Founded in 1833, the Swiss watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre has earned an excellent reputation over the centuries and the unofficial title of “watchmaker of watchmakers.” The more than 1,200 in-house calibers they have developed certainly contributed to this. In this article, we would like to take a closer look at some of the best and most fascinating movements from the Grande Maison. We list the most legendary Jaeger-LeCoultre calibers below.
A Brief Look at the History of Jaeger-LeCoultre
But first, let’s take a look at how Jaeger-LeCoultre became what it is today. The origins of Jaeger-LeCoultre go back to the self-taught watchmaker Antoine LeCoultre, who opened a watchmaker’s workshop in the small Swiss village of Le Sentier in 1833. In addition to movements, LeCoultre also developed special tools, including a machine that could produce stainless steel pinions and the Millionomètre. The latter is a measuring instrument that made it possible for the first time to measure with an accuracy of a thousandth of a millimeter. As early as 1880, LeCoultre was considered the specialist for complicated movements and employed almost 500 people just a few years later. Customers who relied on the manufacturer’s calibers included heavyweights such as Patek Philippe, Cartier, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron Constantin. 1903 also saw the first collaboration with the Paris-based watchmaker Edmond Jaeger. After decades of cooperation, the two companies were finally united under the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand. Today, the brand is the watchmaking flagship of the luxury goods group Richemont.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibers That Made History
After our brief excursion into the history of the Grande Maison, we now come to the real stars of our article: the best calibers from Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Start Small, Make It Big: The Caliber 101
Let’s start with a real highlight: the Caliber 101. This technical masterpiece was first presented by JLC in 1929 and is still considered the smallest mechanical movement in the world today. Measuring just 14 mm in length, 4.8 mm in width, and 3.4 mm in height, the movement fits comfortably on a thumbnail. The two-layer Duoplan baguette caliber with manual winding was developed for particularly delicate jewelry watches, as were fashionable in the 1920s and 30s. The caliber 101/4, the current version of the movement, consists of 98 individual parts that can only be assembled by the most talented and skilled watchmakers in the world. The crown is located on the case back of the watch so as not to interrupt the clear lines of the case. The balance wheel of the caliber 101 oscillates at 21,600 vibrations per hour, and the power reserve lasts for approximately 33 hours. Due to the difficult manufacturing process, Jaeger-LeCoultre only produces a good 50 examples of the 101 caliber per year. Most of them are already sold before production or reserved for jewelry. The circle of owners is accordingly exclusive. One of the most famous owners of a JLC 101 was Queen Elizabeth II. The former Queen of England wore a Jaeger-LeCoultre 101 with a diamond-studded bracelet at her coronation in 1953. In 2012, she received a new edition of the 101 from the masters of the Grande Maison as a gift to mark the diamond jubilee of her coronation over 60 years ago.
First Place for the Caliber 978
With a diameter of 30 mm and an overall height of 7.1 mm, the next caliber seems almost gigantic compared to the 101. However, the caliber 978 is one of the world’s thinnest automatic calibers with a tourbillon. The movement celebrated its premiere in 2009 in the JLC Master Ultra Thin Tourbillon, consists of 302 individual parts, and has a power reserve of 45 hours. To mark the 50th anniversary of the International Watch Museum (Musée international d’horlogerie) in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a chronometry competition was held for the first time since 1972. In homage to the observatory competitions of days gone by, the best manufacturers of luxury chronometers were invited to compete in the “Concours international de chronométrie 2009.” The deserving winner was the Master Ultra Thin Tourbillon with the caliber 978 ticking inside. With a rate deviation of ± 0.13 seconds per day, Jaeger-LeCoultre has created one of the most precise mechanical watches in the world. To better understand just how brilliant this performance is, a deviation of -4 to +6 seconds per day is considered “normal” for a chronometer.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Ultra Thin Tourbillon
A Real Whirlwind: The Caliber 174
Our next caliber is the 174 and can be found in the JLC Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2. The movement consists of 373 components, more than 100 of which are accounted for by the eponymous gyrotourbillon alone. In contrast to a conventional tourbillon, in which the balance wheel sits in a cage that rotates around its own axis, the gyrotourbillon has a second cage that rotates around another axis. This fascinating component not only reduces the positional dependency of the balance wheel, it also inevitably captivates every observer. As the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2 is limited to just 74 pieces, it is very rare and has a correspondingly high price. A Reverso with the caliber 174 is therefore a worthwhile investment.
Self-Running: The Caliber 562
A perpetual motion machine is a mechanical construction that can drive itself indefinitely without further action. Unfortunately, the laws of physics do not allow for such a device, but on January 15, 1936, Jaeger-LeCoultre presented a watch that came suspiciously close to this mechanical pipe dream. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos, a decorative table clock, can theoretically run for decades without having to be wound once. This is ensured by the impressive caliber 562, which draws a large part of its required energy from the change in ambient temperature. A temperature fluctuation of just one degree will keep the Atmos running for 48 hours. This fascinating mechanism makes use of the temperature-induced change in the gas chloroethane. If it expands or contracts, the resulting energy is stored in a mechanical spring. However, as that energy is hardly sufficient, the movement of the Atmos is also driven by a so-called torsion pendulum. This has both advantages and disadvantages. For example, there is not a single Atmos clock with a seconds hand due to the low energy generated. But due to the slow rotation, it is no problem to install an additional month and moon phase display. Many watch enthusiasts believe that this impressive development has earned Jaeger-LeCoultre a place in the “Holy Trinity” of the watch world.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos clocks, which function according to this principle, were built as early as the 17th century. One of the earliest variants is the “Eltham Perpetuum” by Dutch inventor Cornelis Drebbel, which enjoyed great popularity at various royal courts. The original Atmos, on the other hand, was designed by Jean-Léon Reutter, an engineer from Neuchâtel. He sold the patent at the end of the 1920s to Edmond Jaeger, who had the movement built and further developed by LeCoultre. The current Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber 562 can therefore look back on a long history of development steeped in tradition.
Flashy Automaton: The Caliber 815
The Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber 815 is a movement for all those who occasionally need a wake-up call. The movement is special in several respects: It is both one of the first automatic calibers from JLC and can also claim to have been the first automatic movement with an alarm function. It was introduced in 1956 in the Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox (ref. E853). The caliber has what’s called a repeater alarm and was also used in the Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm (Ref. E857) in 1959. It features two separate barrels. One is powered automatically and is responsible for displaying the time. The second barrel is responsible for the alarm function and is wound by hand. The movement ticks at a frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour, has a Glucydur balance wheel with an automatically compensating flat balance spring, and a total of 17 jewels. The caliber 815 was equipped with a power reserve of 45 hours even back then and had a 20-second alarm tone.
In 1966, the JLC 815 evolved into the caliber 825, which enabled an additional date window in the dial. Unlike other vintage automatic watches from Jaeger-LeCoultre, both calibers have a central seconds hand and are not driven by a conventional rotor, but by a ”bumper” winding system. The caliber had to be close to the case back, as this is where the hammer for the alarm was located. It was not until 1969 that a movement with a classic oscillating weight was launched in the form of the JLC 916 caliber.
Summary
We could list other highly interesting Jaeger-LeCoultre calibers endlessly at this point. But our small selection should have given you a good overview of the manufacturer’s capabilities and made you a little more aware of the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand.
