Under the banner of its multidisciplinary ‘Made of Makers’ initiative, Jaeger-LeCoultre is poised to release a trio of home fragrances created for the Maison by French perfumer Nicolas Bonneville.
The brand’s partnership with Bonneville is intriguing by any stretch – marking the first instance in which the “Watchmaker of watchmakers” has partnered with a master of scents, bridging the gap between two disciplines both defined by their art-meet-science approach.
For this partnership, Jaeger-LeCoultre tasked Bonneville with crafting perfumes that could “collectively capture the identity” of the Maison – and do so with memorable individual personality. In that spirit, three compositions will be available, each evoking the traditions of haute perfumery in a new and uniquely Jaeger way.
These include ‘Timeless Stories’, a wood-and-leather scent with a prominent orris accord; ‘Celestial Odyssey’, a spicy vanilla bomb made via the cutting-edge process of Superfluid extraction; and ‘Precision Pioneer’, an oriental category fragrance that is an ode, among other things, to oud.
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An apprentice of acclaimed nose Francis Kurkdijian, creator of Le Male and Amyris (among others), Bonneville inherited his mentor’s knack for perfumery with plenty of depth and narrative texture.
Just as the watchmaker must carefully weigh every element that makes up their dial, Bonneville has adopted a ‘less is more’ approach in the construction of three original scents for Jaeger-LeCoultre.
“When creating home perfumes, it’s crucial to dose raw materials carefully,” says Bonneville. “To preserve their unique olfactory character without excessive dilution.”
Rather than opting to go the hamfisted route (nobody needs to know what a multi-axis tourbillon literally smells like), Bonneville interprets “the precision of fine watchmaking” with compositions that utilise short formulas and a level of concentration that, crucially, leaves a powerful impression.
Traditionally masc types will gravitate toward Timeless Stories, a fragrance bound in wood and leather that evokes the landscape surrounding Jaeger-LeCoultre’s watchmaking studio in the Vallée de Joux. In the spirit of traditional craft, the orris rhizome at the heart of this scent (also a popular ingredient in gin distilling) is dried for two years – in order to coax out its prized floral and powdery scent.
Meanwhile, the Celestial Odyssey is Bonneville’s tribute to the advanced technologies the Maison employs in the development of astronomical watches. Indelicately, we’d describe this as a woody amber-type scent, but the Tahitian vanilla that formulates the base isn’t extracted using water. Instead, CO₂ gas is evaporated: capturing with it the true essence of vanilla’s comforting olfactory properties.
Rounding out the trio is the Precision Pioneer. Easily the most literal of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new bespoke fragrances, this oud-based formula is still an appropriately romantic bit of aromatic artistry. Its middle accord – which Bonneville has nicknamed ‘Vibrant Wood’ – is made up of a unique medley of different tree resins; and, in the best tradition of perfumers who smell the world in complete mental pictures, is inspired by the idea of a sundial in the desert.
Described by Catherine Rénier, former CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre, as a quest to enrich the “practices of watchmaking” through “different perspectives”, previous personalities in the ‘Made of Makers’ community have been drawn from the worlds of music, contemporary art, and gastronomy.
Learn more about the brand’s ongoing programme of external collaboration at the link below.
This article is sponsored by Jaeger-LeCoultre. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Boss Hunting.
