Summiting the Himalaya Mountains in Nepal is one of the most physically and psychologically challenging conquests that man dreams of. Many have tried and failed, often giving their lives in the process. The name Himalaya means “house or adobe of snow” and is a mountain range in Asia that separates the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. It is the world’s highest point and includes other famous peaks known as Mount Everest and K2.

Those that do summit the Himalayas successfully get worldwide praise and much attention is given to the equipment that the hikers used. Recently three hikers made it to the top with the support of Swiss luxury watch brand Jaeger-LeCoultre. All three mountaineers; a Swiss climber named Stephane Schaffter, a 19-time Everest veteran Apa Sherpa, and another known as Little Karim, wore Jaeger men’s watches.

Each man wore a different Jaeger watch; one was a “Jaeger-LeCoultre Geophysic Chronometer from 1958, a classic three-handed wristwatch with an anti-magnetic stainless steel case and luminous hour and minute hands.”

Another was “the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Extreme LAB timepiece, a highly acclaimed and technically exclusive model with a tourbillon introduced in 2007. The Extreme LAB presents a medley of highly technical constructive and horological elements including a titanium case, a tourbillon cage in magnesium alloy, and a mechanism which has been designed to operate free of lubricant.”

And the third, was a watch that has yet to be released to the public, however now that it has passed the grueling conditions of the Himalayas, this watch which is in its final design stages and will be introduced at the 2010 SIHH (Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie) exhibit in Geneva, is sure to receive much acclaim and attention.

As a tribute to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s involvement with this adventure, the mountain has received the official title of “Antoine LeCoultre’s Peak”. In 1833, Antoine LeCoultre founded a small workshop which eventually became Jaeger-LeCoultre. Among watch connoisseurs, Jaegar-LeCoultre watches are thought to be some of the best in the world. The company’s mantra has always been that “the aesthetics of a watch needed to reflect its inner beauty.”