Expanding the dialogue that has long existed between horology, artisanship and art, Made of Makers is a programme of collaborations with artists and artisans from various disciplines outside watchmaking. It focuses on passionate and experienced creators who share Jaeger-LeCoultre’s values of creativity, expertise, precision and the perpetuation of excellence, and whose work explores new forms of expression through different and often unexpected materials and media.

To date, the Made of Makers community has embraced the worlds of contemporary art and gastronomy – with alumni including artists Zimoun, Michael Murphy and Guillaume Marmin, lettering artist Alex Trochut, pastry chef Nina Métayer and mixologist Matthias Giroud.

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s collaboration with Nina Métayer began in 2021 with the inauguration of the 1931 Café, for which the celebrated pâtissière created a special menu of pastries inspired by the Art Deco. Named Pastry Chef of the Year three times before she turned 30, Nina is renowned for the visual appeal of her pastries as well as her singular talent for blending evocative flavours in new and often unexpected ways.

“We are delighted to continue our collaboration with Nina Métayer under our Made of Makers programme,” says Catherine Rénier, CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “Between the artistic world and our Maison, there is an organic bond in the exploration of creativity and the respect for craft, and working with a passionate and experienced artisan like Nina enables us to express our Maison’s values in new ways that generate emotions, cultivate curiosity and explore the symbiotic relationship that exists between horology and art.”

For her new pastries, which will be offered to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s guests at Watches and Wonders 2023 and served in the 1931 Café around the world during the coming year, Nina Métayer interprets the  harmony of the Golden Ratio in a fresh and contemporary way, through proportions, shape, symmetry and colour – a tribute to the ‘divine proportion’ that defines the design of the first Reverso that was born in 1931. With their eye-catching forms and evocative names – Spirale de Noisette, Ellipse de Sapin, Étoile de Cassis and Carré au Miel de Forêt – each creation is infused with ingredients from the Vallée de Joux. The flavours and scent of hazelnuts, honey, pine, chestnuts and blackcurrants subtly evoke the natural harmony and beauty that surround Jaeger-LeCoultre’s home in the Swiss Jura mountains.

“Harmony in everything is, and has always been, a blend of mathematics and poetry. It’s a balance to which nature has long held the secrets – and a deep belief that Jaeger-LeCoultre and I share and apply to our work. This is the approach that I took when creating my four new pastries that pay homage to the Golden Ratio,” says Nina. “The creative spirit also understands that aesthetics has an impact on what we feel – so the visual forms of my pastries influence the perception of flavour: it’s the promise of unleashing poetry from the first bite.”

The Made of Makers programme brings together a community of artists, designers and craftsmen from a variety of disciplines outside watchmaking. Expanding the dialogue that exists between horology and art, the programme is founded on the core principles that have always defined La Grande Maison: creativity, expertise and precision. It focuses on passionate and experienced creators who share the Maison’s values and whose work explores new forms of expression through different and often unexpected materials and media. Each year, new works commissioned through the programme animate the exhibitions that Jaeger-LeCoultre stages around the world, amplifying the chosen theme and creating new opportunities for audiences to engage and to become part of the wider conversation about art, craft and design.

 

 

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