Jaeger-LeCoultre
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DETAILS
This limited edition is part of the anniversary collection presented by Jaeger-LeCoultre in 2006 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Reverso, the brand’s iconic design. Although the Reverso was originally developed for polo players, a tough and rather dangerous sport, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s anniversary collection focused on the versatility of the Reverso design, which includes not only models for sporting use and sporting style, but also complex mechanical movements, automatic movements and unusual decorative watches.
REASONS TO BUY
This Reverso à Éclipses Série Limitée Ref. 246.2.79 in 18k rose gold with an enamel dial designed by Hiroshi Senju depicting the Chinese zodiac signs is, in our opinion, a wonderful chapter in the impressive historical annals of the Reverso, which turns a century old in just six years. The great and wonderful history of the Reverso offers many opportunities for the attentive collector, and this watch belongs to the circle of rarities, as it is part of a limited edition of only 28 pieces. It is also a one-off edition and the motif designed by Hiroshi Senju will never be repeated, which undoubtedly adds to the appeal of this watch.
ABOUT THIS WATCH
The technical design of this watch was developed in 2006 to complement the idea of hidden, mysterious decoration that dates back to the early years of the Reverso in the 1930s, when the back of the Reverso’s reversible case was used for hand-crafted decoration. The idea was that in the normal position of the reversible case, only the front with the dial is visible, while the caseback remains hidden – until the case is turned over. The design of the Reverso à Éclipses from 2006 not only offers the possibility of decorating the back of the case, but also a mysterious decoration of the dial with a system of sliding and concealable curtains (jalousie) designed to hide the decorative dial. For this purpose, a special wheel is used, which is built into the case at the 1 o’clock position and with which the owner of the watch can open or close the decorative dial by turning it back and forth. This is a unique feature of the Reverso à Éclipses from 2006.
For the Reverso’s 75th anniversary collection, Jaeger-LeCoultre has collaborated with Senju Hiroshi, a renowned Japanese artist based in New York and known worldwide for his sublime waterfall and rock paintings. According to Sotheby’s, he combines a minimalist visual language rooted in abstract expressionism with elements of traditional Japanese painting. This characteristic of his work is evident in the design of this Reverso à Éclipses Série Limitée Enamel Zodiac Dial, which depicts the figures of the Chinese zodiac in a traditional manner. The actual work of creating the enamel dial, which is based on an original graphic drawing by Senju Hiroshi, was carried out by a team led at the time by Miklos Merczel, who revived Jaeger-LeCoultre’s in-house enamel workshop in the 1996. For this watch, Miklos Merczel’s team used a double decoration technique, adding to the mysterious dial a caseback also hand-engraved with cloud figures (amusingly reminiscent of the perlage decoration on the mainplate of the movement), the limited edition number and Senju Hiroshi’s signature.
Specifications
ADDITIONAL PHOTOS:
