Jaeger-LeCoultre Unveils Collectibles Series Of Restored Vintage Watches

There has been a great shift in buying habits for watches, with more and more collectors turning to pre-owned and vintage watches as the shortage of new production watches continues. This renewed interest in pre-owned watches has spurred great growth in the category. That may well be why Swiss watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre has spent a great deal of time investing in its “The Collectibles” series of fully restored vintage watches that are now for sale by the brand.

The first Capsule Collection of The Collectibles consists of 17 wristwatches that range in age from the 1920’s to the 1970’s (an era often considered the golden age of watchmaking). For this first series, the experts from the Heritage Team at Jaeger-LeCoultre sought out the best possible timepieces and then the brand’s experts in its Le Sentier, Switzerland, workshops restored them as closely as possible to their original form. Each watch has been fully vetted by the brand’s 10 experts and the restoration team follows the archival blueprint for every piece ever made. In some instances, the watches house original spore components, while in other instances, new identical components are made in house from scratch. Cases and dials are polished and finished minimally so as not to alter the historic nature of the watch – something collectors appreciate, as it helps the timepiece hold its value.

The watches in the carefully curated initial offering, which are for sale via Jaeger-LeCoultre’s e-commerce site and during traveling exhibits of the capsule collection, include men’s and women’s pieces that range from sporty to classic to incredibly daring for their era.

The Collectibles program, geared to offer watch lovers a rare piece of history, is unveiled as part of the brand’s 190^thanniversary (Jaeger-LeCoultre was founded in the Valle’e de Joux in 1833) – but will be an ongoing collection. The capsule collection includes 19 pieces including a diamond-set 1932 DuoPlan, a 1933 red-dial Reverso, a 1946 Triple Calendar, a 1957 Futurematic, a 1963 Geomatic, a 1958 Memovox Parking, a 1968 Master Mariner Deep Sea, a 1970 Memovox Polaris II with bright blue dial and bezel, a 1972 Memovox Speed Beat GT and more.

Each watch is sold with a complete description taken from the brand’s archives. Additionally, when available, the original box, papers, strap or bracelet is included. The restored watch is sold on a new strap and with a copy of the coffee-table book.

“Being able to restore these remarkable timepieces and offer them once again is a nice tribute to our current environment, in which sustainability and second lives have come to the fore,” said Catherine Rénier in a release issued by the brand. “It is fantastic to see 50- or 80-year-old pieces given a new life. For me, that symbolizes the beauty of our world – of timeless and durable objects to be passed from one generation to the next.”

The new coffee-table book, entitled The Collectibles, takes a close look at the watchmaking period from 1925 through 1974 and puts emphasis on the 17 most important models made by the brand during that time frame. A full chapter is devoted to each of the 17 watches that comprise the first The Collectibles capsule collection.

It should be noted that Jaeger-LeCoultre is owned by the Richemont Group, which also owns Vacheron Constantin. Vacheron Constantin implemented its own vintage-restoration program several years ago. It will be interesting to see which other Richemont Group brands will follow suit in the coming year.