Jaeger LeCoultre
 |
|
| Subsidiary of Richemont | |
| Industry | Watch manufacturing |
| Founded | 1833 by Antoine LeCoultre |
| Headquarters | Le Sentier, Vaud, Switzerland |
|
Key people
|
Georges Kern, interim CEO |
| Products | Wrist watches |
| Parent | Richemont |
| Website | www |
Jaeger-LeCoultre (French pronunciation: [ˈʒegɛʁ ləˈkultʁ]) is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer based in Le Sentier, Switzerland, that dates back to the first half of the nineteenth century, founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833.
The brand has hundreds of inventions and over a thousand calibres (movements) to its name, including the world’s smallest calibre, one of the world’s most complicated wristwatches and a timepiece of near-perpetual movement. The company has been a fully owned subsidiary of the Swiss luxury group Richemont since 2000.
The earliest records of the LeCoultre family in Switzerland date from the 16th century, when Pierre LeCoultre (circa 1530 – circa 1600), a French Huguenot, fled to Geneva from Lisy-sur-Ourcq, France to escape religious persecution. In 1558, he obtained the status of “inhabitant” but left the following year to acquire a plot of land in the Vallée de Joux. Over time, a small community formed and in 1612, Pierre LeCoultre’s son built a church there, marking the founding of the village of Le Sentier where the company’s Manufacture is still based today.
In 1833, following his invention of a machine to cut watch pinions from steel, Antoine LeCoultre (1803-1881) founded a small watchmaking workshop in Le Sentier, where he honed his horological skills to create high-quality timepieces. In 1844, he invented the world's most precise measuring instrument at the time, the Millionomètre [see section 1.4.1], and in 1847 he created a keyless system to rewind and set watches [see section 1.4.2]. Four years later, he was awarded a gold medal for his work on timepiece precision and Mechanization at the first Universal Exhibition in London.
In 1866, at a time when watchmaking skills were divided up among hundreds of small workshops, Antoine and his son, Elie LeCoultre (1842-1917), established the Vallée de Joux’s first full-fledged manufacture, LeCoultre & Cie., pooling their employees’ expertise under one roof. Under this set-up, they developed in 1870 the first partially mechanised production processes for complicated movements.
...
Wikipedia