Jaeger-LeCoultre salutes reinvention with symphonic exhibition

June 9, 2023

The brand and British musician Torville Ashburn M. Jones — known by his stage name, Tokio Myers — have debuted a production in celebration of the Reverso design and a numerical concept. Image courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre

By Emily Iris Degn

Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre is working with a famed talent on a milestone endeavor.

Known by his stage name, Tokio Myers, the brand and British musician Torville Ashburn M. Jones have debuted a musical in celebration of the Reverso design and the show’s namesake concept. In a first-of-its-kind project for Jaeger-LeCoultre, “The Golden Ratio Musical Show” highlights the company’s horological craft through an immersive and symphonic experience, hitting Los Angeles on June 22, 2023, before its world tour.

“Music has never been static; it's in constant evolution,” said Mr. Jones, in a statement.

“For me, it starts with mastery of the basics, then breaking free from the norms and composing my own story — constantly searching for the balance between the voices of the past and my own,” he said. “Composing for Jaeger-LeCoultre was so natural for me because we're looking for the same thing; there's a common goal: to reinvent the classic and find what is universal and timeless.”

Musical marketing
Jaeger-LeCoultre, in tapping the “Britain’s Got Talent” champion, affirms the talents of maison watchmakers with another craft altogether: music.

Thanks to the new medium, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s identity is presented in a fresh way to consumers and music fans alike. The effort is a holistic one that offers a visual and audio-centric expression of the brand’s position among creative talents, companies and the industry at large.

Mr. Jones identifies with the horological maison's tendency to reinvent classics

According to Jaeger-LeCoultre, working alongside Mr. Jones also strengthens its ties to the world of art.

The musician’s approach to his own genre specifically is an experimental one, fusing classical music with 90s soul, hip-hop and dance influences. This dedication to modernizing historic foundations is one that Jaeger-LeCoultre shares with Mr. Jones.

All of this is central to The Golden Ratio Musical Show.

In four chapters, Mr. Jones tells the story of the Golden Ratio, a concept Jaeger-LeCoultre often visits, including in the design of the Reverso watch. The value’s presence in the natural world and architecture, mystical roots and impact made on modern design are all brought forward.

The Golden Ratio served as a template for Mr. Jones as he composed the soundtrack for the musical production. Image credit: Jaeger-LeCoultre

To further weave 1.618, the Golden Ratio, into the 10-minute musical, Mr. Jones used a tempo of 161.8 beats per minute in composing the songs, an idea gleaned from spending time at Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Swiss headquarters.

“Being in Le Sentier, seeing first-hand how Jaeger-LeCoultre operates, experiencing the atmosphere in the Manufacture, seeing all the skills, hearing all of the different sounds, enjoying the calm surroundings of the Vallée de Joux — that gave me a lot of inspiration to draw on,” said Mr. Jones, in a statement.

The end result is a highly-conscious curation of sound, lighting and pyrotechnics projected onto a large screen of falling water, offering total immersion into the value that defines the Reverso watch and Jaeger-LeCoultre design philosophies.

Other Swiss watchmakers have taken on this challenge in the past, to use music as another cultural lens by which to showcase their heritage and place in the category to consumers, including Audemars Piguet (see story) and Rolex (see story). As immersive retail and marketing increasingly perform well among modern customers, time will only tell if musicals become a new favorite scheme for advertising.

The show is touring the world from June through the end of 2023. Image courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre

Following a private viewing during the Shanghai International Film Festival on June 9 and the aforementioned official debut in Los Angeles from June 22 through June 25, 2023, The Golden Ratio Musical Show will head to London in September 2023 and then Dubai thereafter.

Each event will occur in the 1931 Cinema, a set designed after the first-ever drive-in theater — like the Golden Ratio-sporting Reverso watch, the invention was created during the Art Deco era. Free of charge and open to the public, the space will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with the musical running in 20-minute slots from 7 p.m. on.

Making it
Mr. Jones’s symphonic composition comes with his appointment to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Made of Makers program, comprised of masters of craft across categories.

The brand connects with the ambassadors through a shared passion for excellence and artistic achievement. Mr. Jones marks the first musician to be a Made of Makers inductee, adding a new creative field to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s pool.

#MadeOfMakers: Unveiling our new Maker, Musical Alchemist Tøkio M¥ers. Discover the soundtrack exclusively for our Golden Ratio Musical Show: https://t.co/yXK0zpEmPi. #JaegerLeCoultre #TokioMyers pic.twitter.com/5jFlDcPAFS
— Jaeger-LeCoultre (@jaegerlecoultre) June 2, 2023

Before this, the program included contemporary artists (see story) and chefs.

Thanks to the culinary talent of French pâtissière Nina Métayer, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s identity and codes were illustrated with the chef’s chosen medium. Like Mr. Jones, Ms. Métayer took the opportunity to specifically explore the Golden Ratio concept through four creations of her own, namely, desserts (see story).

Share your thoughts. Click here

Jaeger-LeCoultre salutes reinvention with symphonic exhibition

Women now represent 13pc of global billionaire class: Altrata

Ambassador-led storytelling carries holiday campaign from Boucheron

Follow @LuxuryDaily for the latest in luxury news

Ginori 1735, St. Regis Hotels partner to scale branded cafe concept

Mytheresa releases quarterly results, reaches record high AOV

Erewhon to pilot pop-up juice bar in Las Vegas during F1 weekend

Audemars Piguet unveils collaboration with artist Kaws

‘Copy Nothing’ campaign defines next era at Jaguar

Luxury Unfiltered: Hermès and Patek Philippe prove trust is the true luxury

Jaeger-LeCoultre brings ‘Reverso Stories’ to New York