Jaeger-LeCoultre presents three magnificent new high-jewellery watch models from its Calibre 101 collection. The new line-up includes the brand new 101 Secrets watch and two variations of the JLC 101 Bangle model.
These new high jewellery watches for women highlight the skills of the gem-setters in the Manufacture’s Métiers Rares™ atelier.
The entirely new ‘secret watch’ in pink gold is set with more than 1,000 diamonds. An entirely new design, the 101 Secrets is set with almost 27 carats of diamonds. The most precious Calibre 101 timepiece created by Jaeger-LeCoultre to date, the rivière-style bracelet features a new secret mechanism that enables the wearer to reveal the dial only when she wishes.
The 101 Bangle, first presented in 2020, has been reinterpreted in two one-of-a-kind pieces – one in pink gold with a red lacquer dial complemented by diamonds; and one in white gold with a snow-white lacquer dial complemented by sapphires and diamonds.
Jaeger-LeCoultre 101 Secrets Watch
The 101 Secrets watch features an unprecedented design defined by four rows of diamonds. It has two outer rows of claw-set diamonds set on either side of a double row of grain-set diamonds. This high-jewellery secret watch gives no hint of the timepiece concealed within it.
This highly precious watch hides not one but two secrets. The first secret is the fact that this is a timepiece as well as a piece of jewellery: the dial remains hidden until the wearer wishes to see the time.
The second secret is a new mechanism concealed within the rows of diamonds – a feat of micro-mechanics so tiny that it remains almost invisible, its position known only to the woman wearing the watch.
When she presses gently on the hidden ‘button’, a small section of the bracelet pops open like the pages of a book, revealing the time on a glowing mother-of-pearl dial. When she releases the button, the dial disappears and the bracelet once again becomes an endlessly flowing river of diamonds.
For the two outer rows of diamonds, the gem-setters chose the claw setting – a traditional technique that holds the stones above the surface of the gold, allowing light to pass through them from every angle and maximising their sparkle.
The larger diamonds are almost imperceptibly graduated in size and set in perfect symmetry. The grain-setting of the inner rows of diamonds provide a visual anchor for the larger stones and, together with the diamonds framing the dial – visible when the watch is open – emphasise the Art Deco-inspired geometry of the design. The profile of the bracelet is also set with diamonds.
With a total of 1,024 diamonds (for 26.75 carats), the 101 Secrets represents a total of 182 hours of meticulous gem-setting, all undertaken in Jaeger-LeCoultre’s own Metier Rares™ workshop.
Jaeger-LeCoultre 101 Bangle Watch
For the design of the 101 Bangle, first presented in 2020, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s designers took inspiration from the sweeping curves and strong lines of Art Deco and 20th-Century Modernism.
Set with almost 1,000 precious stones, the bracelet needs no clasp to hold it securely on the wrist; thanks to an ingenious hidden lock it can be opened and closed with a simple gesture.
For 2023, the Maison introduces colour to the 101 Bangle, presenting two new interpretations – each a one-of-a-kind piece.
On a pink gold bracelet, a delicate red lacquer dial creates a bold contrast to the white diamonds and complements the warm tone of the precious metal.
To heighten the three-dimensional effect of the design, the 996 diamonds (19.7 carats) are graduated in size and the gem-setters have employed both the griffe- and grain-setting techniques to maximise the play of light on the gemstones. Enhancing the sparkle even further, the profile of the bracelet is also set with diamonds.
On a white gold bracelet – the first time that white gold has been used for the 101 Bangle – the sweeping curves of the design are enhanced by a row of brilliant-cut sapphires, graduated in size and wrapping all the way around the wrist.
The blue of the stones is amplified by a row of sapphires set into the profile of the bracelet and enhanced by the cool tones of white diamonds, white gold and a snow-white lacquer dial.
With 347 sapphires (10.29 cts) and 645 diamonds (10.99 cts), this interpretation of the 101 Bangle represents a total of 21.28 carats of precious stones.
Calibre 101
Originally conceived and developed for jewellery watches and introduced in 1929 by La Grande Maison, Calibre 101 revolutionised feminine watchmaking. Weighing barely one gram, the tiny, hand-wound calibre remains the smallest mechanical movement in the world to this day. It is also one of the world’s oldest movements to have remained in continuous production by Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Over the decades, the mechanism has benefited from technical improvements in both materials and machining but its dimensions and architecture remain unchanged.
The present generation of Calibre 101 has 98 components (compared with the original 78), measures 14 mm x 4.8 mm, with a thickness of 3.4 mm (a volume of 0.2 cm3) and weighs barely one gram.
Due to the mechanism’s tiny scale, each of the components must be custom-produced and adjusted – in effect, making every Calibre 101 one-of-a-kind.
Only a handful of watchmakers at the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture have ever mastered the skills necessary to produce and assemble movements at such a microscopic scale. Consequently, only a few dozen examples can be produced each year.
Technical details
Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 101 High Jewellery Secrets Watch
Material: Pink Gold 750/1000 (18 carats)
Case Dimensions: 29.07 x 12.22 mm
Wrist size: 160 mm
Thickness: 9.88 mm
Calibre: Manually-wound Calibre 101
Functions: Hours, minutes
Power Reserve: 33 hours
Dial: Mother of pearl
Carats: 1,024 diamonds ~26.75 carats
Reference: Q2872201
Production: Made to Order
Jaeger-LeCoultre 101 BANGLE Watch in Pink Gold
Case: Pink Gold 750/1000 (18 carats)
Case Dimensions: 18.35 x 5.98 mm
Wrist size: 160 mm
Thickness: 5.97 mm
Calibre: Manually-wound Calibre 101
Functions: Hours, minutes
Power Reserve: 33 hours
Dial: Red lacquer
Carats: 996 diamonds ~19.7 carats
Reference: Q2892260
Production: Unique piece
Jaeger-LeCoultre 101 BANGLE Watch in White Gold
Material: White gold (18 carats)
Case Dimensions: 18.35 x 5.98 mm
Wrist size: 160 mm
Thickness: 5.47 mm
Calibre: Manually-wound Calibre 101
Functions: Hours, minutes
Power Reserve: 33 hours
Dial: White lacquer
Carats: 347 Sapphires (10.29 cts), 645 diamonds (10.99 cts) ~21.28 carats
Reference: Q2893202
Production: Unique piece
