andrea~'s exclusive tour of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture, the 'Grande Maison,' offers a rare glimpse into the heart of Swiss watchmaking. This article highlights the brand's profound historical contributions and its commitment to in-house production, as experienced firsthand by a passionate collector. andrea~'s detailed account, enriched with personal observations and stunning photography, provides invaluable context for understanding JLC's enduring legacy and its pivotal role in horology.
Just a few days after the WatchProSite JLC visit, I was lucky enough to be invited by the JLC boutique manager in Rome to come to the Vallèe De Joux and visit the Manufacture with a group of clients of the brand. I didn't hesitate for a second, and gladly accepted the generous offer. We arrived sunday evening and stayed the night at the Hotel Des Horlogers in Le Brassus, right next to AP, a stunning piece of modern architecture, I'll let the photos do the talking:
The morning after we arrived at the Grande Maison, and I quickly realized the meaning behind the "Grande" part: the building is huge, and over 1400 people work there, making 95 to 98% of their watches in house!
Upon entering, we were greeted by Marino, our guide for the day and one of the only three master watchmakers there who restore pieces from the 19th and early 20th century, as well as being one of the people involved in the development of the 90th anniversary Reverso Hybris Mechanica, particularly in the minute repeater part. We put on white coats, badges and we were offered coffee before the start of the tour.
me wearing the white jlc coat and the reverso
We started from the archives and the museum, where we were taught the history of the brand, starting in 1833 with Antoine LeCoultre. We were shown some of the tools and the prototypes built by them to make watches, watchmaking books, some hand-written records of their clients and spare vintage parts carefully organized.
Fun fact: you can see AP in the list of clients!
What impressed me the most was this beautiful Tiffany signed Patek Philippe Minute Repeater Chronograph with a beautifully finished LC movement inside:
I managed to count 12 interior angles! Finishing done right.
We then went on to see some historical pieces from their history:
The first instrument in the world to measure the micrometer, developed by LeCoultre in the 19th century
The thinnest pocket watch movement in the world: 1.6mm thick!
A watch with the mind blowing caliber 101
A beautiful gold futurematic
Vintage geophysique
The Gyrotourbillon 1. Sorry for the bad quality, LEDs are what cause those lines.
Here are a few Atmos clocks (we actually saw the atelier in which they make them but we couldn't take photos there):
We then saw the famous room with over 300 movements hanging in the wall out of the 1262 the Maison developed in its history, here are a few of them:
We found ourselves in front of some more pieces and behind us stood the restoration workshop:
Old desk complete with tools
We then saw the industrial side of JLC, the making of the brass mainplates and of some pinions.
The process of blueing a screw
The Rare Handcrafts Atelier: we saw artisans miniature enameling and gem setting.
We then got to experience what in my opinion is, by far, the most amazing part of the visit: the Atelier of the Grand Complications, where we were shown an absolute overload of horological mastery. I had never been able to handle such crazy pieces before, so exciting!
QP with cylindrical tourbillon
An out of focus duometre a chronographe
Gyrotourbillon 3
Keep in mind that this is a prototype, the blemishes on the plates wouldn’t be acceptable in a production piece.
The minute repeater left me speechless. The sound was loud and warm.
Cathedral gongs work. It’s a shame that they spared some interior angles
all of them together plus some, unfortunately it doesn’t let me upload the recto photo
We then had lunch in the Manufacture's restaurant, the food was delicious!
The trip ended after we were able to look at all of the watches in the current collection and try them on. Here are some of them:
Absolute highlight! The blue dial is stunning!
They gave us some gifts: bags, microfiber gloves and, most importantly, some of the honey they make from their own bees, in front of the main entrance.
The experience was fantastic, it solidified JLC as one of my favorite brands. I've never seen so many watches in the same place, it was watch nerd heaven. Many thanks to JLC for this awesome gift!
