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The Pursuit of Precision – a Story of Ingenuity Told in Four Chapters
The quest for precision has particular significance at Jaeger-LeCoultre. Even before founding the Manufacture in 1833, Antoine LeCoultre was obsessed with precision and several of his inventions had a profound influence on the entire watchmaking industry. Over the decades, continuing research into precision has resulted in a series of breakthroughs, with many of the Maison’s 430 patents being awarded for its work in this field. Today, modern technological aids have turned core stages of the watch production process into an exact science; however, technology will never entirely replace the precise human gestures involved at every stage from raw metal to finished timepiece, for it is the craft of the human hand that gives a fine mechanical watch its soul.
Celebrating the magic of mechanical watchmaking and revealing the intellectual rigour and technical ingenuity that lie at its heart, ‘The Precision Pioneer’ tells the intriguing story of precision in four chapters.
The Precision of Production and Decoration tells how Antoine LeCoultre’s obsession with precision laid the foundation for the modern watchmaking industry and continues to drive Jaeger-LeCoultre almost two centuries later. The Precision of Chronometry identifies milestones in the Manufacture’s development of chronometer timepieces, from pocket watches in the 19th century, to today’s new models that are all certified under the rigorous 1000-Hour Control protocol.
The Precision of Regulating Organs reveals the crucial role played by the regulating organ (namely, the balance wheel and hairspring) in delivering and maintaining accurate timekeeping. The Precision of Complications explores a fundamental conundrum of watchmaking: how to maintain a perfect flow of energy while adding complications that require extra bursts of energy.
