Jaeger-LeCoultre Presents Its New High Jewellery 101 Secrets Watch
Luxferity, 09.09.2024
With a new interpretation of the High Jewellery 101 Secrets watch in Platinum 950, Jaeger-LeCoultre continues to enrich the Calibre 101 collection. First presented in 2023 in diamond-set pink gold 750/1000 (18 karats), the 101 Secrets timepiece required hundreds of hours of research to create an entirely new design.
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Inspired by Miniaturisation and Precision
With technique at the service of design, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s in-house designers, watchmakers, engineers and craftsmen work together, continually developing the technical and aesthetic values of the Maison, with precision as the guiding force: precision in the design and production of the components of a timepiece, but also in the art of timekeeping itself. The ultimate objective of watchmaking – precision – is of fundamental importance to Jaeger-LeCoultre, which makes it a focal theme in 2024. With this focus, La Grande Maison continues in the footsteps of founder Antoine LeCoultre who, from his first workshop in 1833 in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux, built his own tools to develop the smallest components in order to produce the most precise and accurate calibres. Nearly 100 years later, this quest for miniaturisation was taken to the extreme when Calibre 101 was developed in 1929.
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101 Possibilities. 101 Secrets.
The smallest manually-wound mechanical watch movement in the world, Calibre 101 has sparked the imaginations of many designers since 1929. Both decorative and useful, this object of beauty has been developed over the decades into countless creations crafted from noble metals, often decorated with precious gems and accompanied by a fascinating array of straps and bracelets.
When Calibre 101 was created, jewellery and cocktail watches worn by women of high society were more often considered fashion accessories than time-telling objects. This corresponded to the notion that ladies of the social elite led leisurely lives and did not need constant reference to the passing of time. The ultimate discretion was the secret watch, which evolved from 19th century pocket watches featuring hinged covers that closed over the dial – originally designed to protect the glass, not conceal the time.
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With 101 Secrets, Jaeger-LeCoultre takes a step further, with not one, but two secrets hidden within the watch – the first is the dial itself, which must be revealed to see the time, and the second is the mechanism that activates the dial cover.
A marriage of rare crafts and high technology
The development of the 101 Secrets watch required hundreds of hours of research and 15 different areas of expertise, combining traditional techniques and new technologies, to perfect the design of the case, the opening and closing mechanisms, the precisely articulated bracelet and the positioning of the gemstones.
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With the implementation of microtechnology, specialists in CAD and 3D printing developed prototypes following discussions with designers, watchmakers and specialised craftsmen – essential steps to ensure the precision of all components before proceeding to final production.
Designing the secret elements of the watch added to the challenge. The secret mechanism that reveals the dial had to be so tiny that it could be completely hidden within the rows of diamonds – its position known only to the wearer and activated by a diamond ‘button’. When the diamond is held down, a small section of the bracelet pops open like the pages of a book, to reveal the time. Once the button is released, the dial disappears again into the flow of diamonds. A tiny, hidden mechanism also had to be developed for the clasp that fastens the bracelet to the wrist.
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The manually-wound movement, Calibre 101, is also a remarkable feat of miniaturisation and precision. With 98 components, the entire movement measures just 14 mm x 4.8 mm with a thickness of 3.4 mm and weighs just one gram. Despite its minuscule size, it provides a power reserve of 33 hours. It requires 40 hours to hand-assemble the miniature movement, a specialised skill that very few watchmakers have mastered.
The new 101 Secrets watch in platinum
Platinum is twice as hard as gold, and consequently much harder to craft into the desired case and bracelet shapes – and much more difficult to set with gemstones. However, the whiteness of platinum lights up the diamonds more than ever, creating a scintillating show as the light catches the watch from every angle. Defined by four rows of diamonds, 101 Secrets forms an unbroken river of light and sparkle that flows around the wrist, giving no hint of the timepiece concealed within it.
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The bracelet is set with 1,028 diamonds (26.21 Carats), each stone precisely positioned using two different setting techniques: a double row of grain-set diamonds edged with two outer rows of griffe-set diamonds. With 182 hours required for gem-setting, this timepiece is a true testament to the savoir-faire housed in the Métiers Rares™ atelier of La Grande Maison. The larger, griffe-set diamonds are almost imperceptibly graduated in size and set in perfect symmetry, while the inner rows of grain-set diamonds provide a visual anchorage for the larger stones, emphasising the Art Deco-inspired geometry of the design.
Continuing the story of the remarkable Calibre 101, the 101 Secrets watch in platinum showcases Jaeger-LeCoultre’s exceptional expertise in miniature watchmaking, as well as the skills of the Maison’s gem-setters. With designers, watchmakers and jewellers all working together under one roof at the Manufacture in Le Sentier, La Grande Maison represents a unique combination of technical sophistication and creative imagination.
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TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
- 101 SECRETS – PLATINUM
Material: Platinum 950
Diameter: 29.07 x 12.22 mm
Thickness: 9.88 mm
Movement: Manually-wound, Calibre 101/5
Power Reserve: 33 hours
Functions: Hours, minutes
Dial: Mother-of-pearl
Bracelet: set with brilliant-cut diamonds; wrist size 160 mm
Stones: 1,028 brilliant-cut diamonds – 26.21 Carats
Reference: Q2873220
Production: Limited production, on demand
