On 19 and 20 April, members of L'Orologio Club were guests of Jaeger-LeCoultre, at the Manufacture in Le Sentier, for a visit to the workshops where the company's watches are made and assembled. The tour of the Manufacture was tailored to the needs and wishes of our readers, with a particular focus on the production of complicated models. Getting to Jaeger-LeCoultre is no easy feat, as the Manufacture is located in the Vallée de Joux, in the middle of the Jura mountains. The arrival is scheduled for dinnertime, so the evening is devoted solely to refreshments and discovering the various watchmaking passions of the participants, postponing the visit to the manufacture, which will take up the whole day, until the following day. The conversation at the table immediately makes it clear that the participants are not unfamiliar with watchmaking or even the history of the brand. So it is that the Jaeger-LeCoultre staff decide to revise the schedule of the visit to devote more time to discovering the atelier where the most complicated movements and watches come to life. It is from there that the tour of the manufacture starts the following day. Christian Laurent, in charge of the workshop, introduces us to the mysteries of complicated movements, examining some of the most exclusive watches produced by Jaeger-LeCoultre, from the Gyrotourbillon 1 to the Reverso Grande Complication à Triptyque, of which we have the opportunity to view an example, returned to the manufacture for a revision. Here, our members have the opportunity to ask a few questions about the performance and special features of the company's tourbillons. With the help of a high magnification video camera and an LCD screen, Christan Laurent demonstrates the complex workings of the Gyrotourbillon 1's double cage, explaining that together with the Triptyque, it is the most complicated watch currently produced by the Manufacture: with over 700 components and a good two months' work to assemble it, it is more complex than even the Gyrotourbillon 2. The tour of the Manufacture starts at the wheel and pinion production department, one of the best equipped in Switzerland, a symbol of a manufacture that can make even the smallest component of a watch. We then move on to the workshop for moulding blanks for bridges and plates, where we can view some of the moulds jealously preserved by the Manufacture and which constitute its most important historical heritage. From here, we make a brief stop to observe the Atmos of the Millennium, walled into a column in the new wing of the manufacture when the site was enlarged, which will function for years to come without requiring any external intervention. We end the day with a quick visit to the Heritage Gallery, on the top floor of the manufacture, where an exhibition itinerary allows us to retrace the evolution of the House through its most emblematic watches. The historical insight is followed by the opportunity to view and try on the wrist all, but really all, the models of the latest collections, presented at the SIHH in January. An unparalleled opportunity for an enthusiast, all the more so since among the watches available to us is the precious trio from the Hybris Mechanica box set, including the sophisticated Grande Sonnerie: a jewel worth hundreds of thousands of euros, which our guests were able to try on their wrists, complete with souvenir photos.
