In an unexpected twist, Jérôme Lambert will return to the top job at Jaeger-LeCoultre (JLC), some 11 years after he left the same role.
Mr Lambert’s first spell as chief executive of JLC, which lasted from 2002 to 2013, was a major success. During the 11 years, the brand developed into a contender in haute horlogerie while maintaining its affordable appeal in simpler watches.
He then moved on to run Montblanc for almost four years until early 2017, before rising to a series of senior jobs in Richemont, the luxury group that owns JLC. In 2018 Mr Lambert was named chief executive of the group, but in June 2024 he was reassigned. Mr Lambert became chief operating officer, while Nicolas Bos succeeded him as chief executive.
In some ways, Mr Lambert is a JLC lifer – he began his professional career in 1996 in the finance department of JLC. When he was tapped to lead JLC in 2002, he was one of the youngest chief executives in watchmaking. The two chief executives who ran JLC after Mr Lambert never quite led the brand to the same heights, so many will be hoping his comeback also signals a return to earlier glory.
As Vacheron Constantin gears up to mark its 270th anniversary in 2025, the brand has just announced Laurent Perves will assume the top job at the start of the new year. Having been the Chief Commercial Officer since 2022, Mr Perves succeeds Louis Ferla, who is now in charge of Cartier.
Mr Perves is well positioned to lead the storied Geneva brand into its next chapter, having held management roles in the key departments of the manufacture, namely marketing, communications, and commercial.
Although he began his career in fragrances, where he rose to senior roles in Proctor & Gamble, Mr Perves started in the watch industry a decade ago. He joined Audemars Piguet in 2014 as head of communications, before being tapped to become the chief marketing officer at Vacheron Constantin in 2016. Since 2022 he was the number two at Vacheron Constantin as chief commercial officer, where he oversaw the brand’s commercial strategy but also built relationships with key clients and collectors in general.
Despite the high bar set by the Berkley pocket watch – the most complicated watch ever – Mr Perves and his team have put together an impressive lineup of products for the brand’s 270th anniversary, which will be debuted progressively over the next year.
Having stepped in to acquire Brodbeck Guillochage in 2022, Voutilainen has announced the opening of a new, larger facility in Fleurier that is poised to become a new centre of excellence for guilloché.
Retaining the name Brodbeck Guillochage in honour of its founder Georges Brodbeck, the new facility is located in what was once the local watchmaking school of Fleurier, the town adjacent to Voutilainen’s hilltop headquarters at Chapeau de Napoléon.
The new home of Brodbeck Guillochage in Fleurier
Initial thoughts
This is welcome news for a number of reasons. First, it will help perpetuate the legacy of Mr. Brodbeck, ensuring that his life’s work will continue to have a positive impact watchmakers and lovers of fine objects for years to come.
Second, the steady hand of Kari Voutilainen, whose accomplishments as an entrepreneur rival his skills as a watchmaker, should help the new enterprise navigate potential industry downturns in the future.
Finally, the impressive scale of the operation should be a magnet for talent, improving the economic prospects for young artisans interested in guilloché.
A new centre of excellence
A self-taught guillocheur, Mr Brodbeck founded his eponymous firm in 2004, gradually building up a stock of more than 30 antique engine turning machines, each restored to working order by Mr Brodbeck himself. In 2023, Mr Brodbeck was awarded the Prix Gaïa, arguably the highest award in the Swiss watch industry, for his contributions to the preservation of this time-honoured craft.
Georges Brodbeck
Staffed by six guillocheurs, Brodbeck Guillochage makes dials for Voutilainen as well as for other watchmakers. The skill of the team is evident; I had the opportunity to inspect the dial of the Tourbillon 20th Anniversary introduced just before Watches & Wonders this year, and the work is of outstanding quality.
The unique dial for the one-off steel version of the Voutilainen Tourbillon 20th Anniversary
Though now sporting a refresh facade, the building itself was completed in 1896 and once housed the local watchmaking school, as evident by its location between Rue Ecole d’Horlogerie and Avenue Daniel-Jeanrichard, across the street from Fleurier’s main train station.
A historical photo showing the building when it served as a watchmaking school
Restored and renovated, the new building is now home to nearly 40 rare guilloché machines, including a tapestry machine with impulse transmission, the last of its kind in operation.
A unique Lienhard & Cie tapestry machine from 1913
The new chief executive of Brodbeck Guillochage is Angélique Singele, who joined Voutilainen as a logistician in 2020 before becoming Chief Operating Officer about a year later.
Now open at the Shanghai Museum East, Cartier, the Power of Magic is an exhibition that comes exactly two decades after the jeweller’s first-ever exhibition in China. Made up of over 300 jewels and objects from the Cartier Collection and museums around the world, the exhibition explores Chinese art, Cartier’s history, and the influence of Chinese culture on the jeweller’s creations.
Pierre Rainero, Cartier Image, Style and Heritage Director, describes the exhibition as “distinctly more analytical, taking a fresh look at the bonds uniting China and Cartier, and also at a relatively unexplored yet intrinsic aspect of jewellery: magic.”
A desk clock with an imperial dragon motif sold by Cartier New York in 1925
A pair of 1920s Cartier screen clocks flanking a Qing Qianlong period jade table screen
Chu Xiaobao, the Director of the Shanghai Museum, highlighted the significance of the exhibition, “The concept of Cartier, which goes beyond the art of jewellery to capture the eternal beauty, bears a striking resemblance to the timeless value of ancient Chinese art”.
Notably, the aesthetics for the exhibition were devised by the artificial intelligence model cAI, which was created by Chinese contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang and his studio. The backdrop of the exhibitions are traditional Chinese landscapes combined with Chinese courtyard manuscripts generated by the AI. But Mr Cai’s presentation also encompasses physical objects, which were crafted in ceramic and stone by artisans from his hometown, Quanzhou.
The exhibition is part of wider events that celebrate cultural relations between France and China, the Sino-French Cultural Spring Art Festival and the Franco-Chinese Year of Cultural Tourism.
Cartier, The Power of Magic
November 6, 2024-February 17, 2025
Open daily to the public
10:00 am-6:00 pm, Wednesday to Monday
Closed on Tuesdays
Shanghai Museum East
No. 1952 Century Avenue, Pudong New Area
Shanghai 201204
China
Teased at earlier this year during the Summer Olympics when it was photographed on Daniel Craig’s wrist, the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M without a date has finally been officially unveiled. Making its debut in monochromatic colours, the no-frills Seamaster is essentially another take on the Seamaster 300M 007 Edition of 2019.
The Seamaster “no-date” is available with either a black-aluminium dial laser engraved with the model’s customary wave-like pattern, or a vertically brushed steel dial with a silvery PVD coating. Less obvious but more notable for enthusiasts is the domed sapphire crystal that lends a vintage feel. Since Omega announced it will no longer be releasing limited edition watches, the new duo will be part of the permanent collection.
Initial thoughts
The date window has always been a hotly debated topic within watch enthusiast circles, which tend to prefer the purity of a date-less dial. No matter where a date window is placed, there will be critics. In my view, such criticism is sometimes valid. The Seamaster 300M certainly benefits from the facelift, which results in a more aesthetically pleasing dial. The clean dial also suits the functional nature of the model.
Priced at US$6,500 on the mesh bracelet, the new Seamaster is priced right considering the feature, including the in-house cal. 8806, a METAS-certified Master Chronometer movement. Ironically, the new Seamaster is US$600 more expensive than the variant with a date. That said, it is arguably worth the premium despite the diminished functions, since it is more appealing, particularly when paired with the mesh bracelet.
N0-date
The new no-date model retains the familiar style that has defined the Seamaster 300M for decades. Characterised by the signature lyre lugs with large bevels, the stainless steel case is 42 mm in diameter and 13.8 mm in thickness. And the helium escape valve is placed at the trademark ten o’clock position.
Moving onto the dial, the steel model has a black aluminium dial laser etched with the Seamaster wave pattern. In contrast, the steel and titanium model is outfitted with a vertically brushed steel that that’s unusual for the Seamaster. Both dials are otherwise identical with applied indices, open-worked hour and minute hands, as well as a lollipop central seconds hand, all filled with Super-LumiNova.
The black dial variant is complemented by a matching steel bezel that incorporates a black aluminium insert with printing markings, whereas the steel PVD dial model is equipped with a titanium bezel featuring a textured insert with relief markings.
Visible through the sapphire case back is the in-house, self-winding cal. 8806, which beats at 3.5 Hz and offers 55 hours of power reserve. Amongst its key features are a free-sprung balance with silicon hairspring, as well as a paramagnetic escapement that ensures it’s resistant to magnetic fields of up to 15,000 Gauss.
Key facts and price
Omega Seamaster Diver 300M “No-Date” Ref. 210.30.42.20.01.010 (full steel on bracelet)
Ref. 210.32.42.20.01.003 (full steel on rubber strap)
Ref. 210.30.42.20.06.002 (steel and titanium on bracelet)
Ref. 210.32.42.20.06.002 (steel and titanium on rubber strap)
Diameter: 42 mm Height: 13.8 mm Material: Steel; steel and titanium Crystal: Sapphire Water resistance: 300 m
Movement: Cal. 8806 Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds Frequency: 25,200 beats per hour (3.5 Hz) Winding: Automatic Power reserve: 55 hours
Strap: Steel mesh bracelet; black or grey rubber strap
Limited edition: No Availability: Now at Omega boutiques or retailers Price: US$5,900 on the leather strap; US$6,500 on the bracelet
