Bringing the fascinating world of watchmaking to a wider audience: this is the goal of Atelier d’Antoine, an exclusive programme with activities and guided visits recently launched by Jaeger-LeCoultre.
This Swiss manufacture, based in the Vallée de Joux, has designed a unique experience, suitable for collectors, enthusiasts and curious newcomers, that will allow them to see first-hand the work of the master watchmakers,
learn more about the inner mechanisms of the timepieces, and value the artistry involved in this craft.
Jaeger-LeCoultre has reserved a space for the new Atelier d’Antoine, named after its founder, within the walls of the very building in Le Sentier where Antoine LeCoultre’s original workshop used to be. In the future, the brand
plans to open other branches of Atelier d’Antoine in several of their international boutiques, as well as offering their programmes online.
Atelier d’Antoine: workshops, visits and masterclasses
Through the Atelier d’Antoine, Jaeger-LeCoultre will offer three different kinds of experience:
Fine watchmaking discovery workshops
Guided by an instructor and a technical expert, the discovery workshops at Atelier d’Antoine are three-hour sessions comprising theory and practical training, in groups of no more than eight participants each.
The attendants will learn how a watch works, analysing the different stages of manufacture step by step, as well as a tour through the history of the watchmaking craft at Jaeger-LeCoultre and the Vallée de Joux.
To conclude, they will be able to experiment with large-scale prototypes, trying to recreate some of the tasks watchmakers complete during their everyday work.
Guided manufacture visits at Jaeger-LeCoultre
These visits last between two-and-a-half and four hours, and they entail an exhaustive review of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s history, knowledge and heritage.
As the Atelier d’Antoine launches, these visits will be focused on the following options:
• The brand’s history and the stages of watchmaking.
• Innovations and inventions developed by Jaeger-LeCoultre.
• Creativity and artistic crafts involved in fine watchmaking.
Masterclasses with expert watchmakers and craftsmen
The medium-term plan for Atelier d’Antoine is also to host masterclasses taught by craftsmen and watchmakers. These courses will cover skills that are specific to the trade,
and the attendees will be able to put them to the test in situ.
Listen to the sounds of watchmaking with Jaeger-LeCoultre
The first workshops and guided visits to the Atelier d’Antoine explore the sounds of watchmaking, a concept which is in perfect alignment with the
new
slogan by the Swiss company: The Sound Maker, a way to pay homage to their vast chiming heritage.
In so doing, Jaeger-LeCoultre will unveil the secrets of sound-making, and will reveal fun facts during their workshops, such as why watches make a ticking sound or what is the technology that enables minute repetition,
one of the watch complications most valued by enthusiasts of this Helvetian maison.
Would you like to
visit the Atelier d’Antoine and see the inside of the fascinating mechanism that makes Jaeger-LeCoultre watches tick? Sign up to the programme at the
Relojería
Alemana shops in Mallorca or, from December 2020 onwards, on the
registration website created by Atelier d’Antoine.
