Jaeger-LeCoultre

KIH
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A day of JLC in Tokyo - Part 1

Hi all,

Last week, I had a pleasure to attend two events of JLC in one day and I would like to report both.
The Part 1 is the breakfast interview with Mr. Jerome Lambert and the Part 2 is the dinner for the clients with Mr. Lambert.  This is the Part 1 of the series. 

Where is Nico now?

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KIH ("PPro"): How did you feel about turning to CEO from CFO – it is rare, at least in the US, for CFOs to be promoted to CEO.  What do you think made the board decide to promote you?  Were you surprised or somehow expected?

Mr. Jerome Lambert ("JL"): The position of CEO is the mix between the “soft” skill and the “hard” skill, with very much weight on the soft skill compared to the hard skill.  The “soft” skill means your capacity to feel, understand, develop high-level relationship, develop and lead the team, and it weighs more than any hard knowledge about finance or products, etc.  After all, by definition, you have a director of finance, director for product development, etc.  When I was appointed the CEO, I definitely changed my mind set.

PPro: Were you surprised?

JL: I never take things by surprise.  I try to take things at distance.  I was just very much honored to take over responsibility from the man I had respected so much.  I was given nice coaching at the beginning to acquire the required skill set and knowledge.  Thanks to these coaching and tutorials, I felt that I had intrinsic qualities to give me a chance to meet success.  I was required to change my job and tasks, my daily activity, but I felt I would be able to have leadership/ capacity to decide to meet the challenge.  Now 9 years later, I have never regretted having made the decision to take this position at the young age of 33.  Some things or decisions would have been probably done a bit differently if I had taken this position at the age of 40, though. 
It has been a real chance because Jaeger-LeCoultre is a complex, with so many tasks with international activity, but considered one team under one roof, so that you can learn from all the activities.  Did I expect to become CEO when I joined Jaeger-LeCoultre?  No way, except that Mr. Bluemlein once said to me that I was representing "releve" or kind of the future of the company, and I considered it a big compliment to the 28 years old.  But, no, I was not expecting to become the CEO.

PPro: How do you describe the watch industry in 2002 when you took over, in comparison to today?  What was good and what was wrong and what was your vision to make JLC “better” back then?  What was your goal for JLC and how has it been achieved after 9 years?

JL: We set a vision with the company for fine watchmaking. It's been during all our activities and for development for the last 9 years. For sure at that time Jaeger-LeCoultre was this kind of stone you find in the mountains. Outside is completely gray, but if you cut it in the middle you find marvelous crystals. Various color stones very much blue/ purple colored amethyst. And somehow, it was what Jaeger-LeCoultre was about 9 years ago. From outside, quite rough, quite limited to one family, the Reverso, no feel of complication and so on. But everybody knew that Jaeger-LeCoultre was the best and most integrated manufacture of fine watchmaking at that time already. But there were no products, although capable, needed leadership. A big part of my mission was not to invent, not to create, but to reveal what Jaeger-LeCoultre is incredibly capable of. Project after project, we succeeded. Even in the company it was hard to believe our capability. We were capable to see that new product challenge, new milestone to set Jaeger-LeCoultre at par with all other Grandes Maisons of fine watchmaking. I think and I hope that we have been passing the milestone every year. Target is the "idea" – you come closer, but you never touch it. We love to say internally “every thing we do is a step ahead”.

PPro: You used to have broader array of product line, but these days you seem to have narrowed it down.

JL: When you first open the stone, to reveal and to explore, again the path is a part of the target. By exploring, you touch the limit of the DNA of the brand, and I am very pleased that you feel that way because the definition of the strategy is to find the best union between the identity of the brand and its invention. But to make this blends well, we have to renew and be open to feel the expression. So there have been lots of experiences, feeling, and knowing our products down to the last components within, to decide what fits well and what doesn't when it comes to lines of products.

PPro: Is there variation of the line-up by country or market?

JL: I would say probably 5 years ago, they were quite different. Now I can say that about 50% of the best sellers are what every country likes – so you will find the same 30 top products almost everywhere, which are worldwide core of the brand, and additionally you will find 15 references that vary by country. The consistency of the brand is growing nicely in terms of perception in the different countries. Hope to make it 90% from 50%. TT1931 Reverso is a very good example – very important one that everybody is talking about, and asking to deliver more.

On my wrist





Very slim and nice dress watch.  I love it!

PPro: I heard that JLC does not use Val Fleurier as much as others. It is strategically so?

JL: No, we don't use Val Fleurier at all. Firstly, Val Fleurier is after Mr. Bluemlein. And secondly, Jaeger-LeCoultre is privileged through its highly integrated manufacture to have its own capability to develop its own movement, escapement, and parts. We do produce few parts for Val Fleurier, but nothing goes the other way around. Nothing in Jaeger-LeCoultre movement comes from outside, not even oil or screws.

PPro: Some say and agree that the dial finishing is getting better and better these years. Did you make any changes?

JL: I guess it is the result of the Duometre. Duometre line tutors for the brand global expression elevation. You should consider that for the decoration of the movement of Duometre, you are in the category of usually EUR100K price range whereas the Duometre is priced around EUR30-35K. So the level of what to ask everybody within the Manufacture to consider has been much, much higher than it used to be. We now have a new benchmark in the company. Rotating people – the guys working on Duometre after months, work on Master line and it was a real challenge to meet the requirement, thus became a missionary about the quality level required even with certain restriction. Duometre line is stronger point for the brand to elevate, in terms of quality, finishing, and details attention. It impacted all the company, not only the Duometre team, but all at the Manufacture. About the movement finish, too, we of course regularly compare us with other brands in each price category and Master series as well as Duometre series is the best finished within the same price category in comparison with other manufacture brands.

Beautiful new model.

PPro: Let us move on to Reverso line. Are you wearing the TT1931 today?

JL: Yes, but I have been wearing this since March and not yet engraved. It is such a pleasure to wear, so light. I like tang buckle because I can feel the leather completely on the skin.

PPro: Can you tell us a bit about your personal connection or history with Reverso? What was your first impression on it when you first saw it? What is your favorite Reverso, what other Reverso do you own?

JL: I remember my first impression of Reverso quite well. It was steel Reverso on the Ostrich strap and I thought, “what a class, what an elegance...”. I was completely overwhelmed by the level of simplicity, elegance and sophistication of the watch itself. Style can get old. Decorated designs can be gone with time. As for Reverso, it is a pure expression without decoration. That was the first impression on Reverso. The first Reverso I bought was, in 1998, one year after I joined Jaeger-LeCoultre, Reverso GT on brown strap. And I bought another one when my first daughter was born and when my second daughter was born, grand fathers 90 years old birthday, father, mother, sister, in-laws, and on and on and on..... In total, close to 10 Reversos in my family and relatives. And I am buying this one for me and another for my wife this year. I am planning to have this TT1931 engraved with the marathons I have and will run.

So, Reverso has been in existence for 80 years thanks to its simplicity and purity. Janek (Chief Designer of Jaeger-LeCoultre - there was another interview with him: jlc.watchprosite.com=) has been working for over two decades for the brand and he has been consistent about Reverso design. He knows and has kept perfectly the “code” of the Reverso design.

PPro: Speaking about Reverso, will you tell us more about "a Rideau", Minute Repeater? How did you conceive it?

JL: When we thought of celebrating the 80^th anniversary of Reverso, we wanted to put a complication in the classic case itself which has basically not changed for 80 years. We wanted to marry the classic case of Reverso with radically innovative grand complication inside – Minute Repeater, the pinnacle of the complication. It forced us to innovate and invent to further open for next 5 years of complication into the Reverso, while respecting the concept of the classic Reverso. The concept of “curtain” of course came from the Eclipse series. Regarding the Eclipses, we were very proud of the result as it is highly functional and aesthetic in the way you can open and close the curtain to reveal the enamel dial. But in a way I was a bit frustrated because there was no direct interaction between this functionality and the watchmaking part of the watch itself, the movement of the Reverso. So, I thought, the next time we play with the case of the Reverso, we want to have a fusion between watchmaking movement and the case itself. The modification that we bring in the Reverso case will have to have a direct impact on the movement or functions of the watch. And now with the new "Reverso a Rideau" we have achieved this fusion as while opening and closing the curtain, you launch the Minute Repeater function.

Since Japan is an important market for Jaeger-LeCoultre, and we want to support even more in the current circumstances (up north), we brought this working piece of Rideau today – and I am particularly happy as it is a world Premiere. Indeed this is the first time that the Reverso a Rideau leaves Switzerland to be shown in another market in the world. We will play it for the guests of the dinner this evening with our master watchmaker Joel.

PPro: That will be very exciting! Thank you very much for your time to meet me this morning. See you this evening at the dinner.

JL: You are very welcome and looking forward to meeting you tonight again.

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Other Novelties shots:

Titanium Minute Repeater

New perpetual calendar - cream color dial is so nice together with the decent size.

The right hand side gentleman is the master watchmaker, Mr. Joel Cordier. 

Part 1 end.