“I always loved watches when I was a kid,” says lettering artist Alex Trochut. The Barcelona native, thanks to his latest collaborative project, was exposed to the finer facets of horology via the watchmakers of Jaeger-LeCoultre. It is part of the manufacture’s ‘Made of Makers’ series, wherein it seeks to work with artists, designers and craftsmen from outside the world of matchmaking. “I grew to understand how much of the craft and generational knowledge needs to be passed on… I had no idea how much depth it goes to,” Trochut adds.
The result of the collaboration is a new typeface, which is of particular interest to one iconic Jaeger-LeCoultre watch in particular: the Reverso. Its trademark property is a face that can be flipped over to protect the timepiece, which was originally developed for polo players. These days, however, the otherwise unadorned caseback of the rectangular watch is prime real estate for decoration – including the engraving of initials, dates and the like.
This is where Trochut’s work comes in. “There were some technical specifications that we had to account for,” he explains. “The engraving doesn’t allow for certain lines that are too thin, but at the same time, we wanted a lot of lines that could resonate with the watch itself. And what we were thinking is that it needs to be connected with the watch and the design.”
The last point is a rich area of inspiration – first released in 1929, the Reverso is a classic example of the Art Deco movement. “There were so many things happening,” Alex Trochut describes of the era. “Constructivism, Bauhaus, there was a principle of going to the basics – no ornaments, simplifying things.” He is now based in New York, a city famous for its Art Deco architecture. “I can only imagine how futuristic the façade of the Chrysler building might have looked [when it was built],” he cites as one example. “This idea of the future is attached to Art Deco. It’s very primitive in terms of shapes, but also very futuristic.”
“This typeface will not be as effective if it’s not attached to the watch. It becomes like a monogram, almost. It’s not meant to write a long text, it’s meant to write two letters,” Trochut adds. “So, they are informative and readable, but they have a lot of detail inside. That, combined with the watch itself, creates a nice contrast.”
Trochut’s typeface is set to become a mainstay of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s personalisation offerings, and will also be seen in other projects in the future.
