Long before the supposed demise of mechanical watches and the triumph of quartz timepieces, there were countless movement manufacturers. Years of a gloomy economy and consolidation in the industry took its toll, so that despite the resurgence of mechanical watches, only a few dominant movement suppliers remained. This situation has eased to some extent; companies like Sellita are now able to compete with former near-monopolies such as ETA in the high-volume segment, and movements from Asia are more readily accepted. In addition to the many genuine in-house movements that are developed and produced within a given company, there are a number of companies that design and build movements exclusively for well-known manufacturers. For a long time, these innovative contract manufacturers were only known to industry insiders, as their involvement was often not disclosed. It’s only since the exact origin of a movement has received so much attention – as has been the case in recent years – that these background companies have moved into the spotlight, or at least been specifically mentioned by watch brands, as their involvement is now seen as a plus rather than a flaw.
One such company is La Joux-Perret. Under the umbrella of the Citizen Group, La Joux-Perret develops and builds movements from the entry-level to the high-end range, supplying calibers to brands both inside and beyond the Group. It’s well worth looking at the current caliber portfolio, but the company’s unusual history also deserves some attention – it’s marked by one of the biggest scandals in the watch industry, which led to a change of ownership and name.
Jaquet SA and the Jaquet Affair
To make things abundantly clear: La Joux-Perret, which is now in Japanese hands, no longer has anything to do with the past scandal. Nevertheless, the story of the predecessor Jaquet must be told to build a complete portrait of the company. The company’s namesake and originator is Jean-Pierre Jaquet, who initially traded in antique watches in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland in the 1980s. He had a somewhat dubious reputation, not only because of his unpleasant manner, but also because he had several run-ins with the law. He was also suspected of selling counterfeit watches, which at first didn’t have any significant consequences. With the renaissance of complicated mechanical watches, the demand for high-quality finished movements and complications grew. Jaquet catered to this niche with Jaquet SA, a company that primarily assembled and finished movements from ETA, a dominant force in the industry at the time. In 2003, it was reported that a watch counterfeiting ring was under investigation and that Jaquet was one of the main suspects. The incidents under investigation included the disappearance of gold Rolex cases worth 500,000 Swiss francs (approx. $600,000) and the subsequent appearance of counterfeit Daytona chronographs shortly thereafter. These contained ETA movements converted by Jaquet. The head of ETA at the time confirmed that only Jaquet had the quantities and means to convert ETA movements on a large scale to match the layout of a Rolex Daytona. Swatch President Nicolas G. Hayek likened it to a raid by cardinals on the Vatican bank. In the end, Jaquet and 14 accomplices were sentenced to prison terms and hefty fines. The events went down in the history of the industry as the Jaquet Affair, and the Jaquet name was blacklisted. When Prothor Holding SA took over the remaining business, La Joux-Perret was chosen as an untainted, innocuous name, and Jaquet faded into the background.
La Joux-Perret From 2003
Now that our watchmaking thriller is finished, it’s time to turn our attention to the technical aspects. Free from the shadows of its past, La Joux-Perret continued to make a name for itself as a modification and complication specialist. For example, a movement with a rare alarm function was built based on a model by the historic movement manufacturer A. Schild, the caliber AS 5008, which left the workshops of La Joux-Perret as the LJP 5800. For Hublot, the ETA 7750 was modified into the HUB44RAC, where RAC stands for “Roue à Colonne,” or column wheel. This caliber, which is normally equipped with a cam gear, is often upgraded with the popular column wheel for higher-end applications. The Romain Jérôme brand was supplied with a hand-wound tourbillon movement with a 90-hour power reserve.
Around 2012, the company produced around 50,000 movements per year, covering a wide range of products – from simple modifications of ETA movements like the 2892 or 7750 to split-seconds chronographs and tourbillons. The company also underwent significant changes when it was acquired by the Citizen Group in 2012. Although it continues to serve external customers, becoming part of the Citizen Group opened up new opportunities through proximity to the Group’s own brands, including Frédérique Constant, Alpina, and Arnold & Son. Frédérique Constant and Alpina, in particular, rely on calibers that were developed by or with La Joux-Perret. While Frédérique Constant relies on its own manufacturing expertise, it has now begun to equip certain entry-level models with La Joux-Perret movements, rather than purchasing standard movements and upgrading them.
La Joux-Perret Today
La Joux-Perret was not doing particularly well financially in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. The order books were looking thin. A change in management led to a clearer positioning, the introduction of new base movements, and a streamlining of their portfolio. Under new CEO Jean-Claude Eggen, focus shifted to the development of a new base movement, the G100. It’s a simple three-hand automatic movement with a remarkable power reserve of 68 hours and balance frequency of 4 Hz. The movement does without a reduced rate and has already won over numerous customers. It is, of course, interchangeable in terms of dimensions with the ETA 2824-2 and Sellita SW200, and can also be ordered in various quality levels. The G101 variant is used, for example, in the MB&F M.A.D.1S presented in September 2024, to name just one of the numerous models now powered by this movement. The L100, in turn, is a fully integrated automatic chronograph caliber that isn’t modular. Here, too, the focus is on dimensional compatibility with the established bestsellers in the segment, the ETA 7750 and its technically improved successors, as well as the Sellita SW500. The column wheel and 60-hour power reserve at 4 Hz should be enough to justify the higher price compared to the competition.
The third base caliber in the group is the D100, a compact and flat manual caliber based on the historic Peseux 7001, which ETA removed from its collection a few years ago. Here, too, La Joux-Perret has taken the opportunity to make some technical optimizations and increase the power reserve to 50 hours.
New Release From Angelus With a Technical Treat
The focus on the G100 didn’t mean the disappearance of highly complex movements from the portfolio; tourbillons still have a firm place at La Joux-Perret. The caliber 5000 is another very interesting movement with an extraordinary history, most recently used by Ming and the revived Angelus brand, whose name rights are held by La Joux-Perret.
The design of this hand-wound monopusher chronograph movement dates back to Techniques Horlogères Appliquées, or THA for short, founded in 1989 by F.P. Journe, Vianney Halter, and Denis Flageollet. The movement was first used in the Cartier Tortue Monopoussoir in 1999. It combined a column wheel with a swing drive and was based on a compact Peseux movement. The rights to the visually striking design were later transferred to Jaquet and thereafter to La Joux-Perret, where – fortunately – it is still available.
Collaboration With Miyota
Being part of Citizen inevitably offers La Joux-Perret opportunities, especially seeing as Miyota, a massive movement supplier, is also part of the corporate family. These links are being well utilized, as demonstrated by the G100, which is largely based on the 9000 caliber family from Citizen-Miyota. However, the movements aren’t identical: The version from La Joux-Perret has a higher power reserve and is, of course, Swiss made.
2021 saw the debut of another unusual collaboration with the mechanical arm of Citizen‘s movement production, Miyota. With “The Citizen,” the Group was obviously launching a rebuttal to Grand Seiko, or at least venturing into the realm of the now extremely successful competitor from Japan. In addition to cases with precise edges and dials inspired by nature and Japanese craftsmanship, a contemporary, elegant automatic movement is also a must-have. This function is fulfilled by the 0200 caliber, which was explicitly announced as a collab with La Joux-Perret. Technically, the movement clearly bears the signature of Miyota calibers, but La Joux-Perret contributed its expertise in finishing. The result is a Japanese automatic movement that leaves the rustic, industrial look previously associated with Citizen Miyota behind in favor of a contemporary, luxurious appearance, thus meeting the demands of customers in the high-end mechanical segment.
Future Prospects
Production has now increased again, order books are full, and the company has been able to increase its workforce and invest in the future. It remains to be seen how La Joux-Perret’s multi-pronged strategy – supplying both external and internal Group brands – will prove itself in the future. There is no doubt that their portfolio contains many mechanical treasures that can and will find their audience, from microbrands to high-end watchmakers.
