In the bustling world of luxury watches, Jaeger-LeCoultre has once again trotted out a winner with its latest limited edition: the Reverso Tribute Enamel ‘Xu Beihong’ series. These timepieces gallop into the spotlight right in time for the Lunar Year of the Horse, showcasing top-notch craftsmanship and a nod to both Chinese and horological cultures.
The iconic Reverso design, with its sporty yet elegant flip-over case, was born on the polo grounds in 1931. Polo players required a watch that wouldn’t be smashed to bits during play, and the Reverso delivered with its unique swiveling design. Fast forward to today, and the Reverso has gracefully retired from polo, now more likely to be spotted at high teas than high-stakes chukkas.
This special tribute series honors the legendary Chinese artist Xu Beihong, known as the pioneer of modern Chinese painting. His love for horses shines through miniaturized versions of his works, now immortalized on the casebacks of these watches. Each piece in the collection captures the spirit of Beihong’s horses with remarkable detail, compacted onto a 2 cm² canvas. A mighty feat indeed!
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s in-house Métiers Rares atelier marries traditional enameling with other refined crafts to execute each piece. On the dial side, a palette of symbolic colors and intricate guilloché patterns interact with layers of sumptuous grand feu enamel.
Of the three watch models – ‘The Running Horse’, ‘Two Horses’, and ‘The Standing Horse’ – each tells a unique story. The dials glow with colors that have significant meanings; from the resilience of pine green to the serenity of distant mountain blue, through to the warmth of crimson dawn orange. These watches don’t just tell time; they tell a tale.
With a strict run of only 10 pieces per design, these equine-inspired timekeepers represent the pinnacle of artistry in watchmaking. With prices as high as the peaks in a Chinese landscape painting, these masterpieces are not just watches—they are horological art.
Rev up your engines, horse lovers and watch aficionados, because these watches are a canter and a leap above the rest. As Jaeger-LeCoultre says, they fuse fine watchmaking with decorative arts, proving that the craft and the heart are intertwined. Talk about horsing around with elegance!
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