HAPPY NEW YEAR

Website extension Jaeger-LeCoultre

Jaeger-LeCoultre presents the most extraordinary timepieces in watchmaking history on its website

 

Attracting steadily growing attention among connoisseurs and devotees since its launch, the Hybris Mechanica website by Jaeger-LeCoultre is dedicated to the brand's Grande Complication models as well as its major technical developments. It highlights the excellence of the "Grande Maison", its historical expertise in this field, along with its innovative spirit and its taste for challenges. In addition to the Hybris Mechanica 55, this iconic trilogy containing an astounding total of 55 complications, the newly extended site also features or presents three other iconic models: the Gyrotourbillon and its spherical tourbillon; the Reverso à Triptyque, the only watch with three faces driven by a single movement; the Master Grande Tradition with its flying tourbillon.

 

Immerse yourself in the Grande Complication universe of perfection with beautiful images, animations and films. On particularly discover the fascinating interactive animation of the most advanced musical timepiece, the Hybris Mechanica à Grande Sonnerie, enabling all those who so wish to listen to the chime of the watch to select the mode Petite Sonnerie, Grande Sonnerie. The minute repeater function can also be activated on request.

 

Visit the Jaeger-LeCoultre site extension here

 

Jaeger-LeCoultre, 177 years of expertise

 

A major player in watchmaking history since 1833, Jaeger-LeCoultre is the first Manufacture to have been established in the Vallee de Joux. It played a pioneering role by uniting the full range of technical and artistic professions under one roof and made an indelible imprint on the watchmaking development of the entire region. Guided by time-honoured know-how and a constant quest for technical enhancements, the over 1,000 master-watchmakers, engineers and technicians craft each watch in harmony with the same passion. Each masterpiece, heir to 177 years of expertise, calls for the exercise of no less than 40 professions and benefits from cutting-edge technologies while being crafted in harmony with the noblest traditions of the Vallée de Joux. Building on a vast heritage encompassing over 1,000 calibres and over 400 registered patents, Jaeger-LeCoultre remains the reference in high-end watchmaking.

SIHH 2011: AP Millenary minute repeater

This really nice watch is the newest addition to the Audemars Piguet Millenary collection. The oval case is made from titanium and has a diameter of 47mm. The watch has a power reserve of 165 hours! Here is the press release.

Drawing upon the time-honoured know-how cultivated by Audemars Piguet, the new Millenary Minute Repeater is enriching a classic and sculptural collection that already includes such exceptional models as the Tradition d’Excellence N°5, MC12, Deadbeat Seconds and Carbon One watches. Endowed with hours, minutes, seconds and minute repeater functions and equipped with a winding system specially developed for its hand-wound Calibre 2910, the Millenary Minute Repeater – like its illustrious forerunners – is a concentrated blend of expertise, technical sophistication and innovative materials. Its titanium oval case provides an atypical stage-setting for a truly magnificent sight featuring offset gold subdials inviting the observer to plunge into the mechanism’s deepest secrets. The AP escapement, the double balance-spring, as well as the hammers and the striking gongs, all become the key players of a truly three-dimensional creation. The striking mechanism is the oldest of all complications. As early as the 15th century,
certain pocket-watches already sounded the hours in passing, whereas quarter-repeating mechanisms striking the hours and quarters on demand appeared in the late 17th century. These watches endowed with a mechanical memory and which initially served to tell the time in the dark are now one of the greatest demonstrations of horological expertise, and the exclusive preserve of a few rare movement manufacturers.

 

                                                                                    The movement

Conceived, developed and produced by Audemars Piguet, the new hand-wound Calibre 2910 driving the Millenary Minute Repeater is also distinguished by the atypical construction of the regulating organ. The latter is composed, not of one balancespring, but of two balance-springs placed top to tail. This flat opposite-facing
double balance-spring system boasts numerous advantages: it ensures automatic compensation for potential poising flaws; eliminates the need for the “overcoil” terminal curves of so-called “Breguet-type” balance-springs, which are always very tricky to make; and also does away with the imprecision resulting from the vertical position of the watch without needing to resort to such a sophisticated device as the tourbillon. All these special features serve to ensure finer adjustment of the balanceand- spring assembly oscillating at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour. The two movement barrels guarantee an exceptional seven-day power reserve. A third barrel dedicated to the striking mechanism is two and a half times larger than normal, and enhances the regularity of the note. Finally, in terms of security, the Millenary Minute Repeater is equipped with a balance-stop system designed to ensuring timesetting that is accurate to the nearest second. The new winding system also features a security device that prevents time-setting while the striking mechanism is in operation, thus avoiding any risk of inappropriate handling.

Architecture
Such refined mechanical features naturally deserved to be matched by equally exceptional finishing. The oval-shaped Millenary case in brushed titanium – a material featuring exceptional resonance qualities – is framed by a polished titanium bezel. The various organs within are barely concealed by the anthracite grey hours and minutes subdial offset at 3 o’clock, and by the small seconds at 7 o’clock. Particular care has been lavished on the hand-polished bevelling, on the interior angles and on the concentric circular-grained motif. The movement is also adorned by a horizontal “Côtes
de Genève” pattern. This wealth of details is visible both from the top and through the transparent caseback, which together serve to highlight a particularly dynamic threedimensional architecture. Through its impressive combination of performances and technological accomplishments, the Audemars Piguet Millenary Minute Repeater makes a decisive new contribution to the history of this collection (Audemars Piguet, 2010).

Technical specifications

Movement
··Manufacture Audemars Piguet Calibre 2910
··Offset hours/minutes at 3 o’clock, offset
minutes at 7 o’clock
··Three-position winding crown
··Repeater slide serving to activate the minute
repeater at 7 o’clock
··Movement dimensions (width and thickness):
37.90 x 32.90 mm
··Casing diameter (width and thickness):
37 x 32 mm
··Total movement thickness: 10.05 mm
··Direct-impulse AP escapement
··Variable-inertia balance fitted with
inertia-blocks
··Diameter of the balance: 11.90 mm
··Flat double balance-spring
··Power reserve: 165 hours
··Frequency: 21.600 vph (3Hz)
··Number of parts: 443
··Number of jewels: 40
··Finishing: all parts finished by hand, with
hand-polished bevelling, interior angles,
snailing, hand-draw file strokes, horizontal
“Côtes de Genève” motif and circular-graining
on the mainplate

Case
··Titanium oval case
··Width: 47 mm
··Thickness: 42 mm
··Sapphire crystal caseback
··Non water-resistant

Dial
··Anthracite grey dial,
applied pink gold Roman numerals,
silvered small seconds subdial

Strap
··Hand-sewn black crocodile leather
“with large square scales”, fastened by
a titanium AP folding clasp

Functions
··Hours
··Minutes
··Small seconds
··Minute repeater

Frederique Constant Cohiba limited edition launch party in New York City

SIHH 2011: JLC Reverso tribute

“A legend in movement”
By Jérome Lambert, CEO Jaeger-LeCoultre

Certain legends draw their strength from their age. Frozen in the past, immobilised forever, they speak only of the past. But sometimes, the magic is so great that a strange phenomenon takes place: the legend lives, breathes, mutates, becomes more beautiful, all the while retaining its aura.

A long time ago, back in 1931, in a dusty vortex and to the accompaniment of horses’ hooves hammering, an idea was born: a watch with a dial that could protect itself from shocks, all the while offering a personalised engraved case-back. Eighty years later, the Reverso has progressed from watchmaking icon to cult status.

The Reverso is so unique that with the passing of time, it has been made in many other guises without losing its essence. Today, wearing a Reverso from the current collections on your wrist is an entry to an exclusive world – not only in terms of watchmaking history, but above all to a universe of technical perfection and aesthetic refinement.

By inventing the Reverso, a small group of men with great imagination and innovative spirit did far more than create a simple reversible case. They gave birth to an emotion which has lasted more than 80 years, and designed a watch whose endless possibilities are still being discovered. The Reverso’s strength lies both in its past, but just as much in its future.

1931, 2011 : the success of a timelessly classic style
The account of the conception of the Reverso, born in India in response to English polo players’ desire for an unbreakable watch, is even more amazing than it first seems. In 2011, the Reverso will appear in even more surprising and seductive guises, while remaining loyal to its legend that continues to push the borders of creativity.

By imagining a reversible watch with a case that would revolve in order to protect the dial and expose only the metal back to shocks, the designers of the Reverso knew that they had found an effective technical answer to the challenge that was given them: “to create an elegant watch capable of surviving polo”!

They undoubtedly were not aware that their idea was gearing up to play another very different role than that of protective shield. The steel or gold back that could be made to appear by turning the case was going to write a new page in the history of watchmaking. A clean page that would make the Reverso much more than a watch: a cult object that every Reverso owner could make unique by personalising it. Who was the first person to have the idea of engraving his initials? Or his regiment’s crest? His club’s emblem? Who, for the first time, wanted to make an enamel portrait of his beloved wife? To inscribe his lucky number?

Thanks to this surface that measures just a few square centimetres offering everyone the chance to realise their wishes in terms of personalisation, the Reverso became a watch-work of art and an object of emotion, to be transferred or shared. Born from the practice of an intensive sport, the Reverso soon became a symbol of elegance identifiable at a single glance.

Over the decades, as its dimensions evolved, becoming smaller for the feminine version and larger for the masculine versions from the 1990s onwards, its inimitable style remained unchanged, even when its rectangular case became square.

The case was crafted in steel and in every shade of gold, models were set with precious stones, the dials appeared with various motifs and colours and a variety of straps and bracelets were developed: the unique and yet multi-faceted Reverso proved to be an ideal field of expression for creativity and refinement.

New release for 2011 : Grande Reverso Ultra Thin
After 80 years of celebrating classicism, the new Grande Reverso Ultra Thin turns revolutionary by focusing on extreme simplicity. The extremely diminutive width of Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 822 (at just 2.94 mm) has enabled the design engineers to build a Reverso slimmer than ever before. While the case with its generous new proportions asserts an authentic presence on the wrist, its slenderness makes it both light and comfortable to wear thanks to its subtly curved shape.
The pure dial with its vertical guilloché pattern, the restrained design of the Arabic numerals, the slim blued hands: all the aesthetic codes of the Reverso are sublimated within this ultra-thin interpretation. This new watch expresses the very essence of the Reverso personality: a blend of tradition and nobility embodying an alliance of style and elegance.

Two “Tribute to 1931” models
Because this new Reverso is intended to be a bridge between past and present, Jaeger-LeCoultre has decided to create two Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 models in steel and in pink gold, featuring a black or white dial with dagger-shaped hands and baton-type hour-markers directly inspired by the original Reverso. The spirit of 1931 in contemporary dimensions, and all the Art Deco charm of the first Reversos interpreted in today’s language.

Source: Jaeger-LeCoultre, 2010