Among the guests at the opening were American Songwriter and Producer, Questlove, Artists Michael Murphy and Alex Trochut, and acclaimed Actor Nicholas Hoult, a Friend of the Maison.

The exhibition features a curated selection of the earliest and most historically significant of the Manufacture LeCoultre’s chiming masterworks, together with dozens of documents and archive materials – many of which have never been displayed to the public before. The journey begins with a unique heritage piece: the Music Box made by the founder, Antoine LeCoultre, and his father, that marked the beginning of La Grande Maison’s journey in chiming timepieces. As visitors tour the exhibition, they enjoy the evolution in both technical skill and artistic expression, from pocket watches to minute repeater wrist watches and the Memovox, along with special pieces from the Atelier des Métiers Rares® (Rare Handcrafts Workshop).

The Sound Sculpture

At the heart of the exhibition, a ‘Sound Sculpture’ installation commissioned by Jaeger-LeCoultre from the Swiss contemporary artist, Zimoun, is making its American debut. In this fascinating work, Zimoun encapsulates the universe of sound – within the Manufacture and in the natural world surrounding it – that is so intrinsic to the spirit of Jaeger-LeCoultre.

“I first got hooked by the sound, like the soft, appeasing sound of the rain,” says Catherine Rénier, Chief Executive Officer of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “As you get closer, the movement of the metal is mesmerizing. Each angle gives a different feeling and invites you to stop, enjoy and listen.”

Zimoun employs simple raw materials and repurposed industrial components, including the small DC motors, thin wires, MDF panels, and metal discs that compose the watches of Jaeger-LeCoultre – and, in doing so, redefines traditional ideas of sculpture, movement and sound, drawing the audience into an almost transcendent world of sensory experience.

The Sounds of New York by Questlove

Drummer, DJ, producer, culinary entrepreneur, New York Times best-selling author, and member of The Roots – Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson has partnered with Jaeger-LeCoultre to curate a 7-hour playlist exclusively for Sound Maker attendees which tells the story of New York’s illustrious music history. Serving as a celebration of sound, the playlist features iconic music from early Jazz, Soul, Funk, Hip Hop, Disco and New Wave through modern time.

Questlove is the unmistakable heartbeat of Philadelphia’s most influential hip-hop group. He is the Musical Director for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where his beloved Roots crew serves as house band. Beyond that, this 5-time GRAMMY Award winning musician's indisputable reputation has landed him musical directing positions with everyone from D'Angelo to Eminem to Jay-Z.

“The Sounds of New York by Questlove brought to you by Jaeger-LeCoultre” will be featured on Spotify and will be available for streaming via the below QR code.

The Atelier d’Antoine Discovery Workshop

To complete the exhibition, the Atelier d’Antoine – named after the Manufacture’s founder – has been specially relocated to New York City, giving visitors the opportunity to enjoy a unique, hands-on adventure with chiming timepieces. Together with an instructor and a technical expert, attendees will discover why watches go `tick-tock` and how time can be expressed through sound.

To be fully immersed within the Jaeger-LeCoultre universe, participants will use larger-scale models to try to replicate the work of the Maison’s highly skilled watchmakers.

The 90-minute Atelier d’Antoine discovery workshops are accessible to the public for a fee. With classes limited to a maximum of 6 participants, pre-booking is required at www.thesoundmakernyc.com.

THE SOUND MAKER exhibition will be presented from September 21^st through October 5^th at 70-74 Gansevoort in New York City. Open to the public by reservation only, from 11am to 7pm on Monday through Friday, and 10am to 7pm on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets may be reserved online free of charge at www.thesoundmakernyc.com.

The Sound Maker exhibition by Jaeger-LeCoultre opened at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul this Tuesday, 15th of June, in the presence of Kim Woo-Bin, a Friend of the Maison.

The Sound Maker exhibition immerses visitors in the creative and cultural universe of Jaeger-LeCoultre, exploring the uniquely rich heritage of chiming watches at La Grande Maison, and paying homage to its home in the Vallée de Joux.

The exhibition features a curated selection of the earliest and most historically significant of the Manufacture LeCoultre’s chiming masterworks, together with dozens of documents and archive materials – many of which have never been displayed to the public before. The journey begins with a unique heritage piece: the Music Box made by the founder, Antoine LeCoultre, and his father, that marked the beginning of La Grande Maison’s journey in chiming timepieces. As visitors tour the exhibition, they enjoy the evolution in both technical skill and artistic expression, from pocket watches to minute repeater wrist watches and the Memovox, along with special pieces from the Atelier des Métiers Rares® (Rare Handcrafts Workshop).

At the heart of the exhibition, a ‘Sound Sculpture’ installation commissioned by Jaeger-LeCoultre from the Swiss contemporary artist, Zimoun, is making its Korean debut. In this fascinating work, Zimoun encapsulates the universe of sound – within the Manufacture and in the natural world surrounding it – that is so intrinsic to the spirit of Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Zimoun employs simple raw materials and repurposed industrial components, including the small DC motors, thin wires, MDF panels, and metal discs that compose the watches of Jaeger-LeCoultre – and, in doing so, redefines traditional ideas of sculpture, movement and sound, drawing the audience into an almost transcendent world of sensory experience.

Acclaimed actor Kim Woo-Bin, a new Friend of Maison, joined in celebrating the opening of the exhibition and meeting with the press. “Throughout the exhibition, I could feel and experience the heritage of Jaeger-LeCoultre in a new way, and I was amazed by its beautiful timepieces”, he remarked after touring the exhibits.

Open to the public by reservation, The Sound Maker exhibition by Jaeger-LeCoultre is being held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, the design and fashion hub of Seoul. Tickets may be reserved online, at http://www.thesoundmakerseoul.com. Tour guides are available in each zone of the exhibition to answer visitors’ questions, and full guided tours are also available, by application on the website. The exhibition runs until July 4^th; opening hours 10am to 7pm.

The Sound Maker exhibition will immerse visitors in the creative and cultural universe of Jaeger-LeCoultre, exploring the uniquely rich heritage – past, present and future – of chiming watches at La Grande Maison, and paying homage to its home in the Vallée de Joux.

Korean actor Kim Woo-Bin is popular throughout Asia, having established a captivating presence in acclaimed television series and box-office hit movies of various genres, from romantic comedy to drama to action films. Along with his passion for his acting career, the 31-year-old is intensely engaged in social contribution.

Jaeger-LeCoultre will be pleased to welcome Kim Woo-Bin to The Sound Maker Exhibition, taking place at DDP (Dongdaemun Design Plaza), Seoul, starting from June 16th to July 4th.

BIOGRAPHY

Kim Woo-bin is a South Korean actor. He made his acting debut in the television drama, White Christmas in 2011. He subsequently gained attention in A Gentleman's Dignity (2012), and made his breakthrough with School 2013 (2012-2013) and The Heirs (2013). Kim later starred in box office hits Friend: The Great Legacy (2013), The Con Artists (2014) and Twenty (2015). In 2016, he took the leading role on television in Uncontrollably.

Kim Woo-bin will next be seen starring in Choi Dong-hun's new sci-fi film ‘Alien + People’ which tells the extraordinary story of time connected between Goryeo Dynasty where the old ascetics strive to obtain divine knife and the present, 2021 with Aliens.

UNVEILING A NEWLY COMMISSIONED WORK BY RENOWNED SWISS ARTIST, ZIMOUN, AND EXPLORING A RICH HERITAGE OF CHIMING WATCHES

THE SOUND MAKER exhibition, a highlight of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s year-long celebration of the art of sound in watchmaking, will be inaugurated at Guangdong Hall, Chengdu, starting from November 10^th. The exhibition will immerse visitors in the creative and cultural universe of Jaeger-LeCoultre, exploring the uniquely rich heritage – past, present and future – of chiming watches at La Grande Maison, and paying homage to its home in the Vallée de Joux, where the sounds of nature still provide the backdrop to daily life.

A New Art Commission Makes Its World Debut

At the heart of the exhibition, expanding the dialogue that exists between horology and art, a new ‘sound sculpture’ installation commissioned by Jaeger-LeCoultre from the Swiss contemporary artist, Zimoun, will be unveiled for the first time. After its debut in China, the installation will be exhibited around the world during 2021.

In this new work, Zimoun encapsulates the universe of sound – within the Manufacture and in the natural world around it – that is so intrinsic to the spirit of Jaeger-LeCoultre. He employs simple raw materials and repurposed industrial components, including watch parts – and, in doing so, redefines traditional ideas of sculpture, movement and sound, drawing the audience into an almost transcendent world of sensory experience.

“I first got hooked by the sound, like the soft, appeasing sound of the rain,” says Catherine Rénier, Chief Executive Officer of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “As you get closer, the movement of the metal is mesmerizing. Each angle gives a different feeling and invites you to stop, enjoy and listen.”

In the ability to conjure romance from mundane materials and to create evocative sounds through complex systems of structure and mechanics, there are clear parallels between the work of the artist and the watchmakers of the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre. Just as the components of a watch movement seem to take on a life of their own when assembled, the industrially-produced elements that Zimoun combines into his sculptures seem to develop their own behaviour, producing new and unique sounds and visual effects.

When commissioning the new work, Jaeger-LeCoultre invited the artist to spend time in the Vallée de Joux, where he was able to absorb the valley’s natural sounds, and also spend time with the specialists who work on chiming watches within the Manufacture. The fruit of that rich exchange of culture and ideas, Zimoun’s new installation creates a unique aural signature for Jaeger-LeCoultre, evoking the sounds of nature and of the Manufacture, as well as capturing the rippling of light on the surface of the lake seen from the watchmaking ateliers.

The Story of Sound at Jaeger-LeCoultre

THE SOUND MAKER exhibition leads visitors on a journey through Jaeger-LeCoultre’s rich patrimony, celebrating the twin values of tradition and innovation that have guided it throughout its 187-year history. Featuring rare or unique timepieces curated from both historic and contemporary collections, as well as never-previously exhibited documents and artefacts, it traces the evolution of chiming watches from the Maison’s origins to the new 2020 models, and from the most refined minute repeaters and complex sonneries to the highly practical and much-loved Memovox alarm watch.

The journey begins with a retrospective of the earliest and most historically significant of the LeCoultre chiming masterworks – some of which have never been displayed to the public before; it highlights technical inventions and patents that have contributed to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s worldwide renown – and to its status as “the watchmakers’ watchmaker” among other great Maisons that it supplied with movements; it reveals the inner secrets of how chiming watches work; and it honours the skill of the artisans who employed their rare crafts to embellish the most precious timepieces.

Paying tribute to La Grande Maison’s home in the Vallée de Joux, the exhibition also features a captivating 8D video installation that immerses visitors in the natural soundscape of the valley and evokes the watchmakers’ deep connections to their peaceful surroundings.

THE SOUND MAKER exhibition will be presented from November 10^th until November 22^nd, at Guangdong Hall, Sino-Ocean Taikoo Li Chengdu, China.

In choosing to expand its creative and cultural universe through this art commission, Jaeger-LeCoultre enlarges the dialogue that exists between horology and art. In keeping with The Sound Maker theme, the Maison has chosen to collaborate with an artist whose main body of work examines and celebrates the nature of sound.

In his work, Zimoun employs simple raw materials and repurposed industrial components to create complex and evocative tapestries of sound and movement that redefine traditional ideas of sculpture, space and time. Discussing his approach, the artist explains: “I’m interested in sound as an architectonic element to create space, but also in sound which somehow inhabits a room and interacts with it. I work with three-dimensional sound structures, with spatial experiences and the exploration of sound, material and space – and perception.”

Zimoun deliberately chooses materials that are not necessarily intended just to look attractive, basing his choices on their dynamics, behaviour and resonance properties. In this sense, there are clear parallels with the way the watchmakers of Jaeger-LeCoultre work with metal, and this adds a deeper dimension to the collaboration with Zimoun. “We are delighted to work with Zimoun,” says Catherine Rénier, Chief Executive Officer of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “Like our Manufacture, he transforms raw materials with precision. His expertise and creativity with metal was a perfect fit with our artisans, who are always looking for the ideal balance between technicality and beauty.”

Like the artisans who construct chiming watch movements, Zimoun creates graceful and poetic works that combine simplicity with complexity and playfulness with elegance. In both cases, fascination lies in the immediacy of understanding the sound-making process through visible and concrete elements, while at the same time the complexity of the total system defies attempts to dissect it.

‘The Sound Maker’ Installation

“1944 prepared dc-motors, mdf panels 72 x 72 cm, metal discs Ø 8cm, 2020”

To encourage freedom of interpretation, Zimoun gives his works very technical titles that just describe the materials used – the elements that the viewer sees anyway. The work is based on small dc-motors, fine wires, MDF panels and almost 2,000 very thin metal discs. These discs are, in fact, watchmaking components obtained from the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre to serve as sound sources. Connected to the motors by wires, the discs rotate against the MDF panels in a similar way to a coin falling to the ground. This friction produces a highly complex sound structure and the movement creates a flickering surface.

The artist explains: “Since all the wires holding the metal discs are bent by hand, each is slightly different, causing the metal discs to rotate at different angles or speeds. This creates a complex individuality that affects both the visual and acoustic properties of the work. The sound becomes very complex and is in constant change in its microstructures. Similar to the sound of a river, which never sounds exactly the same again. Visually, a similar complexity arises…resulting in a kind of flickering, similar to the effect we know from water surfaces.”

In the viewer’s mind, this complex and evocative tapestry of sound and movement can be connected with natural phenomena – the sounds of nature and the reflection of sunlight on water – immersing visitors in the natural soundscape of the valley and evoking the deep connections between the watchmakers of Jaeger-LeCoultre and their surroundings.

ABOUT ZIMOUN

Zimoun (born 1977) is a Swiss self-taught artist best known for his ‘sound sculptures’, sound architectures and installation art. Exploring mechanical rhythm and flow in programmed systems, his emotionally engaging installations incorporate commonplace raw materials and industrial objects, articulating a tension between the orderly patterns of Modernism and the chaotic forces of life. In addition to being recognised by numerous residencies and grants, Zimoun’s work has been presented in exhibitions at prestigious international museums such as the Museum of Contemporary Art MAC Santiago de Chile; Nam June Paik Art Museum Seoul; Kuandu Museum Taipei; Art Museum Reina Sofia Madrid; Ringling Museum of Art Florida; Mumbai City Museum; National Art Museum Beijing; LAC Museum Lugano; Seoul Museum of Art; Museum MIS São Paulo; Muxin Art Museum Wuzhen; Kunsthalle Bern; Taipei Fine Arts Museum; Le Centquatre Paris; Museum of Contemporary Art Busan; Museum of Fine Arts MBAL; Kunstmuseum Bern; Museum Collection Lambert Avignon; among others. The artist lives and works in Bern, Switzerland.

ABOUT THE SOUND MAKER

In 2020, Jaeger-LeCoultre celebrates THE SOUND MAKER, paying homage to the sounds of nature that form a backdrop to daily life in the Vallée de Joux, and to its great legacy of chiming timepieces, expressing a century and a half of accumulated expertise in fresh new ways. During the 150 years since the Manufacture developed its first minute repeater in 1870, chiming watches have been a particular forte, with 200 calibres demonstrating its mastery of all forms, from relatively simple alarms to highly complex sonneries and repeaters. In parallel, the Manufacture’s engineers and designers have patented numerous innovations that redefine the benchmark for acoustic quality and beauty.

The long, harsh winters have contributed to the development of two sounds that are special signatures of the valley. Due to the cold, the spruce forests grow slowly here, producing a wood with exceptional resonance qualities, which has been sought after by luthiers for centuries. The icy winters meant countless hours spent indoors, allowing the valley’s early watchmakers the time needed to develop and build complicated chiming watches.

In 2020, Jaeger-LeCoultre celebrates THE SOUND MAKER, paying homage to its valley and its great legacy of chiming timepieces, expressing a century and a half of accumulated expertise in fresh new ways.

THE SOUND OF TIME

For more than 600 years, the passing hours have been marked by sound, with people all over Europe organising their daily routines according to the chimes of the turret clocks on village churches and town halls. Indeed, the word clock itself is derived from “cloche”, the Old French word for bell (which can in turn be traced back to the Latin “clocca” – the sound of a chime).

It is often said that minute repeaters – tiny versions of those historic clocks – were invented in the era before electric light so that people could tell the time in the dark. It is a charming story, if not entirely true. The real impetus for the miniaturisation of chiming timepieces came from the early watchmakers’ fervent desire to innovate, and from their wealthy clients’ wish to possess these wearable symbols of status and connoisseurship.

In this, the Manufacture’s founder Antoine LeCoultre played a key role, not just as a watchmaker, but as the inventor of machines that could measure and cut components more accurately and on a smaller scale than ever before. As a result, the Vallée de Joux became celebrated for producing both chiming watches and music boxes of ever-greater complexity, smaller size and more beautiful sound.

A DISTINGUISHED HISTORY

Considered by watchmakers to be the most challenging – and rewarding – of all horological complications to master, a minute repeater is not only a timepiece but also a miniaturised musical instrument. To make such a watch requires an ear for music as well as extreme dexterity.

Since producing its first minute repeater in 1870, Jaeger-LeCoultre has developed more than 200 chiming watch calibres, producing some 100 minute repeaters before the year 1900. It has mastered all forms, from relatively simple alarms to the most complex of all, the grand sonnerie and Westminster chimes. Until the mid-20th century, while making repeater and sonnerie watches under its own name, La Grande Maison also supplied chiming movements to many of the most exalted names in watchmaking.

Although the structure of chiming watch mechanisms has remained essentially unchanged since the early 19th century, Jaeger-LeCoultre has constantly worked to improve both the mechanical efficiency of its movements and the clarity and beauty of the sound being produced. Its early innovations included cathedral gongs (1870) and a triple-hammer mechanism (1880). In 1895, the Maison invented the silent strike governor, thus eliminating the background buzz characteristic of traditional lever type regulators. Today, versions of that invention are used in almost all chiming watches. In 1900, Jaeger-LeCoultre produced the first ultra-thin minute repeater.

In the mid 20th century, as society changed and people increasingly sought watches with practical functions – whether for urban life or sporting activity – Jaeger-LeCoultre drew on its mastery of chiming mechanisms to develop alarm watches. While the hammer-and-gong mechanism of repeater watches is also used in the Memovox calibre, the extremely rapid strikes create a continuous single-pitch buzz, rather than a delicate bell-like chime.

Introduced in 1950, the Memovox – with its characteristic “school bell” sound – has remained the reference in alarm watches for 70 years. Over time, additional, practical functions have been offered, including a world time display and a car-parking reminder, and in 1959, the Maison introduced the world’s first diving watch with an alarm. Since 2000, the Memovox has reappeared in various forms, including in a perpetual calendar watch, a Master Compressor model and a series of diving-watch tribute pieces.

MARRYING TECHNOLOGY AND TRADITION

Since the mid-1990s, when La Grande Maison revisited its noble legacy of minute repeaters, its engineers and designers have worked to redefine the benchmark for acoustic quality, harnessing technology to serve and safeguard horology’s most treasured traditions.

Capitalising on the superior sound transmission qualities of synthetic sapphire crystal, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s patented ‘crystal gongs’ (introduced in 2005) are soldered directly to the dial crystal of the watch. The square-profile gongs introduced two years later provide a flat striking surface for the hammers, ensuring that the strikes are more consistent and more powerful. The articulated trebuchet hammers (introduced in 2009) use a similar mechanical principle to the medieval counterweight catapults that they are named after, to improve the speed and force of the hammer strike. A silent-interval reduction function, introduced in 2014’s Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon, 11^th opus of the Hybris Mechanica Collection, ensures that even when the quarter-hours are not struck, there is no time delay corresponding to those missing quarters before the minutes are struck.

In 2019, in Calibre 950, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced a new ‘duplex’ gong design. Rather than lying in flat coils, the gongs make a circle before bending upwards 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.

While constantly working to improve the mechanics of the strike-works, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s engineers have also met the challenge of combining repeaters with other complications, most recently uniting a perpetual calendar, the multi-axis Gyrotourbillon and a Westminster chiming mechanism (Calibre 184); combining a perpetual calendar with the new “duplex” gong system and automatic winding (Calibre 950); and bringing together a sidereal calendar and orbital flying tourbillon in this year’s new-generation Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication, (Calibre 945).

For 150 years, chiming watches have been a particular forte of Jaeger-LeCoultre, complementing its expertise in the other classic complications. This year, the new generation of striking watches takes the spotlight, honouring the Manufacture’s great patrimony, while reaffirming the spirit of innovation that has always driven La Grande Maison.