By sketching a heart in a digital guestbook, every visitor to the Jaeger-LeCoultre reception and exhibition area on the Lido triggers a donation by the Maison towards the restoration of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco. Jaeger-LeCoultre’s ambassador Carmen Chaplin, the first to take part in the project, drew a heart which was engraved on the back of a Reverso watch and will be displayed for the occasion.
The supremely opulent Scuola Grande di San Rocco, built as an institution, is unique for its peerless collection of paintings by Tintoretto (1518-1594). Located in the San Polo district of Venice, the fraternity was founded in 1478 and dedicated to Saint Roch, patron saint of the plague-stricken, to fight epidemics and bring succour to the diseased population. Thanks to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s patronage, visitors can now benefit from improvements to the lighting which showcases Tintoretto’s highly light sensitive works to perfection. A new LED system - projecting fewer of the infrared and ultraviolet rays causing colours to deteriorate over time - has been installed in the Sala dell’Albergo. The second part of the sponsorship programme concerns the Scuola’s marbles, in particular those in the Sala Capitolare and on the impressive portal leading to the imperial staircase.
Preserving and passing on heritage are fundamental values for Jaeger-LeCoultre. The Manufacture sets great store by protecting not only natural world heritage sites, as through its collaboration with UNESCO, but also artistic heritage, demonstrated by its support for the restoration of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco.
During the Mostra, which will take place from the 31st of August until the 10th of September, the Maison will exhibit pictures of the recent restoration of a remarkable pendant watch designed by Antoine LeCoultre, the Manufacture’s founder, for his wife Zélie LeCoultre. It was the first model to feature an ingenious invention by Antoine: the crown winding system for setting the time and winding the watch which replaced the key that had previously been required. The Grande Maison’s master watchmakers have given a new lease of life to this watch, which bears the following inscription by Zélie’s grandson Jacques-David LeCoultre on the case back: Souvenir de ma chère grand-mère Zélie LeCoultre (In memory of my dear grandmother, Zélie LeCoultre).
