Based on recent reports from Astrid Wendlandt, who publishes Miss Tweed, and other watch industry insiders, Richemont may be exploring a potential sale of Jaeger-LeCoultre.

Following the announcement that the publicly traded luxury group Richemont SA is selling Baume & Mercier to the Damiani Group, there’s now speculation that Jaeger-LeCoultre could be next.

The two companies are completely different, one being a pure manufacture, with most of its watches costing five figures and above, and the other being a lower to mid four figure brand, that outsources its movements, and which has been marketed as a historic watchmaker but with an operational strategy akin to a fashion brand.

Jaeger-LeCoultre price points can overlap with Cartier (Richemont’s cash cow), and IWC, (Richemont’s biggest watch-only brand within the group). Jaeger even sees some overlap from Officine Panerai and Vacheron Constantin, to the point that the iconic watch brand may not be getting it’s fair share of the attention within the dictatorial group.

Separating it, under the leadership of Jérôme Lambert, the current CEO, and longtime champion of the brand, could instantly allow, arguably, one of the greatest watchmaking houses, to finally claim it’s place amongst leading mainstream Swiss brands, most notably Rolex, Omega, and Cartier.

Since 2017, when Richemont veteran, Georges Kern tooked as CEO and part owner of Breitling, as well as acquiring Universal Genève in 2023, and subsequently Gallet in 2025, we’ve seen lots of pomp, such as mega events, constant store openings, a plethora of paid celebrity endorsements, and a ridiculous number of models and variants released. What we’ve not seen is consumers raving about and wearing Breitling, so that’s perhaps an example of a watch brand that was supposed to skyrocket under new leadership, but that has not done so, unless you’re measuring the number of new stores opened, in which case they’re probably the Guinness record book holder in that category.

Final Thoughts

Lambert has always had a different philosophy than his longtime Richemont colleague (and nemesis) Kern, and this could, and should ideally result in something unlike what we’ve seen at Breitling. After all, Breitling was already an independent brand, and has now become a three brand group, so despite the comparisons between Lambert and Kern, if Jaeger-LeCoultre separates from Richemont, strategically there are many differences.

As someone that’s toured Jaeger-LeCoultre, I can confirm, it’s an amazing place (in the heart of the Vallée de Joux), so I’m definitely biased in that way, and I do hope the brand can become even greater, because I feel like it’s always been under appreciated, largely due the fact that every decision is slowed down and potentially hindered by what’s best for the group.

As always, time will tell if there’s any merit to this speculation. If there is, and a sale takes place, it will be interesting to see what changes and what stays the same. Going independent, provides no guarantee of success. It does ensure a certain level freedom, not possible within the group structure, and with the right leadership and decisions, it could result in Jaeger-LeCoultre becoming the best version of itself.