Interview: Jaeger-LeCoultre CEO Jérôme Lambert
Time travelling through rare vintage watches.From now until July 18, Jaeger-LeCoultre (JLC) is exhibiting the sixth edition of its Collectibles programme at the brand’s boutique in London. The occasion offered an opportunity to sit down with CEO Jérôme Lambert to understand what the brand hopes to achieve with its Collectibles exhibitions.
Launched in 2023, the concept stems from the eponymous book that assembled a dream collection of vintage JLC watches. Since then, museum-grade pieces have been sourced from around the world, restored in the brand’s dedicated workshop — without altering their patina — and presented for sale through travelling exhibitions.
The capsule collection assembled for the London edition features seven Reverso models alongside five other rare watches, including a 1946 Triple Calendar with moon phase. With one exception — a small 1931 Reverso — all 12 watches had found buyers within hours of opening.
The interview was edited for length and clarity.
Yannick Nardin (YN): What is the purpose of the Collectibles programme? Is it a commercial, strategic or heritage-driven initiative?
Jérôme Lambert (JL): All of those dimensions played a role in its creation. First, there were our conversations with collectors. Many expressed a desire to acquire exhibition or museum pieces, while others approached us to authenticate watches they had purchased through dealers.
At the same time, following the great JLC exhibitions of the 1980s, we have continuously acquired watches for our Heritage Gallery collection, which today comprises more than 6,000 objects significant to our history. During this process, we often encountered remarkable examples of watches that were already represented in our own collection.
All of this led to the idea of creating an ideal catalogue of outstanding historical pieces and presenting them through thematic capsule collections. Sometimes it takes several years to assemble a collection. And some themes will never be possible – for example, watches containing radioactive luminous materials can never be sold (laughs).
YN: Do you tailor the capsules to different markets?
JL: Absolutely. We consider which models and aesthetics resonate most strongly in each country. Here in England, there is a strong tradition of precious-metal watches, and our own historical links with Britain are exceptionally rich.
The Reverso itself was worn by British officers playing polo in India. Because it could be engraved, many examples bear royal crests or the insignia of historical military regiments from the 1930s and 1940s.
YN: Does the programme allow JLC to reclaim parts of its heritage? For example, your expertise in complete calendars, a complication more commonly associated with Patek Philippe or Vacheron Constantin?
JL: Our nickname, “The Watchmaker of Watchmakers,” reflects the reality that JLC was the backbone of high-end watchmaking until the late 1980s, when we stopped supplying movements to Patek Philippe. Later, when I was CEO, I stopped supplying Vacheron Constantin and Audemars Piguet around 2005-2007. After that, they had to develop their own movements.
The movements delivered to those brands were not better decorated or better finished than the ones sold under our own name. And they certainly were not ébauches, despite the persistence of that misconception. By the end of the 19th century, deliveries of unfinished blanks had largely disappeared. These were fully assembled and decorated movements.
Naturally, we want to highlight movements that may sometimes have become better known under other names than our own. The Triple Calendar is a perfect example. It was a Jaeger-LeCoultre movement, and the reference worn by Pablo Picasso was signed Jaeger-LeCoultre. It was essentially identical to the watch featured in this Collectibles capsule.
YN: You mentioned Picasso’s Triple Calendar — are you actively looking for it?
JL: Absolutely. If you know where it is, please tell us – we would love to acquire it. Its trail had gone cold, but we have recently uncovered new clues.
There are many watches with extraordinary stories. Because JLC has remained on the same site for 193 years, we have preserved our archives. From our records, we can determine when the watch left the Manufacture. We also have commercial archives identifying retailers – or, in some cases, direct sales. Piece by piece, we can reconstruct a watch’s journey. For special orders, we sometimes even know the name of the original client.
YN: The capsule includes the Reverso Giorgio Corvo, created when an Italian retailer fitted calibre 840 movements into 200 unused Reverso cases to demonstrate the model’s potential. Without him, would the Reverso still exist today?
JL: Certainly. But without Günter Blümlein, who saved JLC from bankruptcy, without Janek Deskiewicz, without Henri-John Belmont, and without all the people who have shaped the last 193 years of the Manufacture’s history, what would [we] be today?
There have been many crossroads throughout the company’s history. Looking back, we can say that certain decisions proved to be the right ones. The Corvo Reverso was undoubtedly one of those moments when the right direction had to be chosen at exactly the right time.
YN: And what do you believe was the right direction in your own leadership?
JL: That’s an excellent question. I have led the company twice. This second time, since 2025, I have clearly chosen to emphasise the historical dimension of the Manufacture.
Looking back at my first tenure, from 2002 to 2013, I believe we restored the culture of grand complications to the heart of the company. Henri-John Belmont had already reignited that spirit through the complicated Reverso models.
From the 2000s onward, the Hybris collection helped restore the full technical breadth of JLC. The Manufacture naturally reconnected with an expression it had mastered since the 19th century: creating movements and complications across the entire spectrum of watchmaking.
YN: Have collectors changed over the past 25 years? Are they looking for stories, or for specific watches?
JL: Collectors have always looked for stories. What has changed is the diversity of collector profiles. The purists – the deep connoisseurs of watchmaking history – are still there, fortunately. They help us locate watches and expand our knowledge of the products.
But new collectors have arrived as well. Some purchased contemporary JLC watches and want to discover the historical models that preceded today’s collections. Others collect periods or “firsts”. Since the Manufacture has produced many innovations, they can easily enter through that door.
And some simply love vintage design, such as the Art Deco Reverso featured in this capsule, with its lightly patinated salmon dial and skeletonised reverse side.
The watch was released in 2003. At the time, I had been CEO of JLC for one year, and I can even say that I was responsible for discontinuing it some years later. Which is a good thing: a watch exists, then disappears. That’s what allows it to mark a specific moment in time and build its own story.
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