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In the dying embers of the summer sun, just before the leaves on the trees turned towards autumn, Jaeger LeCoultre held their annual charity Polo tournament as an affirmation of their commitment to the game, and an act of benefit to collectors and enthusiasts to enjoy each others company, and the sport on show.
The origins of the sport are believed to be in Persia and had reached northern India by the thirteenth century. The game became valuable for training cavalry, and by the fourteenth century was played from Constantinople to Japan. Known in the south-east Asian continent as the “Game of Kings”, the name “Polo” is said to have been derived from the Tibetan word "Pulu", meaning ball. It was the British in India (in the nineteenth century) that adopted the game and formalized it into the sport that is played today. Over the past centuries before the British picked up the sport, the number of players could vary between four and about a hundred, men and women played at the same time, and the ball varied in size and material; Rudyard Kipling had the ball as a vanquished tribesman’s head in the “Man Who Would be King”!
Polo is the sport of kings and the king of sports. A game that consists of riding full speed after a ball not much larger than a tennis ball, waving a five foot mallet around, and all whilst staying on your horse. It is a sport that requires you own horses, access to a large level playing field, and at least three friends of similar disposition who will play in the team with you. Not surprisingly, it has been adopted by the more colourful characters in society; it is a sport that despite its small following is both newsworthy and notorious. Playboys (and girls), nobility, and royalty both play and spectate.
However, there is a more human and giving side to Polo that revolves around charity work. And it is here that Jaeger LeCoultre has been giving back to the sport that provided the inspiration for its most famous and iconic watch: the Reverso. At the request of an unknown British military officer stationed in India Jaeger LeCoultre (helmed at the time by Cesar De Trey) entrusted the work to a French engineer Alfred Chauvot, to design "a watch capable of sliding into its base and of turning completely on its axis" (for which the patent was applied for). It was the Reverso that bound Jaeger LeCoultre to the sport of polo.
The charity polo dinner this year was held at Coworth Park. It is one of the few privately held polo fields in England, and the only one at a hotel. Recently Coworth Park was re-designed and rebuilt as a hotel as part of the Dorchester Collection. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Coworth Park was originally built by a successful merchant as part of the East India Company. It passed through a number of different owners before being sold to commercial venture. Coworth Park is nestled into woodland and pasture on the edge of Crown Land that is part of the Runnymede Estate (and where Englishmen were freed in the signing of the Magna Carta).
[Coworth Park through the meadows that lead to the main house]
[The English meadows in the Coworth Park grounds]
[The way down to the Polo field from the main house]
Jaeger LeCoultre have used their corporate association with the game and initiated the Charity Polo Cup in aid of the James Wentworth Memorial Trust. The James Wentworth Memorial Trust was set up by his mother after his death at the age of 21. James Wentworth took his own live after an operation on his leg, and during his convalescence. How could a young man, who had everything, and everything to live for, take his own life when it had just begun. The depression and affliction that James Wentworth suffered was not an instance of privilege, but something that can affect any young man (predominantly), irrespective of income, title, or residence.
After dinner, Claire Milford Haven (the mother of James Wentworth) gave an impassioned speech about her son and the grief and despair that resulted from his sudden death. Out of the feelings of loss, and being lost for an answer as to why, Claire decided to form a charitable trust to provide awareness about the instances of depression in young men and women.
And suddenly, in a moment, your life can pivot and change. This message has been edited by amanico on 2010-09-14 13:40:05 This message has been edited by amanico on 2010-09-14 13:41:51 This message has been edited by amanico on 2010-09-18 23:07:18
That is exactly what I felt and thought when attending some events like this one.
Superb pictures, nicely written text, this post deserves 5 Stars!
Thanks a lot for the charming journey.
Best, my friend.
Nicolas
I wonder why JLC as so many other brands chose to promote its brand in sponsoring Polo and Golf ? JLC should link its name to more extraordinary sports or events more in line with its exceptional ADN.
I place JLC on a pedestal. Most of JLC creations are becoming classical and even mythical collectors items. Polo, Golf are great sports but not rare enough.
Giving Back and Paying Forward: The Jaeger-LeCoultre Charity Polo Cup at Coworth Park.
In the dying embers of the summer sun, just before the leaves on the trees turned towards autumn, Jaeger LeCoultre held their annual charity Polo tournament as an affirmation of their commitment to the game, and an act of benefit to collectors and enthusiasts to enjoy each others company, and the sport on show.
The origins of the sport are believed to be in Persia and had reached northern India by the thirteenth century. The game became valuable for training cavalry, and by the fourteenth century was played from Constantinople to Japan. Known in the south-east Asian continent as the “Game of Kings”, the name “Polo” is said to have been derived from the Tibetan word "Pulu", meaning ball. It was the British in India (in the nineteenth century) that adopted the game and formalized it into the sport that is played today. Over the past centuries before the British picked up the sport, the number of players could vary between four and about a hundred, men and women played at the same time, and the ball varied in size and material; Rudyard Kipling had the ball as a vanquished tribesman’s head in the “Man Who Would be King”!
Polo is the sport of kings and the king of sports. A game that consists of riding full speed after a ball not much larger than a tennis ball, waving a five foot mallet around, and all whilst staying on your horse. It is a sport that requires you own horses, access to a large level playing field, and at least three friends of similar disposition who will play in the team with you. Not surprisingly, it has been adopted by the more colourful characters in society; it is a sport that despite its small following is both newsworthy and notorious. Playboys (and girls), nobility, and royalty both play and spectate.
However, there is a more human and giving side to Polo that revolves around charity work. And it is here that Jaeger LeCoultre has been giving back to the sport that provided the inspiration for its most famous and iconic watch: the Reverso. At the request of an unknown British military officer stationed in India Jaeger LeCoultre (helmed at the time by Cesar De Trey) entrusted the work to a French engineer Alfred Chauvot, to design "a watch capable of sliding into its base and of turning completely on its axis" (for which the patent was applied for). It was the Reverso that bound Jaeger LeCoultre to the sport of polo.
The charity polo dinner this year was held at Coworth Park. It is one of the few privately held polo fields in England, and the only one at a hotel. Recently Coworth Park was re-designed and rebuilt as a hotel as part of the Dorchester Collection. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Coworth Park was originally built by a successful merchant as part of the East India Company. It passed through a number of different owners before being sold to commercial venture. Coworth Park is nestled into woodland and pasture on the edge of Crown Land that is part of the Runnymede Estate (and where Englishmen were freed in the signing of the Magna Carta).
[Coworth Park through the meadows that lead to the main house]
[The English meadows in the Coworth Park grounds]
[The way down to the Polo field from the main house]
Jaeger LeCoultre have used their corporate association with the game and initiated the Charity Polo Cup in aid of the James Wentworth Memorial Trust. The James Wentworth Memorial Trust was set up by his mother after his death at the age of 21. James Wentworth took his own live after an operation on his leg, and during his convalescence. How could a young man, who had everything, and everything to live for, take his own life when it had just begun. The depression and affliction that James Wentworth suffered was not an instance of privilege, but something that can affect any young man (predominantly), irrespective of income, title, or residence.
After dinner, Claire Milford Haven (the mother of James Wentworth) gave an impassioned speech about her son and the grief and despair that resulted from his sudden death. Out of the feelings of loss, and being lost for an answer as to why, Claire decided to form a charitable trust to provide awareness about the instances of depression in young men and women.
And suddenly, in a moment, your life can pivot and change. This message has been edited by amanico on 2010-09-14 13:40:05 This message has been edited by amanico on 2010-09-14 13:41:51 This message has been edited by amanico on 2010-09-18 23:07:18
The Polo Match
Polo is played over the course of four ‘chuckas’ of seven and a half minutes each. A large clock (in this instance looking like a basic form of a Reverso) times the chucka and then re-sets.
The two teams were assembled especially for the charity match. In the blue shirts were the Adriano Agosti’s “Altamira” team; in the white shirts were the Jaeger-LeCoultre charity team assembled by Claire Milford Haven. Polo players carry a ‘handicap’ in much the same way as a golfer (only in reverse). A polo player is rated in terms of goals. The term "goal" does not refer to how many goals the player will score in a match but indicates the player's value to the team.
Before the match both teams walk to the centre of the field with the referee, the ball is then dropped, and play begins.
After hitting the ball, the chase is on, the polo pony is the equine equivalent of the small sports car, accelerate fast, brake, turn on sixpence, and then accelerate again. The agility and speed of the game makes it exciting to watch. It must be a blast to play.
The chase is on!
For the spectators there was the pleasure of the Perrier Jouet hospitality tent. This was entertaining on a grand scale and provided a welcoming and congenial atmosphere for polo enthusiasts and casual spectators alike. Good to see a number of prominent MJLC collectors, and participants at past PuristPro events. It was a great spectacle and although I know next to nothing about tactics and strategy in the sport, it was fun and entertaining to watch.
[A Belle Epoque – the art deco design of the bottles and the bar led itself naturally to the polo and the design of the Reverso itself].
The match ended with victory for the Altamira team. The match began with a half goal lead to the Jaeger-LeCoultre charity team because of the superior goal ranking for the Altamira team, but with the final score on the field being 5-4 in Altamira’s favour, this was a narrow victory for the blue shirted professional players. It was end to end play, played in a good spirit, and emphasis on entertainment.
[Guillain Maspetiol - UK Brand Director for Jaeger LeCoultre - presenting the Jaeger-LeCoultre Charity Polo Cup to Adriano Agosti’s Altamira team, to Adriano Agosti, and to the ‘Man of the Match’: Harry Wentworth (James younger brother)].
This message has been edited by 219 on 2010-09-15 01:40:33
The two teams were assembled especially for the charity match. In the blue shirts were the Adriano Agosti’s “Altamira” team; in the white shirts were the Jaeger-LeCoultre charity team assembled by Claire Milford Haven. Polo players carry a ‘handicap’ in much the same way as a golfer (only in reverse). A polo player is rated in terms of goals. The term "goal" does not refer to how many goals the player will score in a match but indicates the player's value to the team.
Before the match both teams walk to the centre of the field with the referee, the ball is then dropped, and play begins.
After hitting the ball, the chase is on, the polo pony is the equine equivalent of the small sports car, accelerate fast, brake, turn on sixpence, and then accelerate again. The agility and speed of the game makes it exciting to watch. It must be a blast to play.
The chase is on!
For the spectators there was the pleasure of the Perrier Jouet hospitality tent. This was entertaining on a grand scale and provided a welcoming and congenial atmosphere for polo enthusiasts and casual spectators alike. Good to see a number of prominent MJLC collectors, and participants at past PuristPro events. It was a great spectacle and although I know next to nothing about tactics and strategy in the sport, it was fun and entertaining to watch.
[A Belle Epoque – the art deco design of the bottles and the bar led itself naturally to the polo and the design of the Reverso itself].
The match ended with victory for the Altamira team. The match began with a half goal lead to the Jaeger-LeCoultre charity team because of the superior goal ranking for the Altamira team, but with the final score on the field being 5-4 in Altamira’s favour, this was a narrow victory for the blue shirted professional players. It was end to end play, played in a good spirit, and emphasis on entertainment.
[Guillain Maspetiol - UK Brand Director for Jaeger LeCoultre - presenting the Jaeger-LeCoultre Charity Polo Cup to Adriano Agosti’s Altamira team, to Adriano Agosti, and to the ‘Man of the Match’: Harry Wentworth (James younger brother)].
This message has been edited by 219 on 2010-09-15 01:40:33
Dinner and Giving
After the match, the guests made their way to a marquee for dinner. The marquee was in place as Coworth Park is finishing off the main house. Given that the number of guests was in the order of 300, the meal was a wonder. Catering for 300 guests or so and yet to produce restaurant quality food showed a chef and kitchen that was capable of superb meals. Coworth Park is a worthy addition to the Dorchester Collection of hotels and once open I am sure will prove a success.
The marquee was elegant and serene. At one end of the marquee was a work bench from Jaeger LeCoultre that showed watchmaking, and in the display cabinets were a range of the latest watches from the manufacture.
After dinner, Claire Milford Haven gave a heart rendering speech about the James Wentworth Memorial Fund (otherwise known as ‘J’: www.jwsmf.org James, her son, had committed suicide after a minor operation. The decline in his mental condition was so swift that no one realized until it was too late. Out of the sorrow and heart break, Claire set up a Fund to help increase awareness and provide funding towards young people’s feelings of despair and isolation.
To aid the ‘J’ Fund, an auction was held in which Jaeger LeCoultre and other event sponsors gave a number of prizes on which individuals could bid. Thanks to a highly entertaining auctioneer the bidding was swift and increased rapidly. A generous chunk of change was raised for the Fund. The evening was rounded off with drinking, at which the Perrier Jouet champagne followed, and if you so wished, cocktails from the Mr.T look-a-like barman were available courtesy of Maggie’s nightclub.
It was a wonderful event; attended by Royalty and celebrities, as well as fellow Purists and Jaeger LeCoultre collectors. It was corporate hospitality at its most thoughtful and productive: it was giving back to both a sport in whose history Jaeger LeCoultre are immersed, but doing so in a way that will pay forward to younger generations to come; that will help all young people in some form, and present the sport of polo to a wider audience. Jaeger LeCoultre have come a long way in their sponsorship of events and this is the Manufacture showing their true ‘Reverso’ nature in giving back, but also paying forward.
Andrew H
The marquee was elegant and serene. At one end of the marquee was a work bench from Jaeger LeCoultre that showed watchmaking, and in the display cabinets were a range of the latest watches from the manufacture.
After dinner, Claire Milford Haven gave a heart rendering speech about the James Wentworth Memorial Fund (otherwise known as ‘J’: www.jwsmf.org James, her son, had committed suicide after a minor operation. The decline in his mental condition was so swift that no one realized until it was too late. Out of the sorrow and heart break, Claire set up a Fund to help increase awareness and provide funding towards young people’s feelings of despair and isolation.
To aid the ‘J’ Fund, an auction was held in which Jaeger LeCoultre and other event sponsors gave a number of prizes on which individuals could bid. Thanks to a highly entertaining auctioneer the bidding was swift and increased rapidly. A generous chunk of change was raised for the Fund. The evening was rounded off with drinking, at which the Perrier Jouet champagne followed, and if you so wished, cocktails from the Mr.T look-a-like barman were available courtesy of Maggie’s nightclub.
It was a wonderful event; attended by Royalty and celebrities, as well as fellow Purists and Jaeger LeCoultre collectors. It was corporate hospitality at its most thoughtful and productive: it was giving back to both a sport in whose history Jaeger LeCoultre are immersed, but doing so in a way that will pay forward to younger generations to come; that will help all young people in some form, and present the sport of polo to a wider audience. Jaeger LeCoultre have come a long way in their sponsorship of events and this is the Manufacture showing their true ‘Reverso’ nature in giving back, but also paying forward.
Andrew H
Your title summed it perfectly, Andrew.
That is exactly what I felt and thought when attending some events like this one.
Superb pictures, nicely written text, this post deserves 5 Stars!
Thanks a lot for the charming journey.
Best, my friend.
Nicolas
Many thanks Nicolas
- it was a great event. Thanks for the kind words. Still working on watch photos as good as yours...
Andrew H
Thanks for the great report, Andrew!
Yes, these events are great!
A lot of fun and for a good course!
Unfortunately I have never won any of the biddings…
Thank you for sharing.
Best
Blomman
It was hard to resist that auctioneer - he was very good at
eliciting bids from one and all. The important thing is to bid and encourage more money for the charity.
Thanks again
Andrew H
Was the Reverso Tourbillon...
...auctioned off at the event?
It looks like a lovely event. And that Reverso is one of the best. A nice compact tourbi in the Reverso case. So nice that the tourbillon cage is only visible from the reverse side. It is such an elegant watch.
Thanks for posting teh great report.
Best,
respo
The Reverso Tourbillon was not an auctioned watch at the event
but there were other Reverso's on offer at the auction donated by MJLC. I agree that the Reverso Tourbillon is a great watch and one of my favourites.
Thanks for the comments
Andrew H
Having met Clare...
Hi Andrew,
Having met Clare two years ago I can say she is an impressive woman for her multiple talents in life.
I didn't know her personal story so far and have much respect for her to want to share such difficult experience for the community benefit.
Life is never easy and simple. Everything that helps make it easier is great.
Thanks a lot.
Dje
Having met Clare two years ago I can say she is an impressive woman for her multiple talents in life.
I didn't know her personal story so far and have much respect for her to want to share such difficult experience for the community benefit.
Life is never easy and simple. Everything that helps make it easier is great.
Thanks a lot.
Dje
Claire has taken her grief and turned it into a force for good..
her speech at the dinner was very moving.
Thanks for reading
Andrew H
Why Polo and Golf again ?
I wonder why JLC as so many other brands chose to promote its brand in sponsoring Polo and Golf ? JLC should link its name to more extraordinary sports or events more in line with its exceptional ADN.
I place JLC on a pedestal. Most of JLC creations are becoming classical and even mythical collectors items. Polo, Golf are great sports but not rare enough.
Between JLC and Polo, it is a 70 years love story.
So, you have to keep this in mind to understand the strong existing link between JLC and Polo.
Best,
Nicolas
Where would JLC be without polo?
Another great report and pictures, Andrew. As for the question of watch houses and polo, it seems to me that JLC has a more legitimate reason for its active links with the polo world than any other watch company. If JLC hadn't launched the Reverso at the request of British polo players in the 1930s, I wonder what sort of company it would be today? I suspect the Reverso has played a significant role in the success of this great brand. Perhaps we have the success of the Reverso to thank for providing the financial success that has enabled the company to develop the other products we have come to love so much. Would they have been possible if the Reverso had not been such a resounding success for so many years?
The Reverso is one of most iconic and arguably longest
running recognizable case design in horological history. That is was at request of polo players only strengthens the justification of MJLC remaining involved in the sport, and the good causes associated with the sport.
Thanks for the kind words
Andrew H
Polo was the very reason why the Reverso case was designed
and patented in the first place. If ANY watch has a right to be associated with the sport of polo, it is the Reverso. Next year it is 80 years since the first Reverso, a design that was requested by British military officers in India, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso and polo have been bound together for 80 years.
Andrew H
Depression is an illness that most people...
…are not aware of how serious it can be.
I am.
By the way: the day before yesterday, one of the most successful businessmen of my state jumped from his 1,000 m2 apartment. First news bring depression as the main cause of his suicide at the age of 57.
My most sincere congratulations to JLC and Claire Haven!
This message has been edited by marcelo on 2010-09-18 05:09:03Sorry Marcelo - did not see your comment here - yes,
depression is strange in the way it works through someone and reveals itself. You could tell the passion that Claire had concerning the Charity and her so very obvious feelings of loss and incomprehension at the suicide.
Thanks for reading
Andrew H