In celebration of the brand’s 190th birthday, Jaeger-LeCoultre is launching The Collectibles. The first step of the rollout of this new initiative will be the release of a book. The printed brand vintage bible, The Collectibles, chronicles the key moments in the brand’s history as well as giving an official insight into the most important models in JLC’s back catalogue. The book will feature some incredible watches with in-depth analysis written by in-house experts. Following the launch of the book, the watches featured therein will become available on Jaeger-LeCoultre’s official website www.jaeger-lecoultre.com and will be displayed in the brand’s Geneva boutique for a time.

For a lot of people, Jaeger-LeCoutre is most closely associated with the iconic Reverso. The watch is forever partnered with the sport polo, a perilous ball game that dates back to 600 BC. It’s a refined and exclusive sport for the most part and is known as the ‘sport of kings’, however, swinging mallets and rocketing balls made wearing a watch a dicey choice and so Jaeger LeCoultre developed a watch with a mid-case that could be turned over, whilst still being worn, to protect the crystal. The Reverso was soon not only worn by polo players but was adopted by tastemakers and the stylish elite. However, what the brand refers to as the ‘golden age’ of watchmaking between 1925 and 1974 spawned many models, 17 of which are celebrated in the new book.

Now, it’s not unusual for books to be published with grand promises of offering the definitive history of a brand or its models in our horological world. Often, however, these tomes are not officially supported or even sanctioned by the brands and rely on collector-gleaned knowledge and information. That Jaeger-LeCoultre are publishing this book is a testament to its commitment to offer an extra service to its customers. The initial watches feature in the book will all be for sale and then the plan is for The Collectibles programme to be a rolling offer for customers. So, what can a customer buying a watch from JLC’s certified pre-owned service expect? Weel, it’s actually pretty impressive! Every Collectibles timepiece is presented with an extract from the Jaeger-LeCoultre archives, a new watch strap and box, a two-year warranty, and a complimentary copy of The Collectibles book. In addition, when available, the original box and papers, and original strap or bracelet will be included.