LEBEAU-COURALLY WATCHES
World-renowned as the producer of most desirable hunting arms in the world, Lebeau-Courally also manufactures Swiss made luxury watches.
The story of Lebeau-Courally luxury watch brand uses a unique vocabulary: the lexicon of the watchmaker – borrowed from that other craft, the artisan arms maker. As a tribute to history and fine crafts, Lebeau-Courally is the only watchmaker in the world bringing both disciplines together again in a unique collection of exclusive watches, inspired by the brand’s rich heritage in bespoke hunting arms making.
Every Lebeau-Courally watch reveals the DNA of its origin, referring to the great tradition of bespoke manufacturing of hunting arms. The clef de fusil, the refined quadrillage on the crown and the ring-shaped case bear witness to the grand tradition of the house.
They refer to the legend created by Auguste Lebeau in Belgium in 1865. In his workshop in Liège, he created the most desirable, ultimate hunting arms in the world, bespoke to fit the owner’s physique – handcrafted and engraved with meticulous detail. When Ferdinand Courally continued the manufacture in 1896, its masterpieces conquered the hearts of royalty throughout Europe and the Russian Tsars.
Fine watchmaking and arms-making
In the valleys of Neuchâtel (Switzerland) and Liège (Belgium) in the early days of clock making, the fine crafts smiths that created the detailed and precise pillar plate for the world’s first clocks also meticulously crafted the pillar plates for the world’s most sophisticated arms. In both disciplines, the same ultimate precision and obsession with detail were required. Since the 17th century, the arms produced on the banks of the river Meuse in Belgium have gained notoriety across Europe. During the Enlightenment, the Principality was renowned for its great watchmaking expertise.
In a book published in 1917, the great historian of Swiss watchmaking Marius Fallet highlighted the similarities that exist between the gunsmith and the watchmaker. “The gunsmith – he writes – forging and crafting the pillar plates for guns and cannons, did the first drafts and the finishing.” Today, the two crafts preserve the memory of their long historical relationship through particular skills and common terminology such as calibre, lever, ‘platina’, detent, balance or barrel.
The first organised business appears in Liège at the end of the 16th century, where 32 “specialised crafts” were officially recognised. Among those, the specialists who manufactured firearms were recruited. The “makers of wooden muskets” were found in the guild of carpenters. The “cannon makers” belonged to the blacksmiths, and watchmakers created the ‘platina’ or pillar plate for the arms. Before concentrating completely on the armoury, Liège became a stronghold of European watchmaking in the 18th century. At that time, the city hosted nearly 900 highly skilled watchmakers, including the famous Hubert Sarton, the inventor of the automatic watch.
With the acquisition of the IMH watch manufacture in Le Locle (Switzerland), Lebeau-Courally brings the master crafts of fine watchmaking and arms making together again. With in-house expertise from a select group of high-end Swiss watchmakers, the Lebeau-Courally manufacture will focus on a few exceptional complications, celebrating the DNA of this house and its adherence to fine craftsmanship.
History of Lebeau-Courally watches
In 2010, Lebeau-Courally decided to produce luxury watches. For designing wristwatches inspired by the iconic Lebeau-Courally guns, the company then approached Antoine Tschumi, the creative director of NEODESIS design studio in Le Locle, Switzerland. In 2011, the first Lebeau-Courally watch collection “Le Prince” was launched. The brand won 3rd prize at the prestigious Concours International de la Chronometrie 2011 for its tourbillon watch.
Four years after launching its first watch collection, Lebeau-Courally acquired one of the Swiss watchmaking manufactures, capable of producing highly sophisticated luxury watches, from A to Z.
Presently Lebeau-Courally produces its timepieces in Le Locle, the beating heart of the Swiss horlogerie. All these watches are made with the same respect for tradition and craftsmanship as its Liège based (Belgium) atelier, where bespoke hunting arms are made, is renowned for.
The acquisition of the manufacture was part of the takeover of the IMH enterprise by the Belgian family owned luxury brand Lebeau-Courally.
IMH has built itself a solid reputation in Switzerland ever since it started producing sophisticated watch complications and components for many renowned Swiss watchmaking houses. Not in the least, this reputation is amplified by its own Julien Coudray 1518 haute horlogerie brand. In fact, the house imposes extreme requirements on itself to create the highly complicated timepieces in this collection – all equipped with solid gold or platinum movements exclusively.
This lead the company to solicit top-skilled watchmakers, integrating 40 different and rarely found artisan skills under one roof such as enamel ‘Grand Feu’, miniature painting and the art of engraving. The expertise of this fully integrated manufacture now shapes the heart and engine of Lebeau-Courally’s entire watch spectrum.
The brand’s flagship watch collections are Le Dauphin, Le Baron, Le Marquis, L’archiduc, Le comte, Le comte Tourbillon, and Phase De Lune.
