At the heart of global Haute Horlogerie — Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux — one architectural form is familiar to virtually everyone: the “watchmaking farmhouse” (fermes horlogères). From the mid-18th century onwards, these buildings, distinguished by their steep triangular roofs, served simultaneously as homes, livestock shelters and watchmaking workshops. In many ways, the rise of Haute Horlogerie in the Vallée de Joux began in these workshops scattered like stars across the valley.
This September, Swiss Haute Horlogerie Maison Jaeger-LeCoultre brought the workshop where its story first began to Zhangyuan in Shanghai, presenting its “Valley of Inventions” limited-time themed space.
Above: Jaeger-LeCoultre’s “Valley of Inventions” limited-time themed space, open until September 23
Over the past two years, Jaeger-LeCoultre has already staged two major autumn exhibitions, offering Chinese audiences an accessible yet in-depth introduction to the complexity of Haute Horlogerie. In September 2024, the almost academic in scope “The Precision Pioneer” exhibition gave many Chinese visitors their first real understanding of the intricate craftsmanship behind the precision mechanics of fine watchmaking. In September 2025, “The Dream Shaper” focused on “the influence of women on the development of Haute Horlogerie”, further broadening audiences’ understanding of Jaeger-LeCoultre from another dimension.
This September, Jaeger-LeCoultre has taken the theme a step further, turning its attention to the “backstage” behind sophisticated mechanics and watchmaking masterpieces – the Vallée de Joux in Switzerland, birthplace of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture. Nearly two centuries ago, the Manufacture was born from the patience and resilience of the watchmakers of the Vallée de Joux, and this steadfast commitment to enduring values has been carried forward to the present day.
Against the backdrop of mounting pressure across the luxury industry, Jaeger-LeCoultre has maintained a steady presence through “three exhibitions in three years”, methodically establishing a “China rhythm” of its own and allowing the essence of Swiss Haute Horlogerie culture to take root progressively among Chinese audiences.
Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux: The Origin of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Technical DNA
Serene and secluded, the Vallée de Joux lies in western Switzerland and is today renowned worldwide as a “centre of Haute Horlogerie”. Five hundred years ago, however, it was still a remote and forbidding wilderness. In the 16th century, a group of French Protestants sought refuge there from persecution, becoming the area’s first settlers. Among them was Pierre LeCoultre, an ancestor of the founder of Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Situated at an altitude of more than 1,000 metres, the Vallée de Joux is exceptionally cold, with farming impossible for long periods of the year. This harsh natural environment forged both the resilience and the instinct for innovation of its inhabitants. To make a living, they turned to metallurgy and metalworking, gradually developing a new craft during the 17th century — Haute Horlogerie. From then on, valley residents began specialising in the production of individual types of components, such as gears, springs and bearings, within their own “watchmaking farmhouses”.
Above: Jaeger-LeCoultre’s workshop in 1833
In 1833, Jaeger-LeCoultre founder Antoine LeCoultre established his own watchmaking workshop. Several decades later, he pioneered a break from the fragmented structure of the Vallée de Joux watchmaking industry, bringing artisans skilled in different disciplines together under one roof and integrating and optimising the Haute Horlogerie production process. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture was born, becoming the first large-scale watchmaking manufacture in the Vallée de Joux. Some 193 years later, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s global headquarters still stands on the same site.
As visitors enter the exhibition space at Zhangyuan in Shanghai, surrounded by an immersive landscape of ice and snow, the story of the “Vallée de Joux” gradually unfolds. Immersive visual technology, live demonstrations by Swiss master watchmakers, and masterpieces from across the Maison’s history come together to illustrate, in three dimensions, how Jaeger-LeCoultre’s watchmaking expertise has been passed down over nearly two centuries, generation after generation.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Global CEO Jérôme Lambert once described the significance of the “Vallée de Joux” to the Maison in these terms: “Geography plays a decisive role. The winters are long and severe, yet the light during those cold months is exceptional. It was precisely this unique combination – geographical isolation, scarcity of raw materials and the availability of labour – that fostered the development of watchmaking, particularly high complications, in the Vallée de Joux. External conditions have changed today, but the methods of watchmaking and the region’s specialist expertise remain deeply rooted in this heritage.”
Tracing the Origins of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Relentless Pursuit of Excellence Through One Exhibition
Over nearly two centuries of development, Jaeger-LeCoultre has created more than 1,400 calibres and secured over 430 patents, while introducing numerous pioneering masterpieces of Haute Horlogerie, earning the distinctive industry accolade “The Watchmaker of Watchmakers”.
So how has Jaeger-LeCoultre accumulated such a rich legacy of innovation? At this exhibition in Zhangyuan, Luxe.CO gained a strong sense that two particularly distinctive elements of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s DNA have served as important sources of the Maison’s continuous innovation and its ability to carry forward the spirit of Haute Horlogerie.
1. Jaeger-LeCoultre founder and inventor Antoine LeCoultre laid the foundations for the Maison’s culture of innovation
A craftsman must first sharpen his tools if he is to do his work well. In the world of Haute Horlogerie, where precision is measured in fractions of a millimetre, many milestone precision instruments were invented by Jaeger-LeCoultre founder Antoine LeCoultre himself, including a pinion-cutting machine, a micrometre and an oscillating winding mechanism. These tangible upstream innovations enabled components to be measured and cut with unprecedented precision, playing a crucial role in advancing the global Haute Horlogerie industry.
This command of “relentless refinement” in fine watchmaking has become deeply embedded in the Maison’s DNA. It is reflected not only in craftsmanship, but also directly in its products and testing standards. One of the key exhibits at the exhibition, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Chronometre collection launched in April 2026 (hereafter referred to as the MCC collection), is a direct expression of this philosophy.
Above: Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Chronometre Perpetual Calendar in stainless steel
Created in pursuit of the “ideal modern watch”, the MCC collection brings together exceptional performance, aesthetically pleasing design and ergonomic comfort. The collection has passed two stringent forms of certification: official Swiss chronometer certification and Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new “HPG” High Precision Guarantee introduced in 2026, making it one of the benchmark watch collections of the year.
Chronometer certification refers to certification issued by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute, or COSC, and is regarded as an industry benchmark for measuring the accuracy of a watch’s timekeeping. As early as the 19th century, Jaeger-LeCoultre was already producing chronometer-certified timepieces for scientists and explorers operating in extreme environments. The new Master Control Chronometre watches represent the latest continuation of this lineage.
At the same time, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new “HPG” (High Precision Guarantee) certification introduced this year takes the MCC collection’s precision credentials a step further. In everyday life, external physical conditions such as temperature and position continuously affect a watch’s timekeeping accuracy. The “HPG” High Precision Guarantee condenses a full seven days of real-world wear into three days of intensive testing, cycling through four dimensions: altitude, temperature, position, and multidirectional shocks to recreate a full week of actual wearing conditions and ensure that the watch remains stable and reliable even after being subjected to demanding real-world environments.
2. The significance of the “Manufacture”: Using collective intelligence to systematically push the boundaries of Haute Horlogerie
Before Jaeger-LeCoultre was established, watchmakers worked independently in separate workshops, making it difficult to manage the different stages of Haute Horlogerie production in a unified way. By bringing artisans together under the roof of the “Manufacture”, Antoine LeCoultre was not simply seeking to improve efficiency, but also to accelerate innovation in Haute Horlogerie through collective intelligence.
Today, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture encompasses 82 workshops, 108 crafts and 235 specialist skills, including 69 signature traditional crafts. This structural foundation of collaboration enables Jaeger-LeCoultre to overcome technical challenges and continuously push the boundaries of Haute Horlogerie. This is especially evident in the Maison’s ability to coordinate and integrate multiple watch complications.
Within the confined dimensions of a wristwatch, many complications increase energy consumption and can potentially affect timekeeping accuracy. This is particularly true of minute repeaters, which require a substantial amount of instantaneous power and have long represented one of the industry’s major technical challenges. Over several decades, engineers at the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture developed a range of solutions, culminating in the introduction of the Duomètre Dual-Wing system in 2007, which provides separate, parallel energy sources for timekeeping and complications.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Duomètre Grande Complication à Grande Sonnerie presented at this exhibition incorporates the Duomètre Dual-Wing system and the upgraded Calibre 182, achieving further advances in both precision and ultra-thin construction. Its openworked, ring-shaped dial reveals the movement in full, creating a sense of transparency and visual lightness.
From relentless refinement of upstream craftsmanship to an extraordinary breadth of watchmaking masterpieces, the exhibition offers a panoramic view of both the breadth of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s craftsmanship and the depth of its innovative heritage. Such technical barriers cannot be built overnight. They are the result of a systematic foundation that has been passed down from generation to generation and strengthened over time.
Beyond the static displays, the exhibition also features live demonstrations, with Jaeger-LeCoultre master artisans presenting four Haute Horlogerie skills on site. Their remarkable craftsmanship, performed within the smallest of spaces, proved captivating, with many visitors instinctively stepping closer to learn and experience the fascination of Haute Horlogerie for themselves.
Three Exhibitions in Three Years: Sustained, Steady Investment in China
From 2024 to 2026, Jaeger-LeCoultre has staged a major exhibition in China at the beginning of autumn for three consecutive years, creating a rhythm that the industry has come to anticipate. Behind this is undoubtedly a significant level of investment, meticulous planning, and unwavering determination in execution. In Luxe.CO’s view, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s measured cadence of “three exhibitions in three years” reveals three deeper strategic considerations.
1. The exhibition format is especially valuable, while the depth of the Maison’s brand assets underpins “three exhibitions in three years”
Fine watchmaking brands are inherently complex and cannot be fully understood at a glance. They require repeated communication with the public from multiple perspectives. Over the past two years, meanwhile, the rise of AI and short-form video on social media has made online content increasingly crowded and noisy. In contrast, more and more people have begun to cherish authentic, meaningful offline experiences between people, and between people and objects. Jaeger-LeCoultre has precisely chosen the “exhibition,” an immersive, multidimensional form of offline interaction, as an important way of communicating with the Chinese market.
In 2024, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s first major exhibition centred on the craftsmanship of Haute Horlogerie, establishing a foundation of understanding. In 2025, an exhibition themed around women’s watches created an emotional connection. This year, by tracing the Maison back to its place of origin, the exhibition approaches the subject from a more culturally resonant perspective, gradually revealing the origins of the innovative spirit and precision craftsmanship of Haute Horlogerie. “Three years, three exhibitions, three perspectives”, with each edition building progressively in both breadth and depth. This reflects Jaeger-LeCoultre’s sincerity towards consumers while also demonstrating its sense of responsibility as “The Watchmaker of Watchmakers”.
What supports this steady rhythm is the depth of the Maison’s accumulated brand assets. Nearly two centuries of history in the Vallée de Joux have not only instilled in Jaeger-LeCoultre a spirit of persistent innovation in the face of demanding conditions, but also provided an inexhaustible wealth of stories. This allows the Maison to advance its exhibition strategy with confidence — sustaining an ongoing dialogue with the market while avoiding thematic repetition, and guiding audiences step by step into the rich world of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s nearly 200-year history through content that is vivid, wide-ranging, and deeply explored.
2. Reaching a new generation of consumers through high-quality educational content
Fine watchmaking brands have long faced a challenge: how to preserve professional depth and reinforce engagement with seasoned collectors while bringing the craftsmanship of Haute Horlogerie to a broader audience. Over the past two years, mounting pressure across China’s luxury industry has made this question even more pressing.
Jaeger-LeCoultre CEO Jérôme Lambert believes that the new generation’s understanding of Haute Horlogerie is undergoing “a very positive change”. He noted that “Today, through social media and digital platforms, people can access our products, our history and the knowledge behind them directly. They visit the Manufacture and ask new questions. This represents a tremendous opportunity for us and for the industry as a whole.”
It is therefore clear that watchmaking knowledge and high-quality content can serve as a bridge to a new generation of consumers. Jaeger-LeCoultre, with its deep-rooted culture of innovation, long history and exceptional portfolio of creations, possesses a vivid and complete narrative system that naturally inspires curiosity and responds to audiences’ enthusiasm for exploring fine watchmaking.
Lambert has previously emphasised that “revealing what makes a Maison extraordinary and exceptional” is an important task. In China’s highly competitive market, Jaeger-LeCoultre has used “three exhibitions in three years” to translate top-down brand strategy into tangible and forceful action at the local-market level.
3. Three exhibitions in three years, underscoring a firm commitment to China
For three consecutive years, Jaeger-LeCoultre has created themed exhibitions specifically for the Chinese market, establishing a stable annual rhythm. Such careful planning and substantial investment dedicated to a single market are relatively rare within the global fine watchmaking industry. Behind this undoubtedly lies top-down support from the Maison’s headquarters and a long-term strategic perspective.
Against the broader backdrop of pressure across the global luxury industry, this programme of market activity sends a proactive signal: while many brands have chosen to scale back or adopt a wait-and-see approach, Jaeger-LeCoultre has continued to invest through the assured rhythm of “three exhibitions in three years”, cultivating its consumer base and demonstrating sustained confidence in the Chinese market.
This willingness to invest against the cycle is consistent with the long-term mindset that Vallée de Joux watchmakers have upheld for nearly two centuries: remaining undistracted by external fluctuations, doing what is difficult but right, and building momentum for the Maison’s long-term development in the Chinese market.
| Image Credit: Courtesy of the brand
| Editor: Luxeplace
