Behind The Collectibles: LeCoultre American Signature | Jaeger-LeCoultre
1 Video View·Nov 7, 2026
In America, Jaeger-LeCoultre had another name. By the late 1920s, the Maison had already had an established presence in the United States under the name Jaeger, notably through its precision instruments and the creation of Jaeger Inc. in New York in 1926. Yet, when the Manufacture-Atelier expanded across America, another name appeared on its watches: LeCoultre. In 1936, LeCoultre S.H. of America opened its office in New York and LeCoultre watches and dials became a distinctive signature of the Maison in the US market.
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1926. The opening chapter of Jaeger-LeCoultre's American story.
On February 24th, Jacques-David LeCoultre set sail
for America aboard the ocean liner France.
The journey opened his eyes to the potential
of a new world for the manufacturer.
At that time, the United States was roaring with industrial progress.
As aviation and automobiles moved the world faster than ever,
Jaeger Incorporated was established in New York
to distribute precision instruments for aircraft and cars.
Nine years later, in 1935,
his son Roger LeCoultre set out on a journey of his own.
In America, a new opportunity was taking shape,
bringing the manufacturer's fine watchmaking to American wrists.
To distinguish these wristwatches from the automotive
and aviation instruments bearing the Jaeger name,
another name was chosen for their dials. LeCoultre.
In 1936, the first LeCoultre office opened
in New York to bring that ambition to life.
President Herbert Hoover signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act,
imposing severe taxes on imported watches.
With watch cases subject to steep duties,
some Swiss calibers crossed the Atlantic with their dials
and hands to be cased upon arrival.
Movements were revised specifically
to match this regulatory environment,
with calibers featuring 17 jewels
and final adjustments being made by expert watchmakers in the US.
VXN, the importer's code engraved on many movements,
remains a clue to this journey for collectors today.
What began as a custom solution opened a new freedom of design.
The Powermatic Nautilus of the early 1950s embodied
this American expression of Swiss watchmaking
and was available exclusively on the U.S. market.
But America's influence reached far beyond its own shores.
American customers' expectations traveled back to the manufacturer,
helping inspire creations such as the Memovox Deepsea,
the Memovox Polaris,
and the Master Mariner Deepsea Barracuda,
models that would find their place on wrists around the world.
America was shaping the watch itself.
From military command to jazz, from Hollywood to motor racing,
from the space age to the moon generation,
LeCoultre accompanied people who came to define modern America.
On their wrists, its timepieces found
their place in the culture of an era.
By the 1970s, the name began to give way to a shared global identity,
Jaeger LeCoultre.
But those vintage LeCoultre timepieces remain,
scattered across private collections today.
As generations of watchmakers continue to care
for each LeCoultre returning to its birthplace,
the legacy of Jaeger LeCoultre lives
on as the watchmaker of watchmakers.
Jaeger LeCoultre, the watchmaker of watchmakers.