Third edition of Discovery Workshops offered by Jaeger-LeCoultre, this year’s programme at the Atelier d’Antoine is devoted to the Stellar Odyssey theme. A Discovery Workshop created for Fine Watchmaking enthusiasts or beginners – and anyone else curious about the origin of time and how we continue to measure it.

L'Atelier d'Antoine is a rare chance to explore this universe through a hands-on approach that is both theoretical and practical, engaging many senses; you will see rare and ancient artefacts, touch with your heart the reflections of the greatest astronomers, listen to the passage of time and feel with your own hands the mysterious workings of watch mechanisms.

Each workshop is limited to a maximum of eight participants and supervised by a specialist teacher and an expert from the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Participants will have the opportunity to deepen their knowledge by complementing their Discovery Workshop with a guided tour of the Manufacture focusing on the same theme – an exceptional opportunity to see in detail a fully integrated watch Manufacture. Named in honour of Antoine LeCoultre, founder of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Atelier d'Antoine is in the heart of the Manufacture, in the Vallée de Joux, Switzerland.

Welcome to the Cosmos!

The cosmos, where it all began more than 13 billion years ago with a massive explosion that created the fundamental stars, such as the sun: the heart of our solar system.

Humans have always read the time in the sky, day, and night, and it is thanks to the observation of the stars that mankind has been able to create tools capable of measuring time and understanding cycles.

This three-hour Discovery Workshop is an invitation to a celestial journey and, at the end of it, participants will understand the movements of the heavenly bodies, their anomalies, and the challenges that watchmakers must face to make mechanical these notions drawn from the stars.

Participating in this Discovery Workshop will be an unforgettable experience for anyone wishing to learn more about the fascinating origins of time and the manufacture of an exceptional timepiece.

Jaeger-LeCoultre has created an online booking platform – https://online-booking.jaeger-lecoultre.com/– where visitors can discover more about Atelier d’Antoine and the opportunities it offers, and can book all experiences directly. 

Over the years, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been expanding its creative and cultural universe through a series of art commissions, as well as collaborations with world-class practitioners of crafts from outside the world of watchmaking, thus enlarging the dialogue that exists between horology and art. In keeping with La Grande Maison’s great legacy of innovation in watchmaking, these collaborations focus on artists whose work explores unexpected forms of expression.

In his work, Guillaume Marmin employs light, sound and movement in complex and evocative relationships that redefine traditional ideas of sculpture, space and time. It evokes the beauty of the imperceptible and the laws of physics, mingling sound and light to create a new world of images and narrations, and transporting the viewer to another plane, raising profound questions and inviting contemplation and introspection. Its deepest fascination lies in this almost transcendental effect on the viewer.

 As the artist has said of his work: “I try to carry out an approach that is both conceptual and technical at the same time. I am always looking for new tools to experiment with, the times we live in are particularly conducive to this. When we work around light, we are always at the crossroads of scientific, artistic but also philosophical, even mystical questions. To a certain extent, I think my work is a continuation of the research begun by artists like Victor Vasarely or François Morellet since the 1950s. With contemporary tools, I am interested in abstract forms, movement or still in the light. There is also this same desire to take the works out of the galleries, to invest the public space and to find new distribution networks.”

While using technologically advanced tools and digital media, Guillaume Marmin’s work is always grounded in expressions of reality. Through subjects such as Earth, architecture, the paradigms of physics – and in this new commission for Jaeger-LeCoultre, astronomical phenomena – he illustrates the ambivalence of the present day in its relationship between nature and technology.

 “We are delighted to be working with Guillaume,” says Catherine Rénier, Chief Executive Officer of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “The way his work sparks the imagination and creates a sense of awe and wonder captures perfectly the feeling we get when we look at the night sky and contemplate the movements of the stars and planets. In this sense, as well as the elegance and underlying complexity of his systems, we see an exact parallel with watchmaking. As it explores the very meaning of time, Passengers: Through Time is an outstanding expression of our Stellar Odyssey theme this year.”

Passengers: Through Time

In partnership with Jaeger-LeCoultre, Guillaume Marmin has created an entirely new chapter for his acclaimed installation, Passengers. This second chapter, Passengers: Through Time, focuses on celestial and astronomical observation, offering its visitors – or ‘passengers’ – an exploration of the links between time, space and light, as described by the theory of relativity.

“The challenge of this project is to make perceptible the relationship between the observation of the sky and the measurement of time,” says Guillaume Marmin “From exchanges with astronomers and watchmakers, I imagined an art installation capable of transcribing the links that unite time and space. Its visual and sound content is constantly renewed thanks to a program established according to the geographical coordinates of each exhibition venue, the solar and lunar calendars, and the timetables. Through a kinetic device composed of games of reflections, the installation can be perceived as a spatio-temporal excursion in which we would be the protagonists. »

The intense planning phase of Passengers: Through Time included a deep consultation between the artist and the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble, which enabled him to identify and model the relationship between time and the cosmos in the light of contemporary knowledge. Employing generative programming to transcribe the data he collected during this phase, he has created an immersive and inspiring environment that enables us to momentarily approach the beauty of the unseen and the mathematical foundation of reality.

Through a kinetic device contained within a walk-through capsule and made up of visual and sound movements, infinite reflections and dizzying perspectives, the installation takes visitors on a stellar excursion in which they are the protagonists. In the passengers’ minds, this complex and evocative interplay of light, sound and movement captures the vastness of the cosmos, inviting reflection on the fundamental question of what time really is.

As Passengers: Through Time will travel to various global destinations as an integral part of the Stellar Odyssey Exhibition, its content will be perpetually modified in alignment with the solar calendar and the geographical coordinates of each exhibition site, thus expressing celestial phenomena in real time and place.

ABOUT GUILLAUME MARMIN

Born in France, Guillaume Marmin trained at the University of Lyon II, then specialised in in film, audio-visual media and digital media at ARFIS École. His work, connected from the beginning to the music scene and performing arts, is part of a revival of visual creation by overcoming traditional forms of storytelling and traditional performing media. Influenced by experimental filmmakers, Guillaume Marmin is looking for a new synaesthetic alphabet, a shared language between images and sounds, rhythms, contrast and sleek moving figures.

To develop this new language, Marmin’s work includes mapping on 3D sculptures and buildings, projection on photography and screen printing, bodies in motion and smoke. His immersive works in public spaces involve collaborations between architects, musicians and lighting designers, and give body to the intangible, making us momentarily approach the beauty of the unseen and the mathematical foundation of reality. Despite the use of technologically advanced tools and the intervention of digital media, Guillaume Marmin’s work is always grounded in expressions of reality. Whether his subject is Earth (Around the Island), climatic phenomena (Après-nous le Déluge), architecture (Raster) or the history of paradigms in physics (Timée), he illustrates the ambivalence of the present day in its relationship between nature and technology.

ABOUT THE STELLAR ODYSSEY

In 2022 Jaeger-LeCoultre pays homage to the astronomical phenomena that lie at the very origin of how mankind measures time. Since the earliest days of the Manufacture, astronomical functions have played a major role in Jaeger-LeCoultre’s portfolio of complicated timepieces ­– ranging from simple forms of moon phase display to highly complex perpetual calendars, equation of time, sky charts, and the draconic and anomalistic lunar cycles. Mastering all three measures of time – solar, lunar and sidereal – the watchmakers of La Grande Maison have perpetually innovated to create the most advanced and precise mechanisms that represent or even predict celestial phenomena. This year, Jaeger-LeCoultre embarks on a Stellar Odyssey with an immersive exhibition and a series of themed events that will embrace inspirational collaborations with a visual artist and a mixologist, and a fascinating programme of celestially-themed Discovery Workshops at Atelier d’Antoine. The Stellar Odyssey is an invitation to discover how the mysteries of the cosmos are translated into micro-mechanical wonders for the wrist.

jaeger-lecoultre.com

Since the dawn of history, the movements of the planets and constellations have been used to measure the passing of time, literally defining the origins of horology. And from the very beginnings of La Grande Maison, its watchmakers have continually reinterpreted these astronomical phenomena in the form of intricate complications that represent or even predict celestial events directly on the wrist. Speaking to the heart as well as the mind, these mechanisms go above and beyond their practical function of time-telling, displaying our link to the cosmos directly on the dial in a literal and uniquely captivating way that is enhanced by an exceptional mastery of rare decorative crafts. Honouring this noble legacy and expressing the expertise of the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre in fresh and exciting ways, a splendid array of new celestial watches takes the spotlight in 2022.

“This year, the Stellar Odyssey will continue the Manufacture’s journey around the world, sharing not only our creations that are inspired by the celestial theme, but also translating the wonders of the celestial world into art installations and immersive experiences. The Atelier d’Antoine will bring a new aspect to the transmission of watchmaking know-how with the introduction of a new educational workshop based on the Stellar Odyssey theme.” Catherine Rénier, Jaeger-LeCoultre CEO

A Stellar Odyssey

Jaeger-LeCoultre will host a series of thematic exhibitions events around the globe – an invitation for clients and the general public alike to discover how the mysteries of the cosmos are translated into micro-mechanical wonders that tell the time by capturing the universe in miniature. The Stellar Odyssey exhibition will make its debut at Watches & Wonders in Geneva before embarking on a world tour. Tracing the eternally fascinating story of time and unveiling Jaeger-LeCoultre’s newest celestially-inspired timepieces, the exhibition also features an immersive multi-media installations that will take visitors on a virtual journey to the cosmos.

To complete the stellar experience, the world-renowned mixologist Matthias Giroud has created an exclusive menu of celestially-inspired soft cocktails that Jaeger-LeCoultre will offer to its guests throughout the year. For these eight visually captivating creations, Matthias has taken inspiration from the stars and planets, blending familiar ingredients with intriguing scents and flavours from the Vallée de Joux, and adding decorative flourishes inspired by the Métiers Rares® atelier of the Manufacture.

Throughout the year, the programme of hands-on Discovery Workshops at the Atelier d’Antoine will focus on the wonder of astronomical complications and the celestial origins of time-keeping – a rare opportunity to gain deep insight into this magical world.

Connecting, Tradition, Technology and Artistry

Since 1833, Jaeger-LeCoultre has forged an unparalleled reputation for inventiveness, with more than 430 patents and 1,300 different calibres to its name. Believing that exceptional mechanisms merit outstanding artistic treatment, the Manufacture has also developed great mastery in the decorative crafts, bringing together an array of time-honoured skills in its Métiers Rares® atelier. For the 2022 celestial timepieces, it has harnessed this tremendous breadth and depth of expertise, synthesising art and mechanics to embark on a journey of discovery through the cosmos and its various cycles.

The magnificence of the constellations and the fascination of sidereal time have been reproduced on the wrist with two new artistic interpretations of the extraordinary Calibre 945. Earth’s rotation on its axis is depicted in a sumptuous new interpretation of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Universal Time calibre: the Master Grande Tradition Calibre 948. With its fascinating technical intricacy and everyday practicality, a new perpetual calendar enriches the sporty-elegant Polaris collection. The Manufacture’s watchmakers translate the infinity of the universe through the Atmos clock, reproducing the Earth and Moon’s cycles around the Sun in the breathtaking Atmos Hybris Mechanica Calibre 590 And they have harnessed their eternal fascination with the night sky to capture the rarity and enchantment of shooting stars in an entirely new complication for the feminine Rendez-Vous collection.

These new celestial timepieces – each of them a small masterpiece of technical and artistic savoir-faire – perfectly embody the unique identity and spirit of Jaeger-LeCoultre.