Jaeger-LeCoultre takes its watchmakers to Roppongi Hills to mark a Ginza move
Richemont Japan is staging a week of live watchmaking demonstrations at Roppongi Hills Café to mark the relocation of Jaeger-LeCoultre's Ginza flagship this summer — experiential programming staged away from the boutique counter itself.
Richemont Japan is running a week-long showcase of Jaeger-LeCoultre watchmaking, called "Valley of Inventions," at Roppongi Hills Café from 1 to 6 October, marking the opening of the maison's relocated flagship boutique on Ginza's Namiki-dori this summer, the company said.
The event is free to enter, open 11am to 7pm on most days, and features live demonstrations by watchmakers and artisans from the maison's manufacture in Switzerland's Vallée de Joux, including enamel decoration and the assembly of complex movements. It is structured around four themes — chronometry, the tourbillon, the multi-axis tourbillon and complications — and displays 2026 collection pieces including the Master Chronometre, the Master Hybris Mechanica Ultra-Slim Minute Repeater and the Vallée de Merveilles line. Visitors can reserve a slot online through Jaeger-LeCoultre's website.
A separate collaboration pairs the watchmaking theme with limited-edition cheese bites created by Michelin two-starred chef Gilles Valéron, inspired by the culture of the Jura Valley region where the manufacture is based. Jaeger-LeCoultre, founded in 1833, has produced more than 1,400 movement calibres and holds more than 430 patents, according to the company.
Staging hands-on artisan demonstrations at a shopping-mall café rather than the boutique itself is a Presentation move distinct from the counter: a Richemont watch house evidently now expects a Tokyo flagship relocation to be supported by experiential programming beyond the store, not the store alone. Pairing horology with a chef collaboration is a bet that Ginza's watch buyers respond as much to hospitality and craft theatre as to the timepieces on display.