Georges-Auguste Leschot (1800-1884), son of Jean-François Leschot and like his father, G-A Leschot distinguished himself with his great mechanical expertise and in watchmaking know-how. G-A Leschot became known as the Thomas Edison of a great watch company from Geneva, Vacheron & Constantin, for whom he invented the pantograph as well as diverse tools that would allow him to, for the first time in watchmaking history, create interchangeable parts for watches. At that time same as today, the capacity to produce interchangeable components in a uniform way and of high quality was vital for quality watch manufacturing. G-A Leschot’s tools and inventions were great contributions to the watchmaking industry in general thanks to which Vacheron & Constantin was able to gain a ten-year lead time ahead of the competition.
Their motto was “Do better, if possible, which is always possible”. In 1845, with Vacheron & Constantin, G-A Leschot received from Geneva’s Society of the Arts the official prize ‘Auguste de la Rives’. He also invented a ‘diamond drill’ for rock piercing and deep well drilling. This invention was patented in 1862 and facilitated the piercing of most tunnels in the world, such as the Gothard Tunnel in the Swiss Alps, as well as oil deep well drilling. This method he developed is still used today worldwide.
The Tourbillon: more than 200 years ago Abraham-Louis Breguet obtained his patent for his “tourbillon regulator” and it remains one of the most fascinating achievements made in mechanical watchmaking. It is a device one can admire all throughout the day, or which its owner can proudly explain to others, or can simply keep for himself. This precious item, belonging to the very high-end watchmaking world, is offered by some key watch manufacturers in Switzerland.
At JD-Leschot, the Tourbillon was chosen as its center of focus, all the while modern with harmony and high-mech, high-tech and high-touch. The case of the JD-Leschot is handcrafted in platinum or gold. JD-Leschot today is first and foremost a family company. Miro Bapic and his children, Jasmine, and Alain Bapic are part of this adventure. On the hills of Neuchâtel, Switzerland the Leschot Manufacture can be found, located in a region referred to as “Watch Valley” and known for its advance in the research and development in watchmaking.
Inside Leschot’s manufacture the artisanal and manufacturing context is still alive and each JD-Leschot Tourbillon is carefully handcrafted until it comes to life. It takes time, a lot of time for the master watchmaker to perfect, fine-tune and finally give life to each JD-Leschot Tourbillon.
REAL LUXURY INC. is the official global distributor for J-D Leschot. For any inquiries, please contact us.
