Benedict Cumberbatch, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new watchmaker
British actor and Jaeger-LeCoultre brand ambassador Benedict Cumberbatch enjoyed a private watchmaking masterclass at London’s Jaeger-LeCoultre flagship store.
Benedict Cumberbatch began by observing one of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s longest-serving watchmakers Richard Phipps-Carter as he dismantled a Jaeger-LeCoultre 925 movement. Phipps-Carter, who originally joined the company 31 years ago, then guided Benedict Cumberbatch through the numerous, intricate steps involved in assembling a movement’s components with the help of traditional watchmaking tools, while Benedict Cumberbatch attempted to perform some parts of this exceptionally demanding process for himself. “Richard shared his expertise with me with enthusiasm,” said Benedict Cumberbatch after the session. “Delicate operations require hours and hours of minute manipulation, from engraving and hand-chamfering to enameling, gem-setting, guillochage and mirror-polishing. Precision in the workmanship is everything because even nano errors cannot be edited out.”
In a series of intimate photographs taken during the masterclass, Benedict Cumberbatch is seen sitting on the watchmaker’s workbench examining watch parts up-close with the naked eye, including the oscillating weight of the Master Ultra Thin Moon Caliber 925. He later admires a selection of Jaeger-LeCoultre calibers displayed behind a glass wall cabinet in the store. Benedict Cumberbatch wears the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Memovox, a watch originally inspired by its iconic 1968 predecessor and available in a limited edition of 1,000.
