A Short History of Jaeger-LeCoultre
1960s Jaeger-LeCoultre Club / Credit: AnalogShift
Jaeger-LeCoultre has made exquisite movements for many of the best brands in the industry. The company we know today was actually founded as two separate brands or workshops in the 19th century, one in Paris and one in Switzerland. And although they developed distinctly for some time, both garnered strong reputations as watchmakers, eventually merging and becoming the powerhouse we know today.
Founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 in Le Sentier, LeCoultre became known locally as an excellent watchmaker. In 1844 he invents the Millionometre, the first instrument in the world capable of measuring things as small as a micron. Three years later LeCoultre invents the crown winding system, which, as opposed to Jean-Adrienne Philippe’s (of Patek Philippe’s) earlier version, allows the user to both wind the mainspring and set the time interchangeably, using the same crown, by pushing and pulling it into different positions. In fact, in most literature, Philippe or LeCoultre are referenced as having invented this ‘keyless winding’ system without any regard for this distinction. The key, no pun intended, is that LeCoultre’s system could change between both functions by pushing and pulling, while Philippe’s was exclusively for winding.
Jacques-David LeCoultre, grandson of Antoine, eventually takes over, by this time the company was already relatively well known in Europe. In 1903 Jacques-David meets Edmond Jaeger in Paris, Jaeger was also a successful watchmaker at the time, having opened his first workshop in the city in 1880. Jacques-David was encouraged by Jaeger to start developing ultra-thin watches, which they did together for a brief period. This was the birth of their partnership that would culminate in a merger 34 years later. They came together again during World War I, collaborating to develop watches for the war effort. Unfortunately, Jaeger died in 1922, not living to see what his workshop would become in 1937. Today, what for more than a century was known as two separate enterprises is recognized all over the world as Jaeger-LeCoultre.