Back at the helm of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Jérôme Lambert brings both wisdom and warmth to the storied Manufacture. On a recent visit to Doha, a key stage for the maison’s enduring legacy, he shared his reflections on heritage, creativity and the passion that has defined his journey.
Under the soft glow of Doha’s afternoon light, Jérôme Lambert, CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre, speaks of time as if it were alive: shaped, polished and refined with the same patience that defines the maison he leads. His words flow easily, weaving together almost two centuries of heritage with a renewed energy for haute horlogerie. “Since 1833,” he says, “Jaeger-LeCoultre has shaped the most important moments of watchmaking,” guided by creativity, technical mastery and a spirit of innovation that has always remained in-house.
For Jérôme, one word captures the essence of Jaeger-LeCoultre: consistency. From the Vallée de Joux, where the Manufacture still beats in the same valley that gave it life nearly two centuries ago, Jaeger-LeCoultre remains a world apart. Inside, craftsmanship reigns supreme. Under one roof, some 180 distinct crafts coexist in quiet harmony, from enamelling and engraving to the creation of the most intricate movements.
That same spirit of precision and imagination lives on in the Reverso watch, the brand’s most enduring icon, celebrated this year. Originally designed in 1931 for British officers playing polo in India, the Reverso was born from a simple yet ingenious idea: a timepiece that could protect its dial from impact by flipping its case over. What began as a functional solution soon evolved into a symbol of refined design, marrying geometry and grace in perfect proportion.
A sense of timeless sophistication that feels especially at home in Qatar, a country whose appreciation for craftsmanship and detail mirrors Jaeger-LeCoultre’s own values. “It’s one of our key markets in the Middle East and also one where women in particular show a growing interest in highly technical and sophisticated horology,” Jérôme notes.
The Man Who Came Full Circle
There is something almost cinematic about the brand’s CEO journey, one deeply rooted in the culture of watchmaking that shaped his childhood. Born in France, he grew up in Franche-Comté, a region that borders Switzerland. “A few decades ago, watchmaking was still very present there”, he recalls. “It started to fade in the late 1980s, but the context of horology has always remained.”
As a child, he would pass by the great watchmaking houses, “infinitely closed,” as he says, “yet filled with windows.” Meaning that they looked inaccessible and closed to the world outside. However, he could glimpse the quiet life within: vast workshops where artisans crafted objects no bigger than four centimetres in diameter. “There’s a kind of mystery that surrounds these places, and when you grow up near them, you feel that aura. Later, when life takes you into your professional path, that mystery resonates in a special way.”
That resonance eventually led him to Jaeger-LeCoultre, a brand that holds a particularly strong place in the French imagination. “It’s one of the best-known watch brands in the country,” Jérôme notes. “If you’ve lived there, you naturally develop an affinity with it. In my generation, the Reverso was very popular when we were in our twenties; it was a symbol of elegance and precision. So inevitably, the maison always had a special appeal.”
Yet destiny, as it often does, came through an encounter. He had not planned a career in watchmaking. But one day, in the late 1990s, he met his predecessor at Jaeger-LeCoultre and everything changed. “I was transported by his passion,” he says. “Passion can be an overused word, but what I saw was something more, a kind of sacred fire. You could see it in his eyes, in the team around him. When you’re in your twenties, you want to be driven by that fire, by purpose, by a mission. And that’s what I found at Jaeger-LeCoultre. I hope the young people who join the Manufacture today still feel that same sacred flame, the energy that pushes you to go beyond yourself every day.”
Jérôme first took the helm of Jaeger-LeCoultre in 2002, at just 33 years old, leading the maison for more than a decade. He later went on to head Montblanc and eventually took senior leadership roles within Richemont Group before returning to Jaeger-LeCoultre in 2025. His comeback felt like a rare privilege. “A French Prime Minister who visited the Manufacture told me how lucky I was,” he smiles. “He said, ‘You get to live your dream job twice.’ The first time, you’re under so much pressure that you can’t step back. The second time, you do it with joy and perspective.”
Looking back, he recognises how the balance has shifted. “Back then, stress and happiness were mixed together,” he admits. “Now, I can make a clearer distinction. The creative part, the pleasure, the happiness of doing, they’re far stronger.” He pauses. “It’s the same role, but not quite the same. The difference is time, not because I have more of it, but because I’ve learned what truly deserves it. The key is to tell the difference between what is absolutely urgent and what is absolutely important.” In the end, perhaps that’s the finest lesson time can teach and the one complication he has truly mastered.
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