In 1907, Jaeger-LeCoultre laid the foundations of what was to prove a key element in the identity of its watches. That was the year when the association between Paris-based businessman Edmond Jaeger and Swiss watchmaker Jacques-David LeCoultre gave birth to the world’s thinnest pocket watch featuring a blend of aesthetic refinement and horological sophistication that only a Manufacture uniting the full range of skills under one roof could hope to achieve.

Today, Jaeger-LeCoultre confirms its ability to anticipate the future of Fine Watchmaking by unveiling the Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon watch, the eleventh creation in the Hybris Mechanica collection and the first ultra-thin Grand Complication model.

The Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon also known as Hybris Mechanica 11 by Jaeger-LeCoultre

The Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon stems from research on two iconic horological complications. It is indeed the slimmest minute repeater in its category at just 7.9 mm thin.

This watch capitalises on eight separate patents, six of which are entirely new. Its entire development process was governed by two watchwords – ingenuity and performance. Its quintessence lies in a successful bid to achieve extreme slenderness while making no compromises on reliability. Hybris Mechanica 11 is equipped with an original tourbillon, a high-performance new balancespring, a peripheral automatic winding system, a retractable single pushbutton, as well as a new minute repeater equipped with a silent-timelapse reduction system. As the latest addition to an illustrious and fertile saga of Jaeger-LeCoultre striking watches, this model consolidates the brand’s leadership in this field.

The Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon’s back

Contrary to the classic tourbillon with a construction that tends to obstruct the view of certain components, the Manufacture wished to allow complete visibility of the heart of the watch. Avoiding ordinary solutions, Jaeger-LeCoultre watchmakers have developed and patented an allnew tourbillon. Hybris Mechanica 11 watch is equipped with a world première in the shape of a flying tourbillon fitted with a flying balance-wheel. This technical feat ensures a full view of both balance-wheel and spring that may both be observed in motion from a radically different perspective. The gaze is captivated by the regular swinging of the balance-wheel, with the balance-spring fixed above it in a highly unusual stage setting. This expressive and appealing construction also contributes to reducing the overall thickness thanks to the prodigious inventiveness of the master-watchmakers in the Manufacture.

These substantial developments required rethinking the regulating organ and developing a new balance-spring specifically hand-crafted in the Complications workshop. All the characteristics of this new tourbillon are geared towards achieving extreme precision, watchmaking’s ultimate goal.

A concentrated blend of culture and expertise, the tourbillon of the Hybris Mechanica 11 watch vividly epitomises perfect technical mastery.

We invite you to discover this innovative creation and many others at the SIHH from January 20th to January 24th in Geneva.

Source: Jaeger-LeCoultre