This week, Geneva warmly welcomes the world’s foremost watch specialists, enthusiasts and media for a haute horologie event like no other: Watches & Wonders 2024. It’s here that the world’s most celebrated watchmakers will reveal their latest novelties for the year, and Jaeger-LeCoultre have just dropped three absolute stunners.

For nearly 200 years, Jaeger-LeCoultre has dared to push the boundaries of horological engineering, introducing uniquely bespoke novelties such as the Reverso and Duometre that redefine the parameters of what’s possible with modern timepieces.

First launched in 2007, the Duometre represented the pinnacle of technical innovation and horological craftsmanship, instantly recognisable by their revolutionary dual-wing movement concept.

Without going into too much detail, this innovative architecture consists of two separate gear trains; each powered by its own mainspring barrel, hence the name “dual-wing.” This essentially splits the power supply, with the primary gear train solely powering the basic timekeeping function of the watch with a constant supply of energy, which inevitably increases precision and accuracy.

Whilst this idea of a split power supply is not entirely unprecedented in haute horologie – JLC launched an 1881 pocket watch that introduced Calibre 19/20RMSMI equipped with two barrels – its introduction some 15 years ago represented a significant advancement in the field and solved a problem that the Swiss engineers had been exploring for some time.

Duometre Quantieme Lunaire

At Watches & Wonders 2024, Jaeger-LeCoultre has released the next generation of Duometre timepieces, chief among them, a contemporary classic, the Duometre Quantieme Lunaire.

Presented in a slightly larger 42.5mm diameter, the Duometre Quantieme Lunaire takes its inspiration from the sophisticated aesthetic of its pocketwatch predecessors throughout the Maison’s storied history.

On the dial, JLC have opted for a beep blue hue which adds to its modern design. At the 3, the sub-dial indicates the time with the cardinal hours marked by applied Arabic numerals. The sub-dial at 9 o’clock displays today’s date with a hand and the moon phase, whilst the seconde foudroyante sub-dial – a nod to its pocketwatch past – sits at the 6.

The Quantieme Lunaire is the first Duometre available in stainless steel; it features rounded contours and bezel, whilst the crystal glass box boasts an appealing domed shape for an overall sleek and sophisticated design.

Duometre Chronograph Moon

Jaeger-LeCoultre has then launched the Duometre Chronograph Moon, the perfect combination of a high-precision chronograph and the slow passing of Celestial time.

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Duometre Chronograph Moon is available in two distinct iterations – a copper-coloured dial and a reversed a pink gold case coupled with a silver dial – but the most striking feature is undoubetdly the openworked sections on the dial, offering the wearer a crystal clear view of the breathtaking beauty of the famed Calibre 391 under the hood.

And it is breathtaking; each individual component must be hand-decorated one-by-one before final assembly, whilst sunrayed Geneva stripes embellish the movement.

Not only does the sheer glass serve to elevate the overall aesthetic of this piece, but it also has a more pragmatic purpose, allowing for the JLC engineers to assemble the most intricate parts of this rather fiddly Calibre. It’s a testament to the Swiss watchmakers’ unrelenting ethos of producing high-quality timepieces that are as good looking as they are technically sound.

Duometre Heliotourbillon Perpetual

Finally, Jaeger-LeCoultre has unveiled the Duometre Heliotourbillon Perpetual; a complex and classy timepiece that owes its release to some 80 years of R&D by the Swiss luxury manufacture.

As the name would suggest, this release has incorporated a bespoke tourbillon mechanism that’s been specifically designed for this release: a Heliotourbillon that rotates on three axes, and represent a departure from the traditional mechanism initially introduced to pocketwatches all those years ago.

Developed by Jaeger-LeCoultre’s engineers, the 2024 Duometre release is designed to compensate for the effects of gravity (and therefore improve the accuracy of the watch) more effectively than its predecessors, by using three axes instead of two. It’s technically complex, and staggeringly light at just 0.7 grams.

If that’s not all, it’s also been fitted with a perpetual calendar to really show off. The calendar will run until 2100 and will automatically adjust for months of different lengths and for leap years, but where a traditional perpetual is set through the passing of time, Jaeger Le-Coultre has developed the bespoke Calibre 388 that allows for the time to reset and calibrated accordingly, without damaging the fragile calendar mechanism.

On the dial, the Duometre Heliotourbillon Perpetual also features an open-worked sheer display to marvel at the tourbillon at work… because well, why wouldn’t you?