What Jaeger-LeCoultre is known for
Founded by Antoine LeCoultre at Le Sentier in 1833 on the strength of a machine for cutting watch pinions, Jaeger-LeCoultre became the Vallée de Joux's first vertically integrated watch manufacture. It still designs and builds its movements in-house — behind the Reverso and the Master Ultra Thin — and opens the Le Sentier manufacture to visitors.
Antoine LeCoultre founded his workshop in Le Sentier in 1833 on the strength of instruments — his Millionomètre was the first machine to measure the micron — and the house he began became the Vallée de Joux's engine room. Jaeger-LeCoultre has produced more than 1,200 in-house calibres, so many that for decades it quietly supplied movements to the grandest names in Geneva; watchmakers call it "the watchmaker's watchmaker."
The Reverso is its immortal object: born in 1931 so polo players could flip the dial away from mallet blows, its Art Deco case became a canvas — enameled portraits, hidden engravings, duo time zones on the reverse. Around it sit the Master Ultra Thin's dress purity, the Polaris, and the Atmos clock that runs on air-temperature changes alone.
The manufacture at Le Sentier keeps 180 crafts under one roof, from gyrotourbillons to gem-setting, and opens its doors to visitors — the rare grand maison you can watch think.
Best for — A Reverso or an in-house-movement dress watch
Made in Switzerland
Where next
- Patek Philippe — Geneva
- Longines Boutique — Global / Online
- Baume & Mercier — Geneva
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