Jaeger-LeCoultre

Jaeger-LeCoultre

Jaeger-LeCoultre Fine Works of Watches

Abom-Joseph LeCoultre, the forefather of the Coultres, earned a living by refining ironware such as needles, razors and the keyboards of musical instruments. His son Antoine LeCoultre was the founder of Jaeger-LeCoultre. However, It was in the third generation that Jacques-Davi’s LeCoultre, changed the focus of the production from large ironware such as hammers, ploughs and harrows to precise instruments such as gear wheels and balance wheels. But it was Antoine LeCoultre, the fourth generation of the Coultres, who made the company significanct in the history of watches in Switzerland. In 1833, Antoine established the first watch-making pinions in Vallée de Joux, now the watch museum of Jaeger-LeCoultre.

In 1844, Antoine invented “Milliometer”, a precise instrument measuring a thousandth of a centimeter, and this allowed many people to realize their dreams of manufacturing more complex watches and musical clocks. In 1847, Antoine created a watch so before its time that it won him the title of ‘Father of watches’ in Switzerland. It was a family-run business with a home-based factory at the very beginning when the factory of Jaeger-LeCoultre was set up.

In 1903, Edmond Jaeger, the master of watch-making in Paris, produced a series of super slim movements. He then declared a challenge with those Swiss factories which could manufacture these super slim movements. Jacques-David Lecoultre, grandson of the founder of LeCoultre & Cie, took the challenge and created a series of simple and complex super slim movements. The most impressive invention was Caliber 145 pocket watch movement invented in 1907. Its thickness of 1.38mm rocked the watch-making industry and this had made it the most outstanding masterpiece of Jaeger-LeCoultre watches. In 1929, by request of the Swiss government, Jaeger-LeCoultre created the tiniest watch of all time as a gift for celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s ascending the throne. The dimensions of such a precious, tiny watch were 14mm x 4.8mm x 3.4mm. Until now, Jaeger-LeCoultre owns more than a thousand movements and more than 350 patents.

The Atmos clock, invented by Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1928, was a clock driven by the differences of temperature. The difference in 1 degree could provide the Atmos clock with power for 48 hours, without any batteries or winding. It was noted that under the condition of no air pollution, each Atmos clock could last 600 years before the mechanism broke down. Over the years, the Swiss government selected these masterpieces to represent the spirit of Swiss watches as official gifts. The most famous gift was Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Atmos clock. This revealed Jaeger-LeCoultre’s success in watch-making and precise technology.

**no guarantee about story is completely accurate and existed difference**