Jaeger LeCoultre :: Manufacturers :: Essence of Time, Inc.

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Essence of Time, Inc. :: Manufacturers :: Jaeger LeCoultre

Founder: Antoine LeCoultre was born in 1803. He taught himself everything about constructing watches and opened his first shop in 1833.

Country: Le Sentier, Switzerland

History: The company was founded in 1833 by Antoine LeCoultre. In 1844, in order to measure the accuracy of his watches, Antoine created the most accurate measuring instrument called the Millionometer. By 1847 he created watches that no longer required a key to be wound, rather a push button would do the job. Interestingly enough, LeCoultre & Cie became the first watch manufacturer in the Valley de Joux region in 1866. In 1903, Edmond Jaeger challenged the Swiss watchmakers to create ultra-thin calibers and four years later Jacques-David LeCoultre created the Calibre 145, which was 1.38 mm thick. Another great feat was when the Calibre 101 was created and it weighed less than 1 gram and this was accomplished in 1929. The company was put to the task to create watches that could absorb the force of play when playing the game Polo. Thus, the Reverso watch was born in 1931. In 1937, Jaeger partnered up with LeCoultre to create the company name known today. By 1996 the company was owned by Richemont and continues to make extraordinary models to this day.

Ambassadors: Diane Kruger

Timeline & Accomplishments:

• 1833 LeCoultre & Cie was founded

• 1847 Antoine created push button watches instead of key winded watches

• 1866 First watch manufacturer in the Valley de Joux region

• 1907 Calibre 145 was created and was 1.38 mm thick

• 1929 Calibre 101 was created and was less than 1 gram in weight

• 1931 Reverso watch was created to withstand the shock during the game of Polo

• 1937 Company name became Jaeger-LeCoultre because of a partnership