The Jaeger-LeCoultre Made of Makers programme weaves a narrative between time and art by collaborating with visionary artists and artisans from fields outside watchmaking whose creative practice resonates with that of the Maison’s devotion to craft, creativity and precision.
The programme views classical art forms and techniques not as relics, but as living, evolving sources of innovation, much like watchmaking itself, showing how tradition can inspire contemporary expression.
These creative dialogues highlight the shared values of artistry, emotion and cultural reflection across disciplines. The selection team looks for global makers with passion, humility and dedication to mastering their particular craft.
To date, the programme has given impetus to the careers of a creative community that includes visual artists, chefs, musicians, and perfumers who share a curiosity to innovate and surprise. Among these is the current “World’s Best Pastry Chef” title holder Nina Métayer who partnered with Jaeger-LeCoultre in 2021.
At Watches and Wonders Geneva each year, the Maison presents an experimental journey with the latest maker held in their dedicated 1931 Café. The 2025 edition united two of the finest crafts most synonymous with Swiss culture and industry, with chef chocolatier Mathieu Davoine paying homage to the iconic Reverso, while capturing the spirit and energy of the Art Deco movement that defined its timeless style and the sport that informed its innovative design.
Davoine was clearly a man in huge demand. Still, the director of press and events, Nicolas Fermont, graciously secured me time with the head chocolatier shortly after my hands-on encounter with the line-up of exquisite Reverso novelties for the year.
The Reverso was the first dedicated sports wristwatch at the time of its introduction in 1931, designed specifically to withstand the rigours of the elite sport of polo. Polo is one of the world’s oldest team sports, first arriving in India from Persia, where it flourished among the nobility before being embraced by British colonial officers and aristocrats across the Commonwealth.
In 1930s India, Swiss businessman César de Trey was challenged by British polo-playing officers to create a watch durable enough for the sport. On returning to Europe, he collaborated with Jacques-David LeCoultre and French engineer René-Alfred Chauvot, who patented a rotating case that could flip to protect the dial and withstand the impact of a stray ball during play.
Meaning “I turn” in Latin, Chauvot applied the golden ratio to achieve the harmony in the overall design of the Reverso. Its rectangular steel case, Deco styling and clean-lined indexes were a bold break with the convention of the era, making it one of the most revolutionary models in watchmaking history. Due to its sophistication and resilience, the Reverso became an instant hit both on and off the field, its protective solid case back often being used as a canvas for lavish personalisation through engraving, enamelling and gem setting.
Demonstrating his ability to shift traditional perceptions of what chocolate can be, by combining unique flavours and textures, 29-year-old Davoine embraced the added challenge of performing the unexpected with ingredients foraged from the Vallée de Joux, the home of Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Davoine handles the complexity of transforming beans into exquisite chocolate creations with great dexterity. This requires a nose and palate fine-tuned to the nuances of terroir that contribute to the unique flavour profiles of beans from different regions, as he explained: “Recently, I tasted cocoa from Cuba that I felt was a bit like a cigar... the earth where it grows is quite ‘smoky’ and you sense this in the raw material.”
Indulging the first of his “ephemeral sculptures”, the swirl of dark chocolate mouse of the ‘Harmonie de Chocolat’ glided off its sablé cookie base, moving lightly across my tongue with the agility of pony and rider. This opened the field for a surprise encounter with crunchy cacao pearls, milk chocolate ganache and a light sprinkling of hazelnuts.
As a palate-cleanser, Davoine presented a uniquely perfumed beverage made from the fleshy pulp or mucilage surrounding the cocoa beans inside a ripe pod.
For the second chukker, his “Galop des Bois” combined crisp praline, fluffy mousse and soft sponge in a mouth-sized polo ball, which took me on a sensational ride through the woodlands of the vallée. Davoine achieved incredible depth of flavour by the layered sweetness of blueberries, blackcurrants, vanilla and white chocolate with the surprising-yet-complementary earthiness of porcini mushrooms.
Davoine created molecular magic with the “Éclat de Caviar” bumping the others out of play to become my favourite as he politely confused my taste buds with a flavour profile of black olives and chocolate, complemented by an infusion made from the new shoots of fir trees. Presented in a tin reminiscent of those made for the boot polish of polo players, each memorable teaspoonful contained lustrous crisp shells of cocoa caviar pearls that cracked on the tongue to play along with the textures of buttery chocolate, light olive tapenade, and crunchy biscuit.
As a final treat for the horseman, “Douceur du Cavalier” reinterpreted the popular French LU Petit Écolier biscuit through a special recipe that included pollen from Vallée de Joux. The sable biscuit base was layered with a chocolate ganache, a fragrant jelly made from the meadowsweet herb and topped off with milk chocolate. A tad saccharine for my taste but a perfectly yummy finale nonetheless.
Hitting a grand sweet spot, the Milanese link bracelet on the Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds gives contemporary expression to a technique dating back to the 13th century. The artisans at Jaeger-LeCoultre have created the pezza — the dense fabric-like flat metal weave — of each bracelet using two 8m long pink gold metal threads to achieve the double layer of tiny interlocking links.
Like Davoine’s mouse, the bracelet is soft and slinky on the wrist and a perfect complement to the sleek silhouette of the Reverso’s 45.6 x 27.4mm ultra-thin 18kt pink gold case (just 7.56mm). With the modified lug attachments, the bracelet also appears to be integrated. The matt gold grained dial offers a counterpoint to the polished case, Dauphine hands and applied indexes. Inside beats the tonneau-shaped, manually wound, in-house Calibre 822 with a power reserve of 42 hours.
POA, jaeger-lecoultre.com or RLG Africa 011-317-2600
Davoine recently joined the Swiss Culinary National Team in preparation for the Culinary World Cup in 2026 and the Culinary Olympics in 2028. He is head chocolatier at Othmane Khoris Chocolatier, located at Rue du Rhône 3, Genève. othmanekhoris.ch
