Jaeger-LeCoultre

Antoine LeCoultre opened his workshop in Le Sentier, in the Vallée de Joux, in 1833. In 1844 he built the Millionomètre, the first instrument able to measure to a thousandth of a millimetre, and in 1847 devised a keyless winding system. The factory became a supplier of movements to other Swiss houses; a partnership with the Paris watchmaker Edmond Jaeger, begun in 1903, led to the Jaeger-LeCoultre name in 1937.

The company has produced more than 1,200 calibres and holds around 400 patents. Its best-known designs are the Reverso of 1931, whose case swivels to protect the glass during polo, the Calibre 101 of 1929, still the smallest mechanical movement in series production, and the Atmos clock, driven by changes in air temperature, which it has manufactured since the 1930s. The Memovox alarm watch (1950), the Polaris (1968) and the Master Control line (1992) complete the core catalogue. Jaeger-LeCoultre has been part of Richemont since 2000.