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Curtain up at Jaeger-LeCoultre
Watches and Wonders

Curtain up at Jaeger-LeCoultre

Saturday, 03 October 2015
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Christophe Roulet
Editor-in-chief, HH Journal

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3 min read

Jaeger-LeCoultre lifted the veil on a greatly anticipated new collection at Watches&Wonders. The first two pieces in the Geophysic line are the prelude to a complete range that will fit between the technically complex Duomètre and the classic Master collections.

When presenting its new releases at Watches&Wonders, Jaeger-LeCoultre succeeded in whetting the audience’s appetite with two new iterations of the Rendez-Vous Ivy women’s line, one a secret watch and the other a tourbillon, but attendees knew the Maison had something far more substantial in reserve. Even the Master Ultra Thin Skeleton with its guilloché hour circle with grand feu enamelling was no more than an appetiser. Indeed, for months the watchmaker had been promising a brand-new collection, fresh from its workshops in Le Sentier, but without so much as the whiff of a screw. Patience was rewarded in Hong Kong when the brand finally unveiled the first two timepieces in the Geophysic collection: True Second and Universal Time. They occupy a previously unexplored price range for the brand that sits between the technical Duomètre line and the classic Master collection.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic® Universal Time, pink gold model

Following a three-year gestation period, the concept for these new Geophysic watches required a further two years in order to fine-tune the mechanical aspects. Indeed, there was never any question that Jaeger-LeCoultre should revive this 1958 model, one of its emblematic designs, without bringing added value. In its own words, “The collection is named after a watch that belongs both to universal history and the heritage of the Manufacture. In 1958, the International Geophysical Year, Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre created a chronometer for scientists on missions. Capable of withstanding the magnetic fields of the North Pole while losing nothing of its formidable precision, its overriding characteristic was extreme resistance.” When last year the Maison issued a “tribute” to the Geophysic, produced as a limited edition equipped with an original calibre, a shrewd observer might have guessed that the best was still to come. Particularly given the speed at which this limited edition was snapped up.

In pioneering footsteps

“It was important that we prepare the terrain,” comments Daniel Riedo, Jaeger-LeCoultre CEO. “We had to remind everyone what this watch stood for at the time, so we could then tell the story of the Geophysic for the twenty-first century whose global launch is taking place today, and which is already available in-store. This watch wonderfully captures Jaeger-LeCoultre’s philosophy in terms of product development. When we launched our Hybris Mechanica and Hybris Artistica ranges, this wasn’t simply to demonstrate the Maison’s expertise in grandes complications and the métiers d’art. Work carried out upstream, so to speak, must also benefit our other collections. This is true of the Geophysic whose Gyrolab balance originates in research into reduced air resistance carried out for the Master Compressor ExtremeLab 1. The movement finishes and openworked oscillating weight are another example as they are directly inspired by our Artistica watches.”

Both these Geophysic watches feature true (dead) seconds. One also presents a world time display that employs a disarmingly simple and ingenious system of discs. “This is indeed the philosophy that underpins the collection, which is intended for enlightened enthusiasts who want a watch that departs from overly classic lines and offers genuine horological substance. The calibre we have developed is a base movement that will enable us to extend the range not with grandes complications but rather with “intelligent” functions. And ideas certainly aren’t lacking.” After this Geophysic, well worth the wait, the 85th anniversary of the Reverso will be the focus of attention at next year’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Geneva, particularly as the brand is already promising a complete revamp of the collection with some thirty new models. Each fair thus has its highlight. For Watches&Wonders, Jaeger-LeCoultre was guided by pioneers in exploration.

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