The Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre invites perfumer Nicolas Bonneville as part of its Made of Makers program. This new artistic collaboration gives rise to three exclusive scented creations, developed in connection with the heritage of the Swiss manufacturer, which become the olfactory identity of the great watchmaking house.
Made of Makers, a dialogue between fine watchmaking and art
“As part of Made of Makers, Jaeger-LeCoultre brings together artists, designers and artisans from outside watchmaking to explore creativity and innovation from different angles,” explains Matthieu Le Voyer, marketing director of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “By encouraging interdisciplinary collaborations, we not only celebrate craftsmanship, but also inspire new ways of thinking that enrich both the world of watchmaking and the arts. The added value of this program is based on going beyond the limits of traditional forms to fuel, through a fruitful exchange of ideas, the perpetual evolution of our house and flesh out the cultural significance of our creations.”
The year 2024 has in turn brought together the two-starred Indian chef Himanshu Saini nicknamed the “Ingredient Scientist”, or even Roy Wangthe Chinese specialist in light painting, who uses darkness as a backdrop and light as a brush. At the end of the year, the program invites the French perfumer Nicolas Bonneville to create a perfumed work – built around three sophisticated, timeless and exclusive fragrances – intended to represent the olfactory identity of the house founded almost two hundred years ago. How can we leave a trace and an emotion which is not intended for marketing, but which can serve as an “olfactory logo” for the house?
Jaeger-LeCoultre and Nicolas Bonneville unveil a new fragrant chapter
“Like watchmaking, the art of perfumery lies at the crossroads of creativity, science and precision. This is why we are delighted to welcome Nicolas Bonneville in the program Made of Makers”, rejoices Matthew Le Voyermarketing director of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “With his self-taught expertise and artistic vision, he brings an exciting new dimension to this community that celebrates the convergence of traditional skills across different disciplines and cultures. In its exploration of new territories in the world of haute perfumery, Nicolas Bonneville embodies the deep connection that exists between the world of the arts and our home.”
Recognized by his peers, the French perfumer from Le Mans, with an atypical career, fell in love with perfumery at an early age during a trip to Grasse, the world capital of perfume. Since then, he has never stopped learning, training and experimenting, setting up his very first laboratory in his parents’ cellar. Passionate about natural raw materials, he makes Jacques Maurelperfumer from Grasse, his mentor, then, a few years later, he worked among others alongside Francis Kurkdjianwho then becomes his second guide. Nicolas Bonneville affirms a unique conception of perfumery, which combines creativity, experimentation and innovation, an approach that is also found in the world of watchmaking.
For his part, Jaeger-LeCoultre represents the perfect balance between tradition and modernity. The house demonstrates a true sense of innovation, performance and excellence, values which also characterize high perfumery. The notions of know-how, transmission and expertise, attention to detail are all parallels uniting the two disciplines, both basing their practice on the same realities: time and material. Alchemy therefore seemed inevitable.
To tell the emblematic facets of the house Jaeger-LeCoultreit was necessary to opt for a strong olfactory signature, creating emotion and memory, and this through fundamentals: short formulas, developed with few ingredients, but of exceptional quality and very concentrated, to create, through extremely sophisticated and precise extraction processes, authentic “witnesses of time passing”heirs of know-how and craftsmanship dating back two centuries. Each ingredient – like each component – must be in its place. “The house Jaeger-LeCoultreit’s a bit less is more, the leitmotif of the watch industry,” confides Nicolas Bonneville. A judicious way of explaining that going to the essential remains the best way to reveal materials and their unique character.
A fragrant triptych that combines emotion and high precision
“I tend to think that an emotion is like time, that is to say that we are on time or we are not,” summarizes Nicolas Bonneville.
The Timeless Stories is the illustration of the iconic and precious Reverso wristwatch – an ultra sophisticated model, capable of withstanding the shocks experienced during polo games. A leathery, woody and very sensual accord recalls the equestrian world, while the crisp and green violet leaf at the top evokes the freshly cut grass of a sports field. Iris, one of the noblest materials in perfumery – obtained following a long extraction process – intensely envelops the heart of the composition and enhances the entire fragrance.
Because astronomy and watchmaking are closely linked, Nicolas Bonneville created The Celestial Odysseyan olfactory journey that oscillates between shadow and light. At its heart, a mysterious patchouli, a chiaroscuro ingredient, both woody and earthy, is awakened by a camphor freshness and stimulated in the base by the warmth of a high quality solar vanilla. This celestial journey is punctuated with amber notes and is expressed through the evocation of ambergris, a sort of rocky block, obtained in its natural state from sperm whale secretions, which, by sailing with the winds and of the tides, develops and releases all its olfactory power. The Moon, the Sun and the stars are united…
The perfume The Precision Pioneer draws its inspiration from the manufacturing’s core business. A resinous incense, rooted in time, echoes the origins of the house through the evocation of the intense heat of the forge fire, magnified by the complex and intense scents of noble woods of cedar, oud and guaiac, poetic references to the watchmaker’s workbench. The composition is punctuated by an amber vibration, like a mischievous nod to the watch’s second hand.
Three unique olfactory emotions to embody the identity of the watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultrewhich transcribe with refinement and precision the heart of its universe, while highlighting the special link they maintain with time. These unique scented creations will be offered and offered to privileged customers of the Grande Maison.
Jaeger-LeCoultre, 7 PL. Vendôme, Paris I, to benefit from a privileged welcome make an appointment directly by telephone on 01 53 45 70 00 or on www.jaeger-lecoultre.com
