When watch enthusiasts sit down for a breather, it’s not uncommon for them to snap a photo of the timepiece they are wearing, complete with a cup of coffee in the background. However, for a few days last November, this popular style of wrist shot took on a specific slant. Many of the photos shared on watch forums online featured dark paper coffee cups emblazoned with the Jaeger-LeCoultre logo and Art Deco-style geometric motifs.
Given out for free following a quick registration process, these beverages were served up by the Nomadic 1931 Cafe concept by Jaeger-LeCoultre. For nine days, the brand’s coffee truck set up shop at three busy spots, dishing out not just coffee but also chocolates decorated with lettering designed by Spanish artist Alex Trochut. The 1931 Alphabet is a font Trochut created for Jaeger-LeCoultre, and the letters can be engraved as a decorative element on the brand’s Reverso watches.
This travelling concept is an evolution of the 1931 Cafe pop-up launched in 2021 in Paris and Shanghai, where it ran for two months each. Those pop-ups also featured pastries created by French chef Nina Metayer, who used — as described in a press release by Jaeger-LeCoultre — “flavours from the Vallée de Joux (where the watch company is based), such as mountain berries, nuts, honey, and of course, Swiss chocolate”.