Jaeger-LeCoultre

KIH
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A special session with Mr. Deleskiewicz & MGT GC Venice Edition!

My JLC fanatic friend and I were invited by Mr. Olivier Laurian, Brand CEO of JLC Japan, to a special session with Mr. Janek Deleskiewicz, the Chief Designer (Directeur Artistique & Design) at Jaeger-LeCoultre. We were given the opportunity to see the Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication Venice Edition, along with a few other special pieces.

Mr. Deleskiewicz had just 30 minutes before leaving for Paris, but we are so grateful to have this unique occasion to speak with him.

KIH: What brought you to Tokyo today?

JD: In September every year, JLC sponsors Venice Film Festival, where we always present some special pieces to specific clients and journalists. This is a unique opportunity where we can present a selection of truly special pieces to the public. I am here today to present them to some Japanese journalists. We need to talk to clients and journalists all the time to know what they think, and to find out what they like or don't like. I do it all around the world by myself. These days, I meet with many women journalists in order to know specifically what women want.

KIH: Did you find anything unique or different about Japanese women?

JD: Not necessarily... Women are clearly different from men. And certainly, as women go through certain stages of their life, their tastes do change. However, having said that, from standpoint of watches, the reaction of women to wonderful pieces is almost universal. Regardless of their age, they react in the same way to their favorite pieces. Like a kid in the toy store. And if we can give them something to dream about, we win their hearts.

KIH: But do women, in general, pay as much attention to what is underneath the dial as men do?

JD: Yes. When I explain how the mechanism works, and show them, for example, the rotor of the automatic movement, they are impressed and engaged to the point that many no longer appreciate quartz watches.

KIH: I understand that you have been with JLC for 24 years. What do you think had you stay at the same company such a long time?

JD: Before I worked in the watch industry, I was working for Ford in France. But I didn't like it and went to Paris. There, I met with designers from various fields and met Mr. Belmont, the previous owner of Jaeger-LeCoultre. He suggested that I come to work in the watch industry, and I later joined JLC. At that time, JLC was just 250 people. It had nice calibers but no watches. A very nice old collection, but the manufacturer was almost broken. I was asked to revive the brand and spent the next 5 years to come up with new concepts and new developments. 10 years after joining Jaeger-LeCoultre, I was then asked to assemble the design team. Now we have 7 people in the Design department. They are from all over the world. I was told to travel to understand the market, which I have been doing now for 15 years.

KIH: What is your favorite piece from JLC?

JD: I particularly like several. I like the Reverso Moonphase. I don't know why, but I really like the design of it. Also, I have enjoyed the development of the Squadra. The Master series is my favorite. The series has been there for a long time, but when we re-invented the series, we changed everything. Whenever we make new model, we make everything new. Lastly, I love the Gyro Tourbillon and other crazy stuff because it is so difficult to implement the idea but at the end I forget all the difficulty I had encountered and just love the result. And the Duometre. At first we conceived it as the design as a pocket watch! It is very interesting to design these types of watches. We are now designing the next Duometre, to be launched in two years.

KIH: What do you think will happen to the size of the watches for JLC?

JD: Many brands wanted to make big watches – 45mm, 46mm, or even larger. I have no idea how to make such watches because we don't have the caliber to put in such a big cases. I admit that the Grand Sonnerie is on the bigger side, but it is simply because we had to put so many things into that case. But we always have smaller and thinner watches in the line-up. Thanks to the clients changing needs, I believe that now 42mm is the limit, and 40mm is nicer.

KIH: During your tenure at JLC, what were the most impressive events?

JD: Yes, the most impressive was when we went to Shanghai for launching of 8-day power reserve caliber for Reverso and for the Master series. I believe it was about 10 years ago.... Also when we launched the Squadra in India. It was amazing that 150 journalists came and there was a polo match in Delhi with elephants and such. And when we did launching event in Manado, where a professional diver high-dives a newly-finished prototype model. We didn't know whether the prototype would do as expected in front of such a huge crowd.

KIH: Lastly, what was the biggest challenge to make this Venice Edition?

JD: The biggest challenge was to link the design with the technique. I know it happens all the time, but for this model, at first we didn't know how to do it. The hand rotates in 24 hours, but the sky with the flying tourbillon rotates in 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds. Also, there are various people who make the parts. One person makes the enamel dial, another makes the smallest parts, and they must all be precise to fit in. This is the result of many people – many artists – who collaborate. And good project management.

KIH: Thank you very much.

JD: Thank you. See you the next time I come to Tokyo.

It was a short but very fun 30 minutes with Mr. Deleskiewicz, and wonderful JLC pieces (they stayed for photo session after he left, though   He was a true gentleman with long and precious experience at JLC who has seen, made and achieved a lot in the last 20+ years.
 
Thank you again, Mr. Deleskiewicz, and Mr. Laurian of JLC Japan! 

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