The watchmaking industry excels at wowing existing devotees with gadgetry, craftsmanship and technical innovation. New releases are unveiled to impassioned collectors at fairs like the Geneva Watch Days or Baselworld, covered in niche publications and more recently, discussed by cash-flush fans in online forums.
Swiss brand Jaeger-Lecoultre’s CEO Catherine Rénier is hoping a program of collaborations with creators across disciplines can extend the watchmaker’s reach beyond those bubbles, all while keeping the brand’s message focused on craftsmanship and technical innovation.
The brand, founded in 1833, has recently commissioned installations by the artists Guillaume Marmin, Zimoun and Michael Murphy, as well as launching launched pop-up cafés in Paris and Hong Kong in partnership with buzzy pastry chef Nina Métayer and bartender Matthias Giroud.
Jaeger-Lecoultre now says it is formalising its collaboration strategy as a new program called “Made of Makers” and aims to make the partnerships a central pillar of the brand. The projects aim to grow Jaeger’s audience by tapping into other creative communities, as well as using creators’ voices to make the industry’s technical components interesting for non-connoisseurs.
“It’s a way to open that door for a public that is not into watchmaking,” Rénier said. “We are in a world that’s very competitive. It’s about finding our voice.”
On Oct. 14 the brand is set to release its latest project—a collaboration with graphic artist and typographer Alex Trochut, who designed a special alphabet which the brand will offer as an option for engraving on its customisable Reverso watches. In December, artist Murphy’s “Spacetime” installation depicting a giant deconstructed watch will be shown as part of a brand exhibit in London’s Covent Garden, following stops in Paris and Shanghai.
Another recent move aimed at growing interest in the brand’s craftsmanship has included opening its renovated headquarters in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux for tours and even organising watchmaking workshops.
The moves come as Jaeger-Lecoultre and its parent company Richemont seek to maintain sales momentum amid a darkening economic outlook. After years of sluggish sales in its watchmaking division — with a slowdown in the Chinese market prompting a painful process of inventory buybacks, cost-cutting and trimming distribution — revenues jumped 49 percent in the fiscal year ending Mar. 31.
While Richemont doesn’t report sales for individual brands, Jaeger-Lecoultre’s revenues are expected to grow nearly 10 percent year-on-year to around €700 million in 2022, according to Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy.
Still, while Richemont’s watch houses are enjoying good momentum “there’s a strong pressure to accelerate,” Bertschy said. “A lot of luxury brands are currently surfing the wave of good times, but just a few are actually growing their share of the market.”
For luxury watch giants like Audemars-Piguet, Patek Philippe and Rolex, the number of new buyers have far outpaced production since the pandemic, with the resulting supply crunch pushing second-hand prices to unprecedented heights. Declining prices in recent months for some sought-after models have sparked concerns of falling demand in the sector.
It’s a concern Rénier brushed off. “Second-hand volatility is a reflection of a different market, one that’s more about speculation,” she said. “We’re very, very confident on the demand.”
While Jaeger-Lecoultre is seeking to diversify its marketing mix, the brand is still leaning on traditional tools: last month, it signed its latest Hollywood ambassador, “The Queen’s Gambit” actress Anya Taylor-Joy.
And it still plans to save its most exciting innovations for the big watch fairs. Collectors were wowed this year by its entry called “Dazzling Star” at Geneva’s Watches and Wonders event. The timepiece featured a shooting star complication, designed to mimic meteors’ random timing by going off unexpectedly — an improbable feat of engineering in a sector whose raison d’etre is precise predictability.
“Digital tools just don’t bring the same emotion,” Rénier said.
