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Looking at what makes a watch tick Man is ever fascinated with the minute mechanisms of timepieces. MICHELE LIAN gets on the watch. TO LEARN all about the makings of a Jaeger-LeCoultre timepiece, one would normally have to pay a visit to the brand�s manufacture � that�s what the Swiss call a watch factory � in Vall�e de Joux, Switzerland.
The RM20mil exhibition � one of the biggest ever organised by the brand � will take visitors on a journey through Jaeger-LeCoultre�s past and present at Suria KLCC. The 170-year-old watchmaker prides itself on being one of the few remaining Swiss watch brands that make all the components of its movements in addition to the accessories required to produce a finished timepiece. �We at Jaeger-LeCoultre notice that there�s a growing interest for fine watches in Malaysia,� said Maxime Labey, the managing director of Jaeger- LeCoultre South-East Asia and Australia in a press release. �As an almost fully integrated Manufacture, we feel that it�s our responsibility to share our knowledge and passion via the exhibition so that consumers will really know what fine watches, movements, complications and mostly what watch Manufactures really are,� added Labey. To give visitors the authentic Jaeger-LeCoultre experience, the brand has flown to Kuala Lumpur 40 craftsmen selected from its 900-strong team in Vall�e de Joux to demonstrate the science of horology, or watchmaking. They include a gem-setter, watchmaker, enameller and engraver to show the integrated approach the Manufacture takes to create its coveted timepieces. Die-hard watch lovers can also attend a master class to learn all about the art of watch-making. Conducted as private lessons for groups of six at a time, the experts will teach their students how to assemble and disassemble a watch and, upon �graduation�, the latter will receive a certificate of completion from the Manufacture. Jaeger-LeCoultre has, since its inception in 1833, created over 1,000 movements which are renowned for their exquisite art work, technical excellence and ease of use. A highlight of the exhibition will be a display of the brand�s masterpieces, including the Gyrotourbillon, which is thought to be one of the world�s most complicated timepieces ever created. Some of the brand�s other icons that will be exhibited are the Atmos clock � the legendary timepiece that is powered only by air, or rather, derives its energy from temperature changes around it; and the Calibre 101� the world�s smallest movement; in addition to a selection of tourbillons, perpetual calendars, minute repeater mechanisms, moon-phase and power-reserve displays, chronographs, alarms and dual-time watches. Jaeger-LeCoultre was established by Antoine LeCoultre � a self-taught watchmaker with a passion for innovation, research, mechanisms and tools � and generations of LeCoultres after that. The name is synonymous with the invention of the Millionometer in 1844, the first instrument capable of measuring components to the nearest micron (a millionth of a metre), which revolutionised the concept of precision and reliability and whose creation established the metric system as the watch-making industry�s measurement standard, and the crown winding system in 1847, which eliminated the need for keys to wind and set watches. At the beginning of the 20th century, Jacques-David LeCoultre collaborated with Parisian Edmond Jaeger to create the first super-flat pocket watch and to give birth to the Jaeger-LeCoultre legacy.
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