Jaeger-LeCoultre, like most every luxury watch brand, has faced unprecedented challenges in 2020, but the Le Sentier-based manufacture has managed to capture accolades for the new models released under its “Sound Makers” theme, launched on the Watches & Wonders digital platform in April. As she enters her third year at the helm, Jaeger-LeCoultre CEO Catherine Rénier spoke to us about the 2020 collection and a variety of other industry topics.

Jaeger-LeCoultre CEO Catherine Rénier

MB:  Part of this year’s “Sound Makers” theme is the revamping of the Master Control collection. Can you go into the reasons for this update and take us through some of the elements that are significant about the new pieces"
CR:  There are two major features in the revamping, one in the design of the watches, the other in the technical advancements on our Caliber 899. The redesign started last year, with the case of the Grand Complication, and continues now with a similar spirit being added to the Master Control case. We felt that it was a well-deserved revisiting of that case since its introduction of 1992, and it keeps it in the same family as the more contemporary Grand Complication case we revealed last year. At the same time, Caliber 899 is a reference caliber for us, and we are introducing a new level of performance for it this year, like the 70-hour power reserve and the more stable design. Last year we improved on the quality of ...