Antique Jaeger Le Coultre Clocks
In 1833 thirty-year-old Antoine LeCoultre, son of Vallee de Joux watchmaker Jacques LeCoultre, opened a small factory in the town of Le Sentier. The current Jaeger-LeCoultre factory is only a few feet away from the site of the original factory. LeCoultre soon proved himself to be a gifted watchmaker, but an even more brilliant inventor. In 1844, LeCoultre revolutionized the watch industry with the invention of the millionometer, an instrument which could be used to performe measurements of up to one thousandths of a millimeter accurately. As a result, precisely finished components could be manufactured, resulting in greatly improved accuracy in timekeeping.
The Founding of the Manufacture
Elie LeCoultre, Antoine's son understood that it was necessary to control all the different stages of manufacturing and assembly. In 1866 he transformed his workshop into a 'Manufacture'. Under one roof, his employees were to pool their know-how, enabling them to meet the most incredible challenges. In 1870 LeCoultre & Cie manufactured the components of complicated movements using mechanized processes. Within 30 years, thanks to the marriage of hand and machine, the Manufacture created more than 350 different calibers of which 128 were equipped with chronograph functions and 99 with repeater mechanisms.
Nineteenth Century Achievements
1844 Invention of the Millionometer.
1847 Invention of the crown winding system.
1851 Gold medal at the Universal Exposition in London.
1867 LeCoultre becomes the first Manufacture in the Vallée de Joux.
1890 The Manufacture makes 125 simple calibers and 31 complicated calibers.
From 1902 and for the next 30 years, LeCoultre & Cie produced most of the movement blanks for Patek Philippe of Geneva.
The Coming together of Jaeger & LeCoultre
In 1903, the Parisian Edmond Jaeger challenged the Swiss to manufacture ultra-thin calibers of his own design. Jacques-David LeCoultre, grandson of Antoine undertook the challenge.
A relationship with Cartier
Cartier, a client of Edmond Jaeger for several years signed an exclusive contract with the Parisian watchmaker in 1907 under which agreement Jaeger, LeCoultre & Cie crafted the stunning watch creations of Cartier.
Twentieth Century Achievements
Out of the two men's friendship was to emerge one of the most beautiful collections of ultra-thin pocket watches, followed by other creations that would culminate in the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand.[7] In 1907 the JLC Caliber 145 set the record for the thinnest movement at 1.38 mm.[8] However, there were many other achievements of Jaeger-LeCoultre:
1903 World's thinnest pocket watch movement.
1925 Invention of the Duoplan watch.
1930 Manufacturing of the Atmos clock (after purchasing the patent from Jean-Leon Reutter, who invented it in 1920)
1929 World's smallest movement Caliber 101, barely 1 gram and composed of 74 parts.
1931 8-day double-barrel wristwatch Caliber 124.
1931 Creation of the Reverso, designed in Paris by René-Alfred Chauvot and patented on March 4, 1931.
1932 creation of the Uniplan wristwatch.
1937 Official renaming of the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand.
1938 Compass miniature camera.
1941 Jaeger-LeCoultre earns the highest distinctions from the Neuchâtel Observatory for its Jaeger-LeCoultre tourbillon Caliber 170.
1946 First Jaeger-LeCoultre automatic watch, caliber 476.
1950 Creation of the Memovox, calibers 489 and 814.
1953 Creation of the Futurematic, automatic watch with no winding-crown.
1956 First automatic alarm wristwatch, the automatic Memovox produced between 1956 and 1968, it is equipped with Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 815.
1958 Geophysic Chronometer, caliber 478b; renamed Geomatic in 1962.
1962 Ultra-thin Caliber 838.
1967 Jaeger-LeCoultre takes part in the creation of the first quartz wristwatch in watch making history, the Beta 2.
1981 Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 606 with date display and centre seconds is the thinnest in its category.
1982 Caliber 601 earns the title of the world's thinnest movement, and the same year the caliber 608 becomes even thinner.
1983 Caliber 889, with jumping date display is a vivid example. In 1992, this will become the movement which equips the very first watch to surmount the rigorous Master 1000 Hours test.
1989 Grand Réveil, automatic Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 919 comprises no less than 350 parts, a perpetual calendar with moon phases and alarm.
1990 Géographique, Caliber 929 with 24 time zones, day-night indication, power-reserve and a high-frequency balance.
1991 Reverso 60ème manually wound Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 824.
1992 Master 1000 Hours, based on an unparalleled set of strict standards, the battery of tests composing the Master 1000 Hours control procedure guarantee the exceptional reliability and precision of the first Master Control.
1993 Reverso tourbillon.
1994 Reverso a minute repeater; Reverso Duo, Caliber 854.
1996 Reverso with a retrograde chronograph.
1998 Reverso with a time-zone mechanism in 1998.
2000 Reverso with a perpetual calendar.
