If a watch enthusiast is fortunate enough or one day feels compelled to ascend the horological ladder of collecting, he or she will inevitably ascend to the upper echelons of watches that embody exclusivity, rarity and notability. This can manifest as elaborate decorations on the dial or the movement executed by hand and finished to perfection.
Regarding handcrafted decoration, it is increasingly common for brands to produce métiers d’art dials to satisfy the growing appetite for such artisanal items. However, this wasn’t the case not too long ago. For instance, just two decades ago, only a rare handful of brands boasted an inhouse team capable of performing enameling. One of the more notable among them, albeit somewhat understated compared to brands like Patek Philippe or Vacheron Constantin that debut annual collections of rare handcrafts, is Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Jaeger-LeCoultre established its own enamel workshop in the early 1990s, a rarity in the watchmaking world where brands typically lack the clientele to sustain or invest in such endeavors. However, Jaeger-LeCoultre not only established a workshop, but also mastered the
