Woman of the HOUR

We hear from CEO Catherine Rénier about Jaeger-LeCoultre, the Manufacture under her watch since 2018 just in time before her next move in the Richemont group.

- TAN SIOK HOON

L'OFFICIEL: Jaeger-LeCoultre is famed for its rich heritage and innovative craftsmanship. How do you strike the balance in preserving the brand's legacy while driving innovation in the rapidly evolving luxury watchmaking industry?

CATHERINE RÉNIER: It's a blessing to have a rich heritage and an icon like the Reverso. It is our duty and responsibility to protect our icons, designs and heritage but also make it relevant to today. How do we do it? It's a lot of details as you transform products over the decades to make them relevant through the designs, materials and expressions. Our portfolio has over 400 calibres that we take a step forward with, innovating with new patents and registering more than 10-15 patents every year.

Over the years, we have had about 400 patents from JaegerLeCoultre's innovation. This is how we continue to respect the past and simultaneously inspire ourselves to bring about new creative work and innovation.

LO: What are the standouts among the 2024 novelties and how they are significant for the brand in terms of technical innovation and creativity?

CR: For 2024, we celebrate precision in watchmaking, an important aspect for Jaeger-LeCoultre, born from our founder, Antoine LeCoultre, an engineer and inventor who dared to make very precise machines to cut and measure components. The measurement and the precision of components were what made Jaeger-LeCoultre famous back in the 19th century. We became a supplier for all the watchmakers around because our components and movements were the most precise and innovative. This strong foundational value of the Maison has kept us going for over 190 years and it is still a driving force behind our innovations today.