Jaeger-LeCoultre: On the gong, always

Founded in 1833, Jaeger-LeCoultre has created more than 1,200 calibres till date. The names of its iconic collections, such as the Reverso, Memovox, Atmos, Rendez-vous and Polaris, are known to every aficionado of haute horlogerie. “Day & Night” magazine speaks to the Chief Executive Officer of the brand, Catherine Renier on what the marque has in store for this year and the future…

For 150 years, minute repeaters have always been present in Jaeger-LeCoultre’s collection. Why is it important?
Indeed, sound making is an important know-how of our maison, from the music boxes LeCoultre created in the 19th century, to the more than 200 minute-repeater calibres the manufacture has developed. It represents the inventiveness and the creativity of our watchmakers, both in terms of complications and design.

This year we talk about sound with the minute repeaters, as well as with the Memovox. The new Master Grande Tradition Caliber 945 is a great example of this balance between a great calibre exhibiting the patents of la Grande Maison and a beautiful dial with its hand-finished dome structure. We are also bringing several new editions of the Memovox to the public in 2020. One of them is the new Master Control Memovox Timer, a Memovox featuring a new complication that offers the possibility to set the alarm as a countdown alarm on top of the classic alarm.

Jaeger-LeCoultre has been working hard over the years to improve the acoustic quality of the minute repeater; is there still room for more improvement?
There is always room for improvement and our manufacture is in a constant quest for excellence. We continue to invest in innovation and new creations to sustain our “raison d’être” and on what has become our manufacture’s identity for almost two centuries.

Our early innovations included cathedral gongs (1870) and a triple-hammer mechanism (1880). In 1895, our manufacture developed the silent strike governor, eliminating the background buzz characteristic of traditional lever-type regulators. In 2005, we introduced ‘crystal gongs’ that are soldered directly to the dial crystal of the watch, capitalising on the superior sound transmission qualities of synthetic sapphire crystal.

In 2019, in Calibre 950, we introduced a new ‘duplex’ gong design. Rather than lying in flat coils, the gongs make a circle before bending upwards, and then diverging to form two semi-circles around the top of the movement. In this way, by using the maximum space available within the case, acoustic resonance is significantly increased.

This year, we have launched the new Master Grande Tradition Caliber 945 with further improvements in the calibre and sound quality. Our research and development teams are now focused on the next innovation in terms of technique and are always going forward in terms of performance of the movement.

The new Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication manages to combine extremely complex complications: a celestial vault, minute repeater, and a tourbillon. What were the challenges the brand faced in creating the timepiece?
The main technical challenge lies in the complexity of the mechanism needed to transcribe the time indicated by the hands into an extremely precise melody with a rich, harmonious, clearly audible sound. This was achieved thanks to the Jaeger-LeCoultre’s patented ‘crystal gongs’ and trebuchet hammers.

Regarding the aesthetics, the first challenge was that the watch (movement and case) should keep an elegant design with wearable dimensions. For the dial, we innovated with this atomium structure, which proved to be extremely complex to realise. Its finesse, combined with the necessary precision of a fine watchmaking dial, brought many challenges to the in-house development teams. The structure had to be light for several reasons: not only aesthetically but also technically as the weight of the structure needs to be limited for the movement to rotate precisely.

Finally, when developing a new case, we must take into account the constraint of the calibre and the sonnerie, in order for the case to serve as the best “sound box”. The overall challenge is to have the right technical-aesthetic balance.

When do you anticipate the delivery of this masterpiece?
We expect the first pieces to be delivered this summer.

This year is the launch of the new generation Master Control Memovox; how important is it for the brand?
The Memovox is a signature of our maison with its iconic alarm created in the 1950s. Jaeger-LeCoultre has several unique signatures: the Reverso, the Memovox, the 101 movement for ladies or the Atmos. We would like to tell the stories of all these signatures, and also to bring out some novelties. We are starting with the Memovox this year because they reflect our craftsmanship, our manufacture, and who we are deep down.

For 2020, Jaeger-LeCoultre is celebrating sound in watches and in particular the iconic alarm function, the Memovox. For the first time, the Memovox comes with an additional function called the Timer, enabling the setting of the alarm as a countdown to make sure to be reminded of the important moments of the day. The chime is created from the strike of the hammer on the gong, visible on the crystal case back of the new Master Control.

The alarm complication has always been so useful, yet it is a very rare complication. Why?
Invented in 1950 in a classic watch, the Memovox function, the alarm, has then been integrated in a diving watch, the Memovox Polaris in 1965 and 1968. The complexity of this mechanism is that it creates a sound from a hammer striking on the caseback. The vibrations from the impacts is a challenge in itself as it could have a negative impact on the whole mechanism and interfere with the precision of the watch. This complication – mastered for more than 70 years ago – is now introduced with a useful twist, the timer, allowing the wearer to set either a time or a countdown for the alarm to chime.

 Jaeger-LeCoultre launched the first Memovox 70 years ago; did it anticipate this kind of success?
Every watchmaking function has been invented with a purpose; to push the limits of mechanical watchmaking or serve a purpose of daily life. The Memovox serves both of them so the manufacture was confident on the success of this timepiece when it was released. Again, today, this new watch has received wonderful success.

The Master Control Memovox Timer is a gorgeous timepiece; why limit it to 250 pieces?
We wanted to celebrate the new timer function, and decided to limit this special piece to 250 pieces to add to its exclusivity.