Reproducing an artistic masterpiece requires immense precision, talent and technical ability. Reproducing a painting that is originally several feet across on a canvas that measures 3cm2 seems like an almost impossible feat! The Rare Handcrafts Métiers Rares master craftsmen at Jaeger-LeCoultre demonstrate the highest levels of talent with newest additions to the Reverso Tribute Enamel series.
As a tribute to, Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler, Jaeger-LeCoultre has recreated three of Hodler’s masterpieces in a rare, limited-edition collection of Reverso Tribute Enamel timepieces.
Miniature Canvas
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s emblematic two-sided Reverso, with its specially crafted white-gold case in an Art Deco style, serves as the perfect canvas to showcase the art of Ferdinand Hodler, with its serene landscapes and breathtaking views of Swiss grandeur.
The dial-side of the Reverso Tribute Enamel has been crafted using expert guillochage work to create a woven effect using a machine and technique that is over 100-years old. The dial has then been covered in a translucent layer of enamel in a colour that matches the shades of the painting represented on the reverse side using the age-old Grand Feu enamel technique.
Painted Precision
Three of Ferdinand Hodler’s paintings were chosen for the Reverso Tribute Enamel limited editions, and each presented its own unique challenge for the artisans at Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Métiers Rares. Creating the subtle interplay of colours to reflect the morning sun on Lake Geneva or the shadows dancing over Lake Thun at sunrise and sunset demonstrates the unparalleled expertise of the master craftsmen at the Maison.
The three paintings selected for the series, each appearing on 8 exclusive timepieces are; Lake Geneva with Mont Blanc in the Morning Light (1918), Lake Thun with Symmetric Reflections Before Sunrise (1904) and Lake Thun, Symmetric Reflection (1909).
The Reverso Tribute Enamel has a 45.5mm x 27.4 mm case and is fitted with the in-house manual calibre 822A/2 movement. The classic Dauphine style hands indicate the hours and minutes, along the railtrack minute circle of this sophisticated horological masterpiece.
Earlier timepieces in the Métiers Rares Reverso Tribute Enamel series include re-creations of paintings by French pointillist Georges Seurat, Chinese ink wash painting artist Xu Beihong and Katsushika Hosukai, a master of Japanese woodblock printing.