Style Edit: Inspired by Jaeger-LeCoultre’s celebrated timepieces, perfumer Nicolas Bonneville has created 3 exotic scents as part of the watchmaker’s Made of Makers programme
As part of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Made of Makers programme, Bonneville has created 3 extraordinary scents inspired by some of the Swiss watchmaker’s timepieces and ethos
The realms of horology and art have long been intimately intertwined. Artists and watchmakers alike conjure magnificent creations seemingly from thin air, building on a grand tradition and adding their own innovative contributions. One of the most storied of all Swiss luxury watchmakers, Jaeger-LeCoultre celebrates this link with its Made of Makers programme, collaborating with artists, designers and craftsmen across a dazzling range of media to produce creative reinterpretations of the brand.
Nicolas Bonneville wears a Jaeger-LeCoultre timepiece. Photo: Handout
So far, the maison has worked with everyone from visual artists to chefs to musicians – and now the programme’s latest iteration sees it partner with renowned perfumer Nicolas Bonneville to create a series of three scents that perfectly capture the olfactory essence of Jaeger-LeCoultre. Among the leading perfumers of his generation, Bonneville has been obsessed with aromas since childhood and was mentored by some of the most renowned noses in the business, including the legendary Francis Kurkdjian. In his fragrances for Jaeger-LeCoultre, he expresses his creativity and versatility to the full.
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Perfumer Nicolas Bonneville. Photo: Handout
One of them, The Timeless Stories, takes its cues from perhaps the most celebrated of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s collections, the Reverso. The watch’s trademark reversible design was originally a response to the challenge of designing a piece tough enough to wear during a polo match and the fragrance uses woody, leathery, grassy notes to evoke the same equine associations.
The Timeless Stories is one of a trio of scents perfumer Nicolas Bonneville has created for watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre. Photo: Handout
Another of the scents, The Celestial Odyssey, refers to the heavenly bodies that have long inspired the watchmaker, conjuring thoughts of sun, moon and stars with a combination of amber, patchouli, ambergris and vanilla. The third, The Precision Pioneer, evokes the spirit of the manufacture by blending cedar, guaiac and oud wood with incense and amber to evoke the heat of a blacksmith’s fire.
The Precision Pioneer, a fragrance created by Nicolas Bonneville for Jaeger-LeCoultre. Photo: Handout
Members of the Hong Kong public have the chance to find out more at a series of masterclasses hosted in December at Jaeger-LeCoultre’s boutique in Pacific Place, Admiralty. Through a series of unique educational and sensory experiences, they’ll learn all about the ingredients, the art of perfumery and how these one-off fragrances were made.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre pop-up boutique. Photo: Handout
