Jaeger-LeCoultre just can't wait for the centennial of the Reverso, and its 90th anniversary is marked by tribute editions launched throughout the year.
The latest Reverso Tribute Enamel Hidden Treasures showcase craftsmanship in reinterpreting the two-faced flippable timepiece while honouring the works of three great masters from the dawn of modern art: Gustave Courbet, Vincent van Gogh and Gustav Klimt.
The Reverso was created almost a century after Antoine LeCoultre founded a watchmaking workshop in 1833 in Switzerland's Vallée de Joux.
In November 1931, its name was registered by César de Trey, whose idea of a swivelling case came after a British army officer and polo player in India asked him to find a way to protect his watch during matches.
A partnership between the Swiss businessman and Jacques-David LeCoultre then led to the production of the robust Art Deco-style model.
Reverso Tribute Enamel Hidden Treasures - Vincent Van Gogh's Sunset at Montmajour.
Over nine decades the Reverso has continually been reinvented without compromising its identity while its blank metal flip side has become a canvas for artistic expressions.
Jaeger-LeCoultre's art of enamelling dates back to 1890s pocket watches. The first known Reverso with an enamelled case back is a model commissioned by a client in 1936, featuring a delicately detailed portrait of a woman who is thought to be a royal Indian Maharani on the reverse side.
Having established its in-house enamelling atelier in the 1990s, the Swiss brand began in 1996 to reproduce works of major artists on a tiny scale on the Reverso case back.
The white gold Reverso Tribute Enamel Hidden Treasures boast miniature paintings of Gustave Courbet's View Of Lake Léman (1876), Vincent van Gogh's Sunset At Montmajour (1888) and Gustav Klimt's Portrait Of A Lady (1917).
Reverso Tribute Enamel Hidden Treasures — Vincent van Gogh's Sunset At Montmajour.
Along with grand feu enamel, different guilloché motifs adorn the dials of the artistic timepieces.
A pioneer of 19th-century Realism, Courbet was exiled from France in 1873 and settled near Vevey, on the shore of Switzerland's Lake Léman, where he was inspired by the constantly changing views across the water.
His atmospheric View Of Lake Léman portrays the movement of clouds and the sunlight on the lake's surface.
Jaeger-LeCoultre's master enameller reproduced the delicate colour palette, fine details and evocative atmosphere of the original. The painting's soft tones are complemented by the gleaming white gold case, and by the subtle herringbone guilloché texture of the misty grey-blue dial.
Van Gogh experimented with new styles of visual expression after moving to southern France in 1888. Painted on a summer evening, Sunset At Montmajour captures the distinctive Provencal vegetation and rich colours of the golden hour just before sunset.
Reverso Tribute Enamel Hidden Treasures — Gustave Courbet's View Of Lake Léman.
The perspective of the original, as well as the effect of his characteristic brush strokes have been faithfully reproduced. The shade of green enamel chosen for the sunray-guilloché dial provides an elegant counterpoint to the rich gold and russet tones of the painting.
Both artists used a heavy impasto, whereby paint is applied so thickly that it is raised above the surface of the canvas.
This posed a particular challenge in the reproductions, as the technique cannot be duplicated with enamel and the artisan had to create an illusion.
On the other hand, the luminescent grand feu enamel gives it a particular advantage over oil on canvas, as tilting an enamelled surface to catch the light reveals depth and nuances.
The third miniature painting of Klimt's Portrait Of A Lady features a background in green tones that create an illusion of depth, just as in the original.
The green dial decorated with grand feu enamel over a fine barleycorn guilloché pattern further evokes the portrait's luminescent background.
Painted a year before the end of his life, it is his only known "double" portrait. The Austrian artist had fallen in love with a young woman who became his muse. To ease the pain of her sudden death, he painted over her portrait with a new one, of a different lady.
These three paintings were chosen to mark the Reverso's 90th anniversary because they had been hidden from the world for many decades -- assumed to have been lost for ever until rediscovered and authenticated in recent years.
In the same way, the iconic watch hides or reveals the artistry created on its reverse side.
Powered by a manually-wound movement, each of the Reverso Tribute Enamel Hidden Treasures is limited to 10 pieces, matched with a black alligator strap.
Reverso Tribute Enamel Hidden Treasures — Gustave Courbet's View Of Lake Léman.
