September 2014 W with Index of All In-Depth Articles Published Online

7 WEB & IPAD SPECIAL WATCH AFICIONADO JAEGER-LECOULTRE When “exceSS” IS IN FACT A MATTER OF DUE MEASURE MECHANICAL: BACK TO SIMPLICITY www.watch-aficionado.com WATCH BUSINESS Paper – USA & Canada – VOL.50 N°4 AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2014 WITH INDEX OF ALL IN-DEPTH ARTICLES PUBLISHED ONLINE EDItoRIAL www.watch-aficionado.com MECHANICAL INTELLIGENCE uPierre M. Maillard converts it already has, all those ultra-con- Editor-in-chief nected acolytes who will no doubt bow to its Europa Star greatness and immediately clasp one of its bruited bracelets around their wrists? Or will it also target the disciples of Haute Horlogerie An interesting article that ap- – a wealthier, more cultivated audience more peared recently in The Economist sensitive to traditional luxury? A (“The high-tech world of old- Although some watchmakers dismiss out of world watches”) offered a different take on hand any risk of being swallowed up by the the implications of the approaching tidal technology monster, and others already fear wave of smart watches. The premise of the for their lives, the true outcome will probably HYBRIS MECHANICA 11 – MaSTER ULTRA THIN MINUTE REPEATER article is that there is a great deal more in- lie somewhere between the two. Just as the FLYING TOURBILLON by Jaeger-LeCoultre novation in the art of mechanical watchma- invention of photography did not kill pain- A 41 mm white gold watch with a thickness of 7.9 mm equipped with a Calibre 362 automatic movement with a power reserve of 45 hours. Hours, minutes, minute repeater and king than in supposedly “smart” watches. ting, but transformed it utterly by liberating tourbillon functions, silver grained dial, alligator leather strap, water-resistant to 30 metres. According to The Economist, smart watches it from the shackles of realistic reproduction, www.jaeger-lecoultre.com are no more than a new way of presenting so the arrival of the smart watch, whatever EDITORIAL and adapting existing functions and appli- happens, will undoubtedly transform the art Mechanical Intelligence cations in “a mash-up of phone, activity- and technique of watchmaking. COVER STORY tracker and music-player.” And despite the One positive from The Economist’s article is Jaeger-LeCoultre – When “excess” is in fact a matter of due measure fact that almost two million were sold last that it shows that in the coming hi-tech battle MECHANICAL year, Endeavour Partners in the USA found Swiss watchmaking is not without weapons, Simplicity is a complex business! that one-third of buyers tire of them rapi- and possesses the financial, human and Simply Talking Complications with Ludwig Oechslin dly, and simply stop wearing them within technical resources to meet the new chal- Simply Talking Complications with Stephen Forsey six months. lenges. But in order to meet them in the best Movements: Who will succeed ETA? The Economist takes the contrary view that and smartest way possible, it must avoid Are In-House movements Important? true innovation is to be found in good old- seeking refuge in denial, as it did during Unlocking Alternative Escapements Entry-Level Mechanicals fashioned mechanical watchmaking, stimu- the famous quartz crisis, which came close WORLDWATCHWEB lated by the “vast profits still made in and to sinking the entire industry. Arrogance is What is driving Online Interest for the Luxury Watch around Switzerland’s ‘watch valley’,” and a poor counsellor. Nevertheless, the idea Industry’s “High Range” Brands? by the “unexpected uses of untraditional that everyone and everything should be BRANDS materials, that may in time transform the constantly connected (because in addition A Courageous Trio industry.” to smart watches we should expect to see Straight talk with Gucci’s Patrizio Di Marco In support of its thesis, The Economist fre- smart refrigerators, smart cars, smart baby’s LETTER FROM CHINA quently points to Swatch’s Sistem51 as re- bottles, etc.) will eventually be undone by 25th Shenzen watch and clock fair – Je t’aime, moi non plus presenting a major breakthrough (see our its own ubiquity. Not everyone wants to be LETTER FROM USA discussion of mechanical simplification in permanently plugged in, and the number The recovery is coming, but it’s not here yet this issue). Above all, however, it enthuses who do is probably diminishing. One of the RETAILER PROFILE about the revolutionary use of silicon, ci- virtues of traditional watchmaking is the Tourneau – Ira Melnitsky ting Girard-Perregaux’ constant force esca- mechanical poetry that connects us not to SERVICE PLEASE pement as an example. the internet but to the cosmos, to the myste- Service Experiences: Where the rubber meets the road at the retail level – Part 2 That must all be very reassuring to our watch- ries of time and beauty. And therein perhaps p LAKIN@LARGE makers, surely? lies its greatest strength. Quelle surprise: a freebie! Not really. The new Messiah whose coming SPOTLIGHT is most anxiously awaited bears the name The World’s first hybrid time-keeping system by Casio of Apple. Will the California-based giant be content only to address the many loyal Read all articles on www.watch-aficionado.com COVER STORY JAEGER-LECOULTRE – WHEN “excess” IS IN FACT A MATTER OF DUE MEASURE HYBRIS MECHANICA 11 – MaSTER ULTRA THIN MINUTE REPEATER FLYING TOURBILLON For the Ancient Greeks, hybris (also referred to as hubris) was a flaw. It was a sign of immoderation, of excess, of the pride of Man in defying the Gods. By regrouping its most striking mechanical accomplishments under the provocative name of Hybris Mechanica, is Jaeger-LeCoultre displaying immoderation, excess and pride? While one might be tempted to suspect as much, the Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon, the 11th creation to take its place in this highly exclusive family of Hybris Mechanica is there to prove the exact opposite. Because sometimes “excess” is in fact an absolute quest for “due measure”. Such is indeed the case here, as we will attempt to demonstrate. Everything about this exceptional timepiece converges towards E a central goal: that of expressing outstanding mechanical complexity in a su- premely simple, pared-down and slender form – the aim being to open up a new era for Grande cially for a Grande Complication watch, implies thinnest in the world. This was to be the start- Complication models: one of exceptional slim- overcoming a whole series of obstacles relating point in the epic pursuit of slenderness; the ness and finesse. Beneath the pure, uncluttered ing both to technical horological factors and first in a long series of ultra-thin movements face of the Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater to the art of creating a perfect exterior. One that would make their mark on the history of Flying Tourbillon, and between its taut, slim hundred years of practice in the field of ultra- Jaeger-LeCoultre and that of the watch indus- shapes, beats a masterful automatic movement thin watches are none too many to succeed in try as a whole. It is well worth highlighting the measuring just 4.8 mm thick and which fully overcoming all the difficulties implied in such very first movements that began this proud lives up to its ultra-thin epithet and combines a process. lineage: LeCoultre Calibre 136 with minute a flying tourbillon with a minute repeater. With repeater (1907); Lecoultre Calibre 6EB, the a total thickness of just 7.9 mm including the THE longstanding first ultra-thin rectangular movement; as well watch glass, the Ultra Thin Minute Repeater QUEST FOR SLENDERNESS as LeCoultre Calibre 11CCVEP, an astonishing Flying Tourbillon is indeed the thinnest minute The story of this quest for slenderness began ultra-thin chronograph (1908). repeater in its category. in Paris in 1907. Two men – Edmond Jaeger, Throughout its history, the Manufacture Jaeger- However, accomplishing this, heralding a new a Parisian entrepreneur; and Jacques-David LeCoultre has relentlessly pursued this horo- chapter in the grand saga of mechanical horol- LeCoultre, a watchmaker from the Vallée de logical quest that is undoubtedly one of the ogy – the era of ultra-thin Grande Complication Joux – had just created a “knife-shaped” pocket most fundamental in this discipline – since models – and achieving such excellent “due watch housing LeCoultre Calibre 135 measur- anyone dealing with thinness must also ad- measure” called for the hybris of an extremely ing just 1.38 mm thin. This absolute record in dress another vital horological principle: that long history. A history marked by the progres- its era was Jacques-David LeCoultre’s horolog- of reliability. Case and movement, functions sive accumulation of skills and knowledge ical response to the challenge set by Edmond and functionality, construction and the watch through a steady stream of inventions and in- Jaeger four years earlier: to create the thinnest exterior thereby all stem from the same con- novations. The objective of slenderness, espe- and most reliable possible watch – in fact the struction intent. WATCH AFICIONADO | 3 COVER STORY In a traditional tourbillon, the balance wheel is THE SCIENTIFIC QUEST FOR held inside a carriage supported by an upper THE BEST POSSIBLE SOUND bridge; whereas this brand-new flying tourbil- This retractable pushbutton winds a minute lon entirely does away with any upper bridge. repeater that is also a concentrated blend of The carriage has apparently vanished, reduced innovations relating to the power of the sound to an absolute minimum and positioned at the emitted, to its quality, a s well as to the rhyth- back of the balance wheel, which therefore ap- mical simplification of the sound sequences. pears to by “flying” through space in solitary A traditional minute repeater sounds the hours, splendour. This unusual architecture provides quarters and minutes in that order.

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