La Vallée des Inventions is your new theme how is inventiveness embedded in the brand’s DNA?
At the origins of the Vallée de Joux inventiveness was first a way to survive. This fundamental element allowed the LeCoultre family and the first families of the Vallée de Joux to get through the winters and to create an activity with very little metal very little energy over a very short season. This entrepreneurial spirit encouraged Antoine LeCoultre to venture out on his own based on an invention a machine capable of cutting pinion teeth with precision. He then invented the millionometer and the rocking bar winding system and after him the Maison continued to invent constantly accompanying the rise of the first wristwatches with the first perpetual calendars and the first tourbillons. In the 2000s Jaeger-LeCoultre rethought grand complications by reinventing them starting from functionality. Invention is embedded in our DNA it is almost our raison d'être. The saga of the Gyrotourbillon embodies our absolute inventiveness and we are unveiling a new chapter at Watches and Wonders.
You are also unveiling a new generation of Master Control
Here again we have invented not only a new bracelet and a new movement but also a new hallmark whose entire methodology has been patented as well as the machine created for this certification.
At the Manufacture we constantly work on the development of several bracelets in parallel because we also have different case formats and movement sizes for women and for men. The idea with the Master Control bracelet was to rediscover its wearing typology from the 1970s which had been lost over time with the widening of movements even though today we are capable of designing thin movements with many functions. We imagined a double integration of the bracelet which gives it great fluidity and a very harmonious continuity with the thinness of the case. It is available in steel and gold as the new line already includes five models built around three sets of functions.
Was it necessary to accompany it with a new Poinçon?
When we created the 1000 Hours Control that we had been using until now we set a milestone in the expression of the Maison in our mastery of the Manufacture. This new HPG Poinçon represents a new milestone that concerns the entire Manufacture. The Master Control indeed relies on the totality of the Manufacture’s expertise technical mastery mastery of the movement and aesthetic mastery. The simultaneous launch of the line and the HPG Poinçon came at exactly the right time especially as it allowed us to focus the energy of all the teams around a specific project materialized by this new watch. The purpose of this very demanding HPG Poinçon is transversal it now applies to all the collections which represents an exceptional commitment from Jaeger-LeCoultre because this certification program proves extremely rigorous.
For those who will not have the chance to come to the fair how does this theme integrate into the Valley of Inventions stand?
Symbolically we wanted to represent the Vallée de Joux with a fir tree like those that surround the Manufacture. Rather than cutting one down to bring it to our stand we created one in ice with 8 tons of water. It stands at the center of our stand maintained at a temperature of minus 15 degrees inside a transparent structure offering a true sensory experience to our visitors. This unprecedented creation reflects the pioneering and surprising spirit of our Hybris saga.
Hybris also returns in an Inventiva version combining the Métiers RaresTM and Haute Horlogerie
In a house like ours surpassing oneself comes from the heart and we try to share it through our products. We built this timepiece like an amphitheater around a stage at the center of which the three axis gyrotourbillon whirls counting 189 components on its own. It could be a company of dancers and musicians evolving together in a perfectly choreographed performance. All around the Métiers Rares enhance this spectacle with rare density and depth the finely applied enamel and lacquer guide the gaze toward this exceptional performance that fascinates and intrigues. This skeletonized microsphere with a cylindrical hairspring is the result of seven years of research and development and when admiring it from every angle one wonders how all its elements hold together. The tourbillon beats at 4 hertz with a comfortable power reserve of three days. Sapphire bridges and manual decorations such as hand guilloché in gold and enamel add a magical touch to this technical achievement capturing the light in an incredible way. This precious character is not a pretext it is a rarity exceptional by nature. And yet it can be worn every day.
Which model best embodies your vision for the brand today among the new releases?
Of course I will answer that they all embody it in different ways. Our Manufacture is 193 years old and includes 82 workshops very few Houses have the capacity to express such plurality. Remember that our portfolio of movements includes around fifty in our contemporary collections. Our Triple Axis Gyrotourbillon represents one of these expressions our Reverso Métiers Rares another our new level of demand for the Master Control yet another. It is about surpassing ourselves in everything we create for the pleasure of our clients and we are presenting around twenty references at Watches and Wonders.
Your priority for 2026?
Our priority is to make the uniqueness of the Maison resonate. We have embraced our difference for 193 years and it is a message with real richness. Thanks to our stylistic expression each of our watches can surprise yet they are all recognized as Jaeger-LeCoultre. We therefore intend to make the Manufacture resonate and share it through the theme of the Valley of Inventions which demonstrates how Jaeger-LeCoultre is a unique model through its Manufacture. It will therefore go out to meet the public and the markets through traveling exhibitions or during the opening of new flagship boutiques such as in Singapore or Tokyo. The Valley of Inventions is part of the DNA of Jaeger-LeCoultre and we will open it to the world.
