Jaeger-LeCoultre iPhone application

2009 started as a very difficult year for luxury product manufacturers. The economic crisis had broken the luxury market and sales had suffered – especially in the watch market. Key luxury markets, like the US and Japan, were in decline and all brands were competing in the same regions. Luxury brands had to reaffirm their position by returning to their roots to express their core values.

Many brands re-positioned themselves to high-end watchmaking, attacking Jaeger-LeCoultre’s position. JLC needed to secure its core clientele and reassert its authority and know-how on fine watch-making and promote the brand image of its manufacturer. Jaeger-LeCoultre wanted to show that its passion for fine watch-making was matched by a desire to share knowledge with the public at large.

An iPhone app could offer to a luxury brand targeting and a high level of design, so JLC created an application inviting devotees of fine watches and the public at large to discover the world of fine watch-making from the standpoint of a watchmaking apprentice. The Jaeger-LeCoultre application provided rich, progressive and educational content relating to a world traditionally only accessible to a small minority.

Classes enable users to explore and practice the various stages in creating a luxury watch, directly on their iPhone screen: assembling a chronograph mechanism, decorating and jewelling a movement, polishing, engraving and gem-setting a case. The watch classes are displayed at a rate of one new class every fortnight. A comprehensive dictionary of horology explains a number of specialised terms, from shock-absorber to barrel, from Clous de Paris to equation of time and from tourbillon to moon phases.

The brand also invites users to explore a collection of over 60 models, including eight interactive models from among its most iconic creations. Finally, the application provides a function that locates the closest Jaeger-LeCoultre point of sale. The application has been available on the iTunes App Store since 10/2009 and can be downloaded globally.

The Jaeger-LeCoultre iPhone application surpassed the 100,000 downloads worldwide milestone in less than two months (the average 10.000 for the luxury industry).