Text by Corina Tan
In an effort to explore and extend horology and art, whilst also honouring the principles of creativity, expertise and precision, luxury watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre has collaborated with artists, designers and craftsmen from disciplines outside watchmaking through it’s ‘Made of Makers’ programme. The programme which focuses on international creators who explores new forms of expressions through unexpected methods and materials, hopes to expand its creative and cultural universe by welcoming the latest addition to its ensemble.
Alex Trochut who is a renowned lettering artist, is celebrated for his emotionally resonant work that combines deep complexity with apparent simplicity. He harnesses the visual potential of language, pushing letters and words to new limits so that seeing and reading become the same action; text and image become a single, unified expression.
For Jaeger-LeCoultre, Alex has created a meaningful representation of La Grande Maison’s values through a new and boldly contemporary alphabet style, the 1931 Alphabet. As a stylistic springboard, he turned to Art Deco – a style that remains very evident to this day in the visual landscape of his adopted home, New York, and one of great importance to Jaeger-LeCoultre as the origin of the Reverso. More than simply a style, Art Deco expressed the extraordinary spirit of modernity that swept the world in the 1920s and ’30s – progressive, optimistic and forward thinking, with a fascination for technology, and tremendous creative energy – values that will always remain relevant for the Manufacture.
“We are delighted to work with Alex Trochut,” says Catherine Rénier, Chief Executive Officer of Jaeger- LeCoultre. “His creative work is avant-garde and like our Maison, he uses his heritage as a foundation, harnessing that legacy in order to express the present and future in new creative ways.”
The new 1931 Alphabet that Alex has created for Jaeger-LeCoultre is a strongly modern addition to the Maison’s visual identity. In a sharp and contemporary take on Art Deco, each letter has a boldly sculptural quality and strong sense of visual depth, while also conveying a sense of dynamism and movement. It is equally expressive in both two-dimensional form and destined to become an additional signature of La Grande Maison, the 1931 Alphabet will be offered as a new style of personalisation for engraving on a Reverso case- back and will be seen in a wide variety of other initiatives in the future.
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