Up Close With Jaeger-LeCoultre's Collectibles VI in London

Jaeger-LeCoultre is often referred to in the watch industry as "the watchmaker's watchmaker," an acknowledgment of the respect that the manufacture has garnered over the years, especially among its peers and colleagues in fine watchmaking. In 2023, the brand embarked upon a journey to source, restore and catalog outstanding examples of timepieces from its history, which resulted in The Collectibles: six distinct capsule collections that have been displayed and offered for sale in Jaeger-LeCoultre boutiques and special exhibitions around the world.

But why, you may ask, would Jaeger-LeCoultre do this now, and how did this project get started in the first place? We were also curious, so we visited the latest display of the sixth capsule collection of The Collectibles, which was on display in the brand's London flagship at 13 Old Bond St. from June 15 to July 18, 2026. It was the first time The Collectibles had been presented in the city.

"The Collectibles was born from our desire to continue telling the stories that shaped Jaeger-LeCoultre and its place in watchmaking history," said Matthieu Sauret, product marketing and heritage director for Jaeger-LeCoultre. "Our guiding principle has always been simple: honor the past to inspire the future."

There was no better illustration of the concept of honoring Jaeger-LeCoultre's past than a visit to the special exhibition that they built out in the London flagship. An entire section of the boutique was dedicated to celebrating The Collectibles and the brand's history, with prominent displays of the watches on offer, but also nods to the history of the brand, such as a polo player display as a reference to the Reverso's invention as a watch for the British Army officers who played the game in India. "While our novelties tell the story of the future, this program celebrates our heritage," said Sauret.

The Collectibles project started with a book about the brand's history. "The vision first took shape with The Collectibles book, a two-year project exploring 17 exceptional models that, through our lens, represent the golden age of watchmaking, from the mid-1920s to the early 1970s," said Sauret. "The book itself required two years of dedicated work to research, write, and produce," he said, and that process brought about the idea of getting the museum-grade pieces into the hands of avid collectors. "Throughout the process we were already sourcing exceptional timepieces with the ambition of one day bringing them back into the hands of a new generation of collectors."

Not only did the book project take time, but each capsule collection on offer also took time and patience. "It's difficult to put an exact timeline on sourcing each capsule because we focus exclusively on what we call museum-grade timepieces, watches that stand out for their originality, exceptional condition, mechanical integrity, and historical significance," said Sauret. "Finding pieces that meet all these criteria requires patience, expertise and sometimes a little bit of luck." And luck played a part for us, too, as we were able to visit the sixth capsule collection in person, and admire these remarkable pieces up close.

The sixth capsule collection included a curated selection of seven rare Reverso pieces and five other key models dating from 1931 to 2003, all museum-grade and serviced and certified by Jaeger-LeCoultre's in-house restoration workshop at its manufacture.

Among the pieces displayed in the London exhibition were a Reverso 1931 with a black dial, railroad minute track and elongated trapezoidal indexes; a 1938 Reverso Central Seconds, later nicknamed the Doctor's Reverso for the ease with which a physician could take a pulse using its central seconds hand; and a 1972 Reverso Corvo, commissioned by Giorgio Corvo, Jaeger-LeCoultre's agent in Italy, from the last 200 unused Reverso cases, which sold out within three months and proved that there was still a great appreciation and desire for the design. Other models in the capsule included a rare Triple Calendar with Moonphase from 1946 made for the French market; a Duoplan Coulissante secret watch from 1956 with a sliding cover over the dial; and a 1958 Memovox Parking, a dress watch in 18-karat pink gold with a practical alarm function that alerted its wearer that a parking meter's time was up.

Sauret had some favorite moments to recall during the process of creating this remarkable program, but stopped short of choosing a favorite watch from the capsule collections so far. "It's almost impossible to choose a favorite because every discovery is unique. Each timepiece has its own story, and uncovering those stories is one of the most rewarding parts of the project," he said.

"Two particularly memorable moments came from watches that weren't part of the sale capsule, but that we had the privilege of exhibiting at our London flagship thanks to private collectors," said Sauret. The two memorable watches in question were "the Reverso belonging to the last Maharaja of Jaipur, an exceptional diplomat and polo player, and the remarkable Reverso Ryder Cup," he continued.

But as collectors know, the stories behind the watches and the moments we share through watches are often the most memorable part of the journey. "What makes these moments so special isn't only the watches themselves, but the opportunity to trace their individual histories, often directly through the families who have carefully preserved them for generations," said Sauret. "Those encounters bring these timepieces to life in a way that goes far beyond their technical or aesthetic value."

The timepieces that are part of The Collectibles program have been offered for purchase to collectors, and each one comes with an extract from the Jaeger-LeCoultre archives and a complimentary copy of The Collectibles book. For models that originally came with a leather strap, a new handmade leather strap has been chosen to complement the style of each watch. Models that originally came on a metal bracelet keep their original bracelets. If available, the original box and papers and the original strap or bracelet will also be included for the purchaser.

Of the twelve exceptional pieces available for sale in this capsule collection, eleven had sold within days of the June 15 opening of the exhibition. As of this writing, the 1931 Reverso Dame is the only one remaining, and is still available via inquiry on jaeger-lecoultre.com. All of the watches in the prior capsule collections have been sold.

The painstaking research and acquisition is documented in a beautiful coffee table book, also entitled The Collectibles, which covers 17 of the maison's most emblematic models, the pool each capsule is drawn from, along with historical facts about the individual pieces and about the model families they belong to.

What's next for Jaeger-LeCoultre's The Collectibles? "As for future editions, who knows? After all, trying to capture 193 years of history through just 17 models is quite a challenge," said Sauret. "There are countless remarkable stories still waiting to be shared, so The Collectibles journey is far from over."