Our days, nights and seasons are determined by the movements of the stars and phases of the moon, and watchmakers rejoice in the challenge of capturing the vastness of the cosmos within the tiny dimensions of a wristwatch.

Revisiting its much-loved celestial theme on the occasion of 76^th Venice International Film Festival – La Biennale di Venezia, Jaeger-LeCoultre is delighted to present a magnificent new interpretation of its alluring Rendez-Vous Celestial watch for women.

RENDEZ-VOUS CELESTIAL

The Northern Lights: Aurora Borealis. Named after the Ancient Roman goddess of the dawn, and visible only on the darkest nights near the Arctic Circle, this awe-inspiring phenomenon has fascinated mankind since the beginning of time. Of all the mysteries of the cosmos, none seems more enigmatic than this.

A pair of beautiful Rendez-Vous Celestial jewellery watches pays homage to this otherworldly spectacle, capturing the vivid greens, purples, pinks and blues that stream and dance across the sky.

When Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced the Rendez-Vous in 2012, it was a rare example of a high-complication watch created specifically for women; since then, this mechanically sophisticated and visually entrancing timepiece has been reinterpreted several times, in different materials. In this new ‘Northern Lights’ edition, mother-of-pearl and multi-coloured sapphires take centre stage, uniting two of the Metiers Rares® that Jaeger-LeCoultre has so thoroughly mastered – gem-setting, and hand-painting.

Asymmetrical in composition, the dial is formed of two sections, set at different heights. On the upper section, the curvy Floral numerals – a signature of the Rendez-Vous collection – are graduated in size, to form a crescent that hovers above the lower dial. Outlined by an elliptical band of pink gold that draws the eye deeper into it, this lower section carries a hand-transferred imprint of a star chart, together with the signs of the Zodiac and names of the months. Displaying the night sky as it appears above Jaeger-LeCoultre’s home in the Vallée de Joux, the star chart shows the changing positions of the constellations in real time. The automatic mechanical movement Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 809/1 turns the disc counterclockwise in relation to the stars, almost imperceptibly, in step with the rotation of the Earth in 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds.

For the ‘Northern Lights’ edition, both sections of the mother-of-pearl dial are hand-painted with swirls of colour that reproduce the ethereal patterns of the Aurora Borealis – flowing seamlessly from the upper to lower dials. Shades of green and turquoise set the tone for one model; purples and blues dominate on the other – the colours intensified by the glowing mother-of-pearl beneath them. As the sky disc turns, the pattern of the background colours gently shifts, in a subtle echo of the dancing movement of the aurora.

A hand-polished golden star – emblem of the Rendez-Vous collection – is set on the edge of the dial; by turning the second crown, it can be moved into position to mark the time of a special rendezvous.

The rich tones of the dial are echoed on the bezel, which is set with a dazzling, colour-graduated circle of 64 baguette-cut sapphires. To complete the gem-set case, the lugs and two crowns are highlighted with diamonds. A matching alligator strap in turquoise or violet completes these rare timepieces.

This joyful expression of the cosmic world is brought to life by Calibre 809/1, a self-winding movement developed and produced within the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture. Created specially for the Rendez-Vous Celestial, this technically sophisticated movement incorporates a calendar mechanism to rotate the celestial disc in cadence with the changing night sky.

While the complex movement is testament to the precision and technical skills of La Grande Maison’s finest watchmakers, the finishing and decoration of the movement, displayed beneath the transparent sapphire case-back, reveals their artistry. Fine decoration and finishing includes such details as blued screws, circular graining, Côtes de Genève and the pink gold signature winding rotor with Côtes de Genève decoration

Offered in a limited edition of 18 pieces of each model, the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Celestial brings together La Grande Maison’s artistic skills and technical acumen in a fitting tribute to the beauty of the night sky.

Technical characteristics:

Dimensions: 37.5 mm

Calibre: automatic mechanical movement, Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 809/1

Functions: hours/minutes, skychart, rendez-vous indicator

Power reserve: 40 hours

Case: pink gold

Dial: hand painted mother-of-pearl

Gemstones: 19 diamonds – 0.26 cts; 118 sapphires – 3.09 cts

Water resistance: 5 bar

Case back: Open

References:

Q3482590, turquoise, limited to 18 pieces

Q3482591, violet, limited to 18 pieces

A new watch with classic appeal

Drawing inspiration from the 1970 Polaris II, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date features a new hand-lacquered, blue double-gradient dial with sunrayed, grained and opaline finish, unique to this special model. The central disc and main dial now each incorporate a shimmering, color-change effect - from deep turquoise to a brilliant shade of royal blue. The blue rubber Clous de Paris strap, also unique to the model, is color-matched to the inner bezel, which, like the original Memovox Polaris and Polaris II, rotates for added functionality.

Keeping with the signature look of the Polaris collection, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date is instantly recognizable thanks to its elongated Arabic numerals, trapezoidal hour markers, and baton-style hands. These elements are each treated with Super-LumiNova™ to provide maximum legibility in low-light scenarios. For this application, the luminescent coating is vanilla-tinted, another nod to the famed Polaris watches of the 1960s and 1970s. Still, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date is a fundamentally modern creation. Hewn from stainless steel, the case measures 42mm in diameter and has two prominent crowns—one to adjust the time, the other to control the aforementioned rotating bezel. Incorporating brushed and hand-polished surfaces, the case’s graceful appearance belies its real-world sporting credentials, as the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date is water resistant to 200 meters.

Inside, a self-winding mechanical movement delivers all the precision and craftsmanship one would expect from Jaeger-LeCoultre. The in-house Calibre 899A/1 faithfully keeps the seconds, minutes, hours, and date (displayed through a dedicated window at the three o’clock position) while offering a power reserve of 38 hours. It’s secured by a closed caseback, which has four special engravings, including a SCUBA diving insignia, the Jaeger-LeCoultre crest, and the phrase “1000 HOURS CONTROL”, denoting the assembled watch has undergone 1,000 hours of testing before leaving the Manufacture in the Vallée de Joux, Switzerland. Finally, the words “Limited edition - One of 800” are inscribed near backing’s outer edge.

An evolving tradition

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date is the latest addition to the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris collection, which is inspired by the iconic Memovox Polaris. This historic model was developed at the suggestion of the American market, and produced between 1965 and 1968. Today, the original Memovox remains synonymous with adventure and technical innovation, as it introduced a revolutionary amplified underwater alarm function for divers. The watch is also remembered for its distinct, sophisticated design code: a three-ring concentric dial layout, rotating inner bezel, and multi-crown case. The new Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris collection pays homage by continuing to carry these visual elements, but has been entirely redesigned for the modern era, with shorter lugs, a slimmer bezel, ergonomic crowns, and a sapphire glass box crystal.

Technical characteristics:

Dimensions: 42 mm

Calibre: automatic mechanical movement, Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 899A/1

Functions: hours/minutes/seconds, date, rotating inner bezel

Power reserve: 38 hours

Case: stainless steel

Dial: special blue double-gradient, hand-lacquered, sunrayed, grained and opaline finish

Water resistance: 20 bar

Reference: Q9068681, limited to 800 pieces *(pre-launch in North America)

With close to two centuries of horological expertise, Jaeger-LeCoultre stands alone in its command of complicated watchmaking. This includes unparalleled in-house experience in chiming watches, the most prestigious and exalted domain of mechanical savoir-faire. As a matter of fact, La Grande Maison du Sentier has the distinction of being the only manufacture in the world to have over 200 chiming watch calibres in its historical and modern inventory.

In May 2019, following the success of the Master Grande Tradition Gyrotourbillon Westminster Perpétuel at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH), Jaeger-LeCoultre debuts a timepiece that once again brings new levels of excellence to its mastery of chiming watches.

The Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle features an innovative gong system that resurrects the idealised chime of antique pocket sonneries, paired with an evolutionary case design that transmits timelessness and modernity.

Key points of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle

• A new gong system that replicates the richness and strength of antique sonnerie pocket watches
• Evolutionary case design that redefines the timelessness and modernity of the Master Grande Tradition timepieces
• Heightened focus on customer experience with automatic winding system and intuitive perpetual-calendar setting

A new chime

Innovation in the domain of chiming watches has been one of the foundation stones of mechanical expertise at Jaeger-LeCoultre since 1895, when the company was awarded a patent for the world’s first silent strike regulator. In the 21^st century, Jaeger-LeCoultre channelled its creativity in sonnerie watches towards producing the most energy-efficient and volume-optimised chime possible.

The Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle represents the next generation of chime-related innovation at La Grande Maison. Its movement, the automatic calibre 950, unites the two apex values of chime quality that were previously thought to be incompatible — power and beauty. This combination of qualities has largely eluded the best watchmakers in history, the understanding being that one can come only at the cost of the other.

The research and innovation team of Jaeger-LeCoultre have achieved this idealised chime by creating an entirely novel gong configuration, unlike any other. Instead of lying flat in overlapping coils like the most commonly seen minute repeater gongs, the gongs of the Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle depart radically from convention by incorporating unprecedented height and space. Two gongs, welded together at their base, travel in the same direction around the periphery of the movement, making one near-complete tour before dramatically arching upwards, traversing the entire height of the movement. They then diverge and take a terminal semi-arc around the other side of the movement, stopping just before their ends meet.

By maximising the space occupied by the element that creates sound vibrations — the gongs — the calibre 950 boosts its capacity for sound transmission. Further increasing this capacity is the proximity of the gongs to a larger proportion of the watch case, according to the acoustic principles that instinctively guide us where to position a relatively weak audio source in relation to an resonator (such as when a personal music player is placed in a glass dish to amplify the sound).

Signature chime innovations of Jaeger-LeCoultre, such as the square gong cross-sections and the articulated “trebuchet” hammers, ensure that the gongs are struck with the greatest possible impact and the least interference from hammer recoil. These set the stage for the meticulously engineered acoustic profile of the Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle chime.

The lower-pitched gong takes a helical path from gong heel to tip. Though irregular in shape, its unidirectional flow allows it to vibrate in a way that creates the harmonic overtones giving fullness and balance to bass notes.

The higher-pitched gong switches direction, effectively folding back on itself like the tines of a tuning fork. This configuration emphasises the fundamental vibration of the gong, producing a purer tone that imparts the clarity and brilliance prized in treble notes.

This new optimised combination of chime volume and acoustic quality marks out new territory for Jaeger-LeCoultre in sonnerie watches, an expansion that is fully supported by the other customer-centric aspects of the Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle.

Focus on the wearer

Perpetual calendars are among the most practical and useful mechanical complications that can be incorporated into a timepiece. Their ability to display the correct calendar information, taking into consideration the varying lengths of the months — even during leap years — provides everyday convenience for the wearer, especially when combined with an automatic winding system for low-maintenance upkeep when worn regularly.

Traditional-style perpetual calendars are mostly hand-wound, as the prestige of a high complication generally demands that the finely finished movement should be fully visible for admiration. Automatic minute repeaters are even rarer, with occasional exceptions such as the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Ivy Minute Repeater.

The winding rotor of the calibre 950 is hidden within the movement, positioned between the perpetual calendar and minute repeater mechanisms, in order to a have full view on the mechanism at the back of the watch. The Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle is thus continuously supplied with energy without the need to obscure a single finely finished component, whether chamfered, satin-finished, decorated with côtes de Genève, or any combination of the above.

Another feature of the watch that puts the needs of the wearer foremost is the intuitive Security zone that appears in a dial aperture near the axis of the hour and minute hands. This indication appears between the hours of 10pm and 1am, when adjusting the time or calendar is not advised due to the possibility of stressing or even damaging the movement. This reminder takes the onus off the wearer to remember when the time and calendar indications can be adjusted.

Despite the multiple complications and the automatic winding system, all of which are known to add bulk to a timepiece, the Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle is highly compact, with a diameter of 43mm and a height of 13.72mm.

Design evolution

The Master Grande Tradition collection has always been a platform for high watchmaking at Jaeger-LeCoultre, emphasising classic design in order to let the sophisticated mechanisms take centre stage. In the Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle, Jaeger-LeCoultre recalibrates the balance of technical prowess against aesthetic refinement to arrive at a new equilibrium of power and beauty.

A new case, comprising more than 80 separate hand-finished parts, was created for the Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle. Particular attention was paid to the ergonomics of the case, from the deeply convex bezel and broad bevels on the lugs to the smoothly tapered minute repeater slide.

Parts are alternately polished, satin-finished or sandblasted, the latter being highly challenging to execute on the exterior segments of a watch. The extremely porous surface of a sandblasted component causes it to easily pick up oils from even the slightest contact with human skin, leaving a mark that can be seen as unsightly (though easily removed) blemish. In its finishing and Métiers Rares ateliers, Jaeger-LeCoultre has perfected the technique of applying a sandblasted finish that is resistant to such oil transfer.

The Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle comes in two dial variations, a neoclassical silver-grained dial and a deep blue translucent guilloche enamel dial that is produced by hand in the Atelier des Métiers Rares.

A dial of solid white gold is first decorated with guillochage on century-old rose engines, each round of guilloché work repeated several times in order to achieve the correct depth of engraving. The perpetual calendar counters are then precision laser-welded onto the dial, before the remaining spaces are filled with translucent enamel in another multi-stage process. The enamel is then polished, resulting in the final dial of shimmering vitreous blue that changes in hue with the light and angle.

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle is the result of 149 years of experience in sonnerie timepieces, combined with an unparalleled patrimony in mechanical innovation and the most exalted levels of miniature decorative arts. With this latest masterpiece, La Grande Maison du Sentier recommits itself to furthering the frontiers of 21st-century watchmaking.

Master Grande Tradition Répétition Minutes Perpétuelle

Dimensions: 43 mm

Thickness: 13.72 mm

Calibre: 950 – Automatic

Case: White gold

Water resistance: 5 bar

Functions: Hours/Minutes, Minute repeater, Perpetual calendar (Day, Date, Month, Moon phase, Year)

Power reserve: 38 hours

Dial: Blue guilloché enamel / Silver grained

Case-back: Open

Reference: Q52334E1 (Limited to 30 pieces), Q5233420 (Limited to 30 pieces)