INDEX / DIRECTORY / JAEGER-LECOULTRE / MILITARY

Jaeger-LeCoultre MILITARY

MILITARY AUDIT UPDATED 2026-07-04
Military Score 0.00 /10 E Jaeger-LeCoultre - BDS-1000 139
Military 0.00

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Military Domain Audit: Jaeger-LeCoultre

Audit Target: Jaeger-LeCoultre (Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre SA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Richemont International SA) Audit Domain: Military - Military Forensics Audit Date: 2026-06-28

Direct Defence Contracting & Procurement

Jaeger-LeCoultre operates as Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre SA, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Richemont International SA following Richemont’s full acquisition in 2000 12. The company is headquartered in Le Sentier, Vallée de Joux, Switzerland, and is principally engaged in the design and manufacture of luxury mechanical timepieces 13.

Extensive searches of Israeli defence procurement news, specialist trade press, and secondary-source aggregators returned no results naming Jaeger-LeCoultre or Richemont as suppliers of goods or services to the Israeli Ministry of Defence (IMOD), the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), the Israel Prison Service, the Israel Border Police, or any other Israeli state security body 456. No verified contracts, tender awards, framework agreements, or memoranda of understanding between JLC or Richemont and Israeli defence or security entities have been identified 4756.

No public evidence identified that Jaeger-LeCoultre or Richemont appears in SIBAT (Israel’s Defence Export and Defence Cooperation Directorate) supplier listings, international defence exhibition catalogues, or Israeli defence procurement registries. The Who Profits company database was directly consulted and returned no entries for Jaeger-LeCoultre or any Richemont group brand 4. The AFSC Investigate platform returned HTTP 404 responses for dedicated company pages for both Jaeger-LeCoultre and Richemont, confirming the absence of profiles in that database 56.

No corporate press releases, government announcements, or trade press reports documenting defence cooperation, joint ventures, or partnership agreements between JLC or Richemont and Israeli defence entities were identified 7.

Dual-Use Products & Tactical Variants

Historical Military Production - British Armed Forces

Jaeger-LeCoultre has a documented historical record of military watch production for the British Armed Forces dating to both World Wars 1. During the Second World War, JLC was one of twelve Swiss watchmakers contracted under the British Army’s “Dirty Dozen” programme to supply Watch Wristlet Waterproof (W.W.W.) calibre 479 timepieces to British Army and Commonwealth forces, with production covering approximately 1940–1945 89. Surviving examples bearing British Ministry of Defence acceptance stamps and the broad-arrow military property mark are documented in specialist vintage watch dealer inventories 8. A distinct JLC model bearing Royal Air Force military issue numbers 6B/159 was produced for the RAF as a pilot’s watch 10. JLC’s wartime production additionally encompassed cockpit instruments, manometers for armoured vehicles, and artillery-use pocket watches manufactured during the First World War 1.

Current Production

No modern (post-2000) militarised, ruggedised, tactical, or mil-spec variant of any Jaeger-LeCoultre product has been identified in open-source searches covering the period 2000–2026 111. All current JLC production is exclusively luxury civilian timepieces manufactured at the Le Sentier manufacture 11. Jaeger-LeCoultre does not feature in any IDF watch procurement record, Israeli military equipment survey, or tactical-watch catalogue identified during this audit 121314. Open-source records establish that the IDF primarily issues ADI Watches, a specialist Israeli tactical-watch brand developed in direct collaboration with IDF Navy, Air Force, and special forces units, with historical records also referencing Seiko, Omega, Breitling, Rolex, and Panerai in an IDF context 1213. No evidence has been identified that JLC has marketed any product to Israeli military, border security, or police end-users 121314.

No public evidence identified of export licence applications, end-user certificates, or government export control reviews relating to JLC sales to Israeli defence or security end-users.

Heavy Machinery, Construction & Infrastructure

No public evidence identified. Jaeger-LeCoultre’s product portfolio is confined to luxury mechanical watches and associated movements 111. The company manufactures no heavy machinery, construction equipment, or engineering infrastructure of any kind. No reports, photographic documentation, NGO investigations, or UN database entries reviewed during this audit session associate JLC products, assets, or operations with construction activity, demolition, settlement-building, separation barrier construction, or military installation development in the Occupied Palestinian Territory 151617.

Supply Chain Integration with Defence Primes

Component Supply to Israeli Defence Manufacturers

No public evidence identified of any supply relationship between Jaeger-LeCoultre and Israeli defence prime contractors including Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, or Israel Military Industries (IMI/Elbit Land) 4756. JLC is documented as manufacturing the substantial majority of its movement components and assemblies in-house at its Le Sentier manufacture 11. The company has historically served as a movement supplier to other Swiss luxury watch brands within the civilian watchmaking ecosystem 18, a role wholly distinct from any defence industry supply relationship. Comprehensive searches of the Who Profits company database 4, AFSC Investigate 56, and specialist defence trade press returned no results naming JLC or Richemont as component or sub-system suppliers to Israeli defence manufacturers 456.

Co-Production and Joint Development

No public evidence identified of joint development programmes, co-production agreements, technology transfer arrangements, or licensed manufacturing agreements between JLC or Richemont and Israeli defence firms 47.

Logistical Sustainment & Base Services

No public evidence identified. Jaeger-LeCoultre is a luxury watchmaker with no documented role in catering, transport, fuel supply, waste management, facilities maintenance, telecommunications, or any other base-support services with respect to IDF installations, military training facilities, detention centres, or security checkpoints 13.

Munitions, Weapons Systems & Strategic Platforms

No public evidence identified across all sub-categories examined: lethal autonomous and conventional weapons systems, munitions and precursor materials, strategic and existential platforms, and sub-system or critical component supply to any weapons programme 41. Jaeger-LeCoultre designs and manufactures luxury mechanical timepieces and associated horological movements exclusively 1118. No JLC product or production capability has been identified as applicable to weapons systems integration in any jurisdiction 456.

Export Licensing, Regulatory & Legal History

No export licence granted, denied, suspended, or revoked for JLC products in connection with Israeli military or security end-users in any jurisdiction has been identified.

Swiss investigative reporting on dual-use goods exported to Israel during the 2024–2025 Gaza conflict identified TRUMPF Schweiz AG, StarragTornos, Metallux, Mipa Coatings Schweiz AG, and Georg Fischer AG as companies whose exports were subject to scrutiny by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) 19. Jaeger-LeCoultre and Richemont are not named in any of these investigations 19. No arms embargo, export control enforcement action, debarment decision, or sanctions investigation involving JLC or Richemont in connection with Israel-related defence trade has been identified 719.

No court proceedings, judicial review, parliamentary inquiry, or legal challenges involving JLC or Richemont regarding defence supply to Israeli government or military entities have been identified 719.

Civil Society Scrutiny & Documented Investigations

UN OHCHR Settlement Database (A/HRC/60/19, September 2025)

The OHCHR’s September 2025 updated database of business enterprises involved in activities related to Israeli settlements lists 158 enterprises from 11 countries 1617. Sectors represented in the publicly available summary of this database include construction, real estate, mining, and quarrying 16. No luxury goods company, watch industry entity, or Richemont group brand is identified in any publicly accessible summary or secondary reporting on this database 1617.

UN Special Rapporteur Report A/HRC/59/23 (2 July 2025)

The advance edited version of Special Rapporteur Albanese’s report “From economy of occupation to economy of genocide” (A/HRC/59/23, 2 July 2025) was directly fetched and searched during this audit session 1520. The 48 corporate actors named in the report represent sectors including weapons manufacturing, technology (cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and surveillance), heavy construction machinery, financial services, energy, and hospitality 20. No watchmaker, luxury goods company, or Richemont group entity is identified in this document 1520.

Who Profits

The Who Profits company database, which tracks corporate involvement in the Israeli occupation economy, was directly consulted during this audit session 4. No entry for Jaeger-LeCoultre, Richemont, or any Richemont-portfolio brand was identified 4. No public evidence identified of Who Profits listing JLC or Richemont as a company involved in the Israeli occupation.

AFSC Investigate

Direct retrieval of the Jaeger-LeCoultre and Richemont company pages on the AFSC Investigate platform returned HTTP 404 responses, confirming that neither company has an established profile in this database 56.

PAX - “Companies Arming Israel and Their Financiers” (June 2024)

The PAX June 2024 report listing companies identified as arming Israel and their financiers was retrieved for review 21. No web source, including the PAX publication page and all secondary coverage of the report, names Jaeger-LeCoultre or Richemont in connection with arming Israel 21.

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

The BHRRC company profile for Richemont records one allegation against a subsidiary - Montblanc - relating to working conditions in an Italian supply chain 7. No Israel-related allegations, active investigations, or documented cases are recorded for Richemont or Jaeger-LeCoultre on the BHRRC platform 7.

Responsible Jewellery Council Membership

Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre SA is a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), a standards and certification organisation for the watch and jewellery supply chain 3. No civil society challenge or certification suspension related to defence supply, occupation, or settlement-linked activities has been identified in connection with JLC’s RJC membership 73.

IDF Watch Procurement - Sector Context

Open-source records and specialist publications document that the IDF primarily issues ADI Watches, a tactical-watch brand developed in direct collaboration with the IDF Navy, Air Force, and special forces 13. Historical IDF equipment surveys have referenced Seiko, Omega, Breitling, Rolex, and Panerai in a procurement or issue context 12. No Jaeger-LeCoultre model appears in any identified IDF watch procurement record, specialist Israeli military watch survey, or IDF equipment documentation 121314.

Israeli Retail Presence

Jaeger-LeCoultre maintains an authorised retail presence in Israel exclusively through Padani Jewellers Ltd, its official Israel representative since 1972 22. Padani operates multi-brand luxury boutiques across several Israeli cities: Tel Aviv (Namal Tel Aviv, Hangar 19) 2324; Jerusalem (9 Shlomo Hamelech Street, Mamilla Avenue) 252627; Haifa, Ra’anana, and Eilat 22. Padani additionally carries non-Richemont brands including Patek Philippe, Breitling, Bulgari, and TAG Heuer 28. The Jerusalem boutique is situated in the Mamilla commercial district, characterised in reference sources as an open-air mall located northwest of Jaffa Gate in West Jerusalem, opened in 2007 29. No UN database, NGO report, or settlement map reviewed during this audit session identifies the Mamilla commercial district as an Israeli settlement or as part of the settlement enterprise 1617. No evidence was identified that Padani operates boutiques in West Bank settlement communities, East Jerusalem settlement neighbourhoods, or the Golan Heights 2228.

Boycott and Divestment Campaigns

No public evidence identified of any organised BDS campaign, institutional divestment action, or exclusion campaign specifically targeting Jaeger-LeCoultre or Richemont on the basis of defence or security sector activities related to Israel 430. Searches of the BDS Movement priority target list, Ethical Consumer boycott ratings, AFSC divestment materials, and activist press returned no results naming JLC or Richemont as boycott or divestment targets 3056.

Controlling Principals

Johann Rupert, Chairman of Richemont and sole General Managing Partner of Compagnie Financière Rupert, is described in official Richemont biographical material as directing philanthropic activity toward environmental causes through the Peace Parks Foundation and the Michelangelo Foundation 31. No evidence has been identified of Johann Rupert donating to Israeli defence-related funds, holding directorships at Israeli defence companies, making equity investments in Israeli defence primes, or issuing co-belligerency statements 31. Nicolas Bos, appointed CEO of Richemont in 2024 and formerly CEO of Van Cleef & Arpels, is a French national educated at ESSEC Business School whose documented career is confined to the luxury goods sector 32. No evidence has been identified of Israeli defence connections for Nicolas Bos 32.

Corporate Response

No public evidence identified of any statement, policy change, contract termination, or end-use monitoring commitment issued by JLC or Richemont in response to civil society pressure regarding a defence supply chain relationship with Israel, as no such relationship has been publicly documented 73.

End Notes

Footnotes

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaeger-LeCoultre ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8

  2. https://www.richemont.com/news-media/press-releases-news/richemont-acquires-les-manufactures-horlogeres-sa-and-the-outstanding-40-per-cent-of-manufacture-jaeger-lecoultre-sa/ ↩

  3. https://www.responsiblejewellery.com/member/jaeger-lecoultre/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  4. https://www.whoprofits.org/companies/all ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10 ↩11 ↩12

  5. https://investigate.afsc.org/company/jaeger-lecoultre ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  6. https://investigate.afsc.org/company/richemont ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9

  7. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/richemont ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6 ↩7 ↩8 ↩9 ↩10

  8. https://almawatches.com/products/jaeger-lecoultre-1943-w-w-w-british-military-watch ↩ ↩2

  9. https://teddybaldassarre.com/blogs/watches/dirty-dozen-watches ↩

  10. https://corrvintagewatches.com/product/1940s-jaeger-lecoultre-raf-pilots-watch-military-issue-numbers-6b-159/ ↩

  11. https://swisswatches-magazine.com/jaeger-lecoultre-manufacture-visit-the-road-to-precision/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  12. https://www.watchesofespionage.com/blogs/woe-dispatch/watches-of-the-middle-east-and-the-israeli-palestinian-conflict ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  13. https://israeldefensestore.com/brand/adi-watches/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  14. https://wornandwound.com/military-watches-of-the-world-israel-pt-ii/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  15. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session59/advance-version/a-hrc-59-23-aev.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  16. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/26/un-lists-150-firms-tied-to-illegal-israeli-settlements ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  17. https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/hrbodies/hrcouncil/sessions-regular/session60/advance-version/a-hrc-60-19-aev.pdf ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  18. https://dumarko.com/blogs/news/the-watchmakers-watchmaker-what-movements-did-jaeger-lecoultre-supply-to-other-brands ↩ ↩2

  19. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/war-peace/swiss-companies-continued-exports-linked-to-israeli-war-effort-in-gaza-despite-criticism/91078202 ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4

  20. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/1/un-report-lists-companies-complicit-in-israels-genocide-who-are-they ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  21. https://paxforpeace.nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/The-Companies-Arming-Israel-and-Their-Financiers-June-2024.pdf ↩ ↩2

  22. https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/261665 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  23. https://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/us-en/boutiques/middle-east/israel ↩

  24. https://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/us-en/boutiques/middle-east/israel/tel-aviv ↩

  25. https://jaeger-lecoultre.com/us-en/boutiques/middle-east/israel/jerusalem/padani-il1445 ↩

  26. https://www.bulgari.com/en-hk/storelocator/country-region/israel/jerusalem/mamilla-avenue-9-shlomo-hamelch-st. ↩

  27. https://www.piaget.com/ww-en/boutiques/middle-east-africa/israel/jerusalem/padani ↩

  28. https://padani.com/en-int ↩ ↩2

  29. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamilla_Mall ↩

  30. https://www.ethicalconsumer.org/ethicalcampaigns/israel-rating ↩ ↩2

  31. https://www.richemont.com/about-us/corporate-governance/johann-rupert/ ↩ ↩2

  32. https://www.richemont.com/about-us/corporate-governance/nicolas-bos/ ↩ ↩2