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Lot Essay
Jaeger-LeCoultre honored the 19th-century Japanese master Katsushika Hokusai in 2022 with the Reverso Tribute Enamel Hokusai 'Amida Falls', a limited edition of just ten pieces. A hand-enamelled miniature version of The Amida Falls in the Far Reaches of the Kisokaidō Road (Kisoji no oku Amida-ga-taki), the most well-known piece from Hokusai's 1833–34 series A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces (Shokoku taki meguri), is displayed on the caseback.
Jaeger-LeCoultre's master enameller painstakingly recreated the composition on a surface that was only three square centimeters in size, which is hardly a tenth of the size of the original woodblock print. In the process of reducing the size of each component, the artist had to mimic the delicate bokashi color gradation found in Hokusai's prints. In addition to 70 hours of labor-intensive work spread across 12 to 15 firings at 800°C, a specially created enamelling technique was needed to create this illusion.
Complementing the miniature painting on the caseback, the dial is decorated with a guilloché lozenge pattern, the texture of which is amplified by translucent Grand Feu enamel in a deep shade of green. A century-old rose engine lathe must make three passes over each of the pattern's 60 lines before the six layers of enamel are applied, producing a luminous, detailed surface. The final touch is the meticulous application of the chemin de fer minute track and the hour markers, which alone takes more than 40 hours.
The Reverso
One of the most recognizable watch designs, the Reverso first appeared in 1931 and skillfully combines Art Deco elegance with practicality. The idea was to design a wristwatch that was both sophisticated enough for formal settings and durable enough to withstand the rigors of sport after Swiss businessman César de Trey saw a polo player break his watch crystal during a match in India. The clever rotating case, which protected the dial by flipping it, became a symbol of both innovation and classic design.
Jaeger-LeCoultre's master enameller painstakingly recreated the composition on a surface that was only three square centimeters in size, which is hardly a tenth of the size of the original woodblock print. In the process of reducing the size of each component, the artist had to mimic the delicate bokashi color gradation found in Hokusai's prints. In addition to 70 hours of labor-intensive work spread across 12 to 15 firings at 800°C, a specially created enamelling technique was needed to create this illusion.
Complementing the miniature painting on the caseback, the dial is decorated with a guilloché lozenge pattern, the texture of which is amplified by translucent Grand Feu enamel in a deep shade of green. A century-old rose engine lathe must make three passes over each of the pattern's 60 lines before the six layers of enamel are applied, producing a luminous, detailed surface. The final touch is the meticulous application of the chemin de fer minute track and the hour markers, which alone takes more than 40 hours.
The Reverso
One of the most recognizable watch designs, the Reverso first appeared in 1931 and skillfully combines Art Deco elegance with practicality. The idea was to design a wristwatch that was both sophisticated enough for formal settings and durable enough to withstand the rigors of sport after Swiss businessman César de Trey saw a polo player break his watch crystal during a match in India. The clever rotating case, which protected the dial by flipping it, became a symbol of both innovation and classic design.