We click the start button on a new regular page focusing on the world’s leading watch brands with one of the most prestigious and sophisticated of them all, Jaeger-LeCoultre

WHAT IS IT?
Jaeger-LeCoultre (or ‘Je-jer’ to its friends) is regarded by many watch purists as one of the only pure manufactures, watch brands that have the skills to create every element of their watches. JLC’s 1,000 employees in Switzerland’s remote Vallée du Joux manufacture design, build and put together almost every part of their extremely complicated watches inhouse; only some of the strap materials (like leather or rubber) are bought in. Indeed, for much of its 155-year history, it was known as ‘the watchmaker’s watchmaker’, providing precision parts for other prestigious brands. For connoisseurs, only one or two other brands have an equal amount of horological purity.

WHAT’S NEW?
In today’s mechanical watch world, true engineering innovation is a rarity, which makes this year’s JLC Duomètre à Chronographe a real talking point. Its premise is that a chronograph (the mechanical stopwatch-type thing in a watch) will naturally have a minuscule adverse effect on accuracy, because it uses the same power train as the rest of the watch. JLC’s answer, here, is two separate mechanical power trains, one for the time and one for the chronograph – a world first. The watch has a classical elegance typical of the Master Control range, with a white dial. Also newish, although less feted, are the Squadra, a square version of the iconic rectangular Reverso, and the Master Compressor Diving range.

NEED TO KNOW
JLC is one of the few manufactures catering as much to women as men, although its worldview appears to be that women crave elegance and beauty, while men seek elegance and mechanical complication. Technological range-toppers in the brand’s Horological Excellence collection like the Gyrotourbillon 1 and Master Minute Repeater are men’s watches; women are catered for by the exceptionally beautiful Haute Joaillerie range, with other ladies’ watches dotted through the collections.

ICON
JLC made its name and reputation with the Reverso, a classic rectangular watch that flipped over on its chassis to prevent the face from being damaged during polo matches. Reverso is still its mainstay, though one imagines not too many of its customers play polo. The cleverest models in both the men’s and women’s Reverso ranges have a ‘day’ and a ‘night’ face on opposite sides, thus combining two watches in one.

WHAT TO BUY
For men, the Reverso Grande Date, with day and night dials, is a trademark classic; equally elegant for women is the beautiful Duetto Classique. Horological show-offs should go for the Master Minute Repeater or the Duomètre à Chronographe; while an excellent round watch for the real world, day or night, is the Master Compressor Chronograph. Around £5,000 (€6,000) will buy you entry into the JLC world; the most complicated watches require six-figure sums.

AVOID
JLC’s diving watches which, while striking, don’t have the history and pedigree of those from Rolex or Audemars Piguet.

BRAND SUMMARY

JLC doesn’t do cheesy ads with celebrities; it’s not worn by the bling brigade and your footballer friends won’t name-check it. It’s a brand for those in the know who want a combination of mechanical brilliance, authenticity and beauty, which is why we started off this new regular series with it. Every collector, male or female, should have at least one. www.jaeger-lecoultre.com