Brand Directory: LeCoultre

Antoine LeCoultre founded LeCoultre in 1833 in the small village of Le Sentier, Switzerland. By 1866, LeCoultre’s workshop had grown from home-run manufacturers spread across Switzerland to installing modern steam-driven machines to power the tools of all watchmakers, moving them from their homes and bringing them together in one central unit. Now named LeCoultre & Cie, the company became the first manufacturer in the Vallée de Joux Switzerland. Antoine and his son  Elie LeCoultre employed more than 500 watchmakers in-house. In 1903 Edmond Jaeger, a watchmaker in Paris making watches for the French Navy, challenged the Swiss manufacturers to produce an ultrathin movement. Jacques-David LeCoultre, Elie’s son, rose to the challenge and created the world’s thinnest pocket watch, which was equipped with the LeCoultre 146 calibre, measuring 1.38mm thick.