Jaeger-LeCoultre has introduced the third successive theme in its educational program of "Discovery Workshops", and anyone can take part!
All you need to do is pay CHF 300 to book a tour on the website and turn up fifteen minutes before the time indicated on your reservation. The company's theme for this year is "Stellar Odyssey", and the year 2022 is dedicated to astral phenomena that have helped humankind manage time. The new masterclass bears the same name.
Those taking part in the event can join the experts at Jaeger-LeCoultre and visit the manufacture on a workshop tour which lasts two hours, who can then immerse themselves in the history of research into celestial bodies and how it's applied to manage time.
Guests visiting the manufacture can expect to retrace the chronology of astronomical discoveries humankind applied to timekeeping, transitioning from sundials and astrolabes to the complicated astronomical models of our time. It goes without saying that the exhibits are by Jaeger-LeCoultre.
The preceding Sound Maker celebration explored the manufacture's musical forte in dedicated workshops at Atelier des Grandes Complications. Participants got the chance to listen to movements and immerse themselves in the nature of sound in general, including why watches go "tick-tock". They also got to discover how a minute repeater is built.
The theme has changed for 2022. Jaeger-LeCoultre isn't the only manufacturer offering fans of watchmaking a special experience. The British brand Bremont is opening its doors to its own state-of-the-art manufacturing center called "the Wing" situated in the Chiltern valley for a mere GBP 25.
Besides, it's for a good cause: the company promises to donate all net proceeds to UNICEF. The Zenith Manufacture in Le Locle is offering tours to the general public for CHF 40 and more intimate tours for CHF 400 per group (up to eight people).
The company Frederique Constant also has its own watchmaking workshops, where the watchmaker promises to explain the names of watch components and how they work together in one movement.
After the session, watch owners will be able to show off their newly acquired knowledge when it comes to what makes a watch valuable and how a movement works. The price is CHF 400 for a group of 2-6 people.
The masterclass offered by Maurice de Mauriac at the “à Maurice” watch workshop in Zurich entices visitors with the opportunity to disassemble and then reassemble a Unitas watch movement. It costs CHF 1250 for families with up to six members.
And last but not least, the company Initium is offering the full experience of making a watch yourself. It costs CHF 1990 to create a watch using a pre-assembled manual movement or CHF 2490 if you want to assemble the movement yourself. The second option takes up an entire eight-hour day including lunch.