2023-09-13 22:04:11
Jaeger-LeCoultre unveils three new jewelry watches powered by the famous Caliber 101 and illuminated by a splendid setting
With their assertive femininity, they embody the infinite creative freedom offered by the marriage between mechanical sophistication and High Jewelry.
In this trio of jewelry watches, the 101 Secrets with its unique design set with diamonds (approximately 27 carats) is the most precious piece ever created by Jaeger-LeCoultre with the Caliber 101. Elegant and mysterious, it integrates into its river of diamonds a secret dial, which can be revealed at any time thanks to a hidden micro-mechanism.
First launched in 2020, the 101 Bangle is now reinterpreted in two unique creations: one in pink gold with a red lacquered dial and illuminated with diamonds, the other in white gold with a snow white lacquered dial and enhanced with sapphires and diamonds.
Since its creation in 1929, Caliber 101 has powered the Grande Maison’s jewelry watches. A true revolution in the design of feminine models, its tiny size and baguette format have opened a new aesthetic playground with infinite freedom for designers. To this day, this miniature hand-wound mechanical caliber remains the smallest in the world in its category, its weight not exceeding one gram. It is these exceptional characteristics that make it one of the oldest movements still produced by Jaeger-LeCoultre.
101 Secrets © Jaeger-LeCoultre
101 Secrets, a new design with a touch of Art Deco style
The 101 Secrets casts a stream of sparkling lights on the wrist: two rows of claw-set diamonds border a double row of grain-set diamonds. It’s impossible to guess at a glance that it contains a watch.
The history of secret watches dates back to the 19th century. Worn by both men and women, pocket watches of this era were closed with hinged lids. Although their main function was to protect the glass from scratches, they were also often richly decorated with enamel and precious stones. At the beginning of the 20th century, women began to wear wristwatches, although the belief persisted that a lady did not need to have the time constantly displayed on her wrist. Heirs to these models, today’s secret watches constitute a field of creative exploration, where jewelry and watchmaking intertwine to create pieces that are as exceptional as they are functional.
If the name of this new secret watch is in the plural, it is because the 101 Secrets hides more than one mystery. Starting with its dual identity, both watch and jewelry, which it only reveals when the wearer displays the dial to read the time. Another enchantment, the piece houses a new mechanism, hidden behind the rows of diamonds. A mechanical feat on a miniature scale of such finesse that it becomes almost invisible: its position is thus known only to its owner. A simple press of the hidden “button” opens a window on the bracelet, which reveals the time on the delicate mother-of-pearl dial. As soon as the button is released, the dial disappears and the bracelet once again becomes a river of diamonds around the wrist.
Of the four rows of diamonds, the two lining the bracelet have been made in a claw setting, a traditional technique which involves setting the stones above the surface of the gold. Thus, they capture the light from all possible angles and fascinate with their hypnotic spectacle. Although the effect is almost imperceptible to the naked eye, the largest diamonds form a perfectly symmetrical gradient in size, testimony to the know-how of the gold-fingered setters. By their contrast with the outer rows, the two central rows of diamonds bring volume to the watch and illuminate the whole. With the diamonds surrounding the dial (when revealed), they form a geometric picture undeniably inspired by the Art Deco style. To give even more sparkle to the creation, the profiles of the bracelet are also set with diamonds.
With its 1,024 diamonds (or 26.75 carats), the 101 Secrets represents 182 hours of meticulous setting, entirely carried out in the Jaeger-LeCoultre Métiers Rares™ workshop.
101 Bangle (White Gold) © Jaeger-LeCoultre
101 Bangle, two unique reinterpretations marked by the introduction of color
For the 101 Bangle, which saw the light of day in 2020, the Jaeger-LeCoultre designers were inspired by the assertive straight lines and slender curves of the Art Deco style and modernism. Illuminated with nearly 1,000 precious stones, the bracelet fits easily on the wrist, despite the apparent absence of a closure. Behind this feat lies an ingenious, extremely discreet closing system, which opens and closes with a simple gesture.
In 2023, color comes to the 101 Bangle, redesigned into two new creations which each impose their own signature: one on a rose gold bracelet, the other on a white gold bracelet. On the first, the red lacquered dial marks a bold contrast with the white diamonds, while enhancing the warmth of the pink gold. Assembled in order of size to form a gradient, the 996 diamonds (19.7 carats) reinforce the striking relief of the watch, while the setting techniques used (claw and grain) accentuate the play of light of the precious stones. To enhance its shine, the profile of the bracelet is also set with diamonds.
In its second reinterpretation, the 101 Bangle is dressed in white gold for the first time. The slender curves of its bracelet envelop the wrist, highlighted by a row of brilliant-cut sapphires. On the profile of the bracelet, a row of set sapphires intensifies the deep blue of these stones and contrasts elegantly with the cool tones of the diamonds, white gold and the snow-lacquered dial. Thus, this variation of the 101 Bangle features 347 sapphires (10.29 ct) and 645 diamonds (10.99 ct), or 21.28 carats of precious stones in total.
101 Secrets © Jaeger-LeCoultre
A rich heritage of creativity and technical prowess
Guided by the innovative spirit of its founder, the Grande Maison developed models for women very early on: the richness of their potential, both aesthetic and technical, did not escape it. Since then, while society has gone through profound transformations – in terms of fashion, style, and the concept of femininity – the Manufacture has developed watches specially designed for women. Between jewelry and watch, they combine without ever repeating creativity and beauty with the technical sophistication for which Jaeger-LeCoultre is renowned.
In 1929, with the Caliber 101, the Maison demonstrated that precision and miniaturization were not incompatible – a challenge achieved half a century before the advent of computer-aided design and production technologies. This masterpiece of micromechanical engineering quickly established itself as the smallest mechanical movement in the world. Although its materials and production have benefited from technical advances over the years, it has nevertheless remained faithful to its original architecture and dimensions. Today, the Caliber 101 manufactured at the Vallée de Joux Manufacture has 98 components (compared to 78 in 1929), weighs barely one gram and measures 14 mm by 4.8 mm for 3.4 mm thickness, i.e. a volume of 0.2 cm3.
With such small dimensions, the movement components are manufactured and adjusted individually, making each Caliber 101 unique. Only a few master watchmakers from the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture have the skills necessary for the production and assembly of the microscopic mechanism. Consequently, it is only produced in a few dozen copies each year.
Continuing the story of the remarkable Caliber 101, the three new timepieces embody Jaeger-LeCoultre’s exceptional expertise in watchmaking, even on a miniature scale, and celebrate the know-how of the House’s setters. Gathered under one roof in the Vallée de Joux Manufacture, designers, master watchmakers and jewelers work together to create pieces combining technical sophistication, design creativity and aesthetic beauty. A unique marriage that is renewed with these three jewelry watches.
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