names in watchmaking.