Just unveiled right on time for the Reverso Stories Exhibition opening to the public in New York City —on November 3, 2023 thru November 22, 2023—, comes the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel Hokusai limited edition watches showcasing the expertise of the Manufacture’s Métiers Rares atelier in the crafts of miniature painting, guillochage and Grand Feu enameling. These new Reverso Tribute Enamel Hokusai watches will be on display at the exhibition.

Since the early days of the Maison, Jaeger-LeCoultre has adopted Asian motifs and adapted Eastern decorative crafts to embellish special timepieces, embracing and perpetuating the cultural exchange that has existed between Asia and Europe for some 2,000 years. In 2023, La Grande Maison pays homage to this tradition with two new Reverso Tribute timepieces in a limited edition of 10 pieces each decorated with miniature-painted enamel reproductions of works by Katsushika Hokusai, Japan’s most celebrated 19th-century artist.

Hokusai’s fame rests on the innovative approach he brought to ukiyo-e painting, transforming a genre that had been narrowly focused on the hedonistic lifestyle of 19th-century Edo Japan’s merchant class into a broader genre that that included landscapes, plants and animals.

The two works reproduced for the new Reverso Tribute enamel models are from a series of eight ukiyo-e paintings titled A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces —Shokoku taki meguri— made by Hokusai after he spent two years traveling around Japan’s main island, Honshu, from 1831 to 1833, discovering some of its most inspiring landscapes. The master artisans of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Métiers Rares atelier have previously paid homage to these works with a Reverso Tribute model in 2021 depicting The Waterfall at Kirifuri, followed by The Waterfall at Amida in 2022.

The two new pieces created for 2023 continue this homage to the Japanese master, choosing subjects that also reflect the deep attachment to nature that is intrinsic to La Grande Maison’s spirit. Exquisitely detailed on the case back of these Reversos are reproductions of the Japanese Katsushika Hokusai woodblock prints, The Waterfall at Ono on the Kisokaido Road —Kisokaidō Ono no bakufu— (LEFT) and The Waterfall Where Yoshitsune Washed his Horse at Yoshino in Yamato Province —Washū Yoshino Yoshitsune uma arai no taki— (RIGHT) appear on the Reverso case backs.

Hokusai’s fame rests on the innovative approach he brought to ukiyo-e painting, transforming a genre that had been narrowly focused on the hedonistic lifestyle of 19th-century Edo Japan’s merchant class into a broader genre that that included landscapes, plants and animals.

The two works reproduced for the new Reverso Tribute enamel models are from a series of eight ukiyo-e paintings titled A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces —Shokoku taki meguri— made by Hokusai after he spent two years traveling around Japan’s main island, Honshu, from 1831 to 1833, discovering some of its most inspiring landscapes. The master artisans of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Métiers Rares atelier have previously paid homage to these works with a Reverso Tribute model in 2021 depicting the waterfall at Kirifuri, followed by the waterfall at Amida in 2022. The two new pieces created for 2023 continue this homage to the Japanese master, choosing subjects that also reflect the deep attachment to nature that is intrinsic to La Grande Maison’s spirit.

Innovative in his composition and use of color, Hokusai (c.1760–1849) was a highly prolific illustrator, printmaker and ukiyo-e artist and, during his lifetime, woodblock printing flourished as a means of reproducing ukiyo-e paintings. As a consequence of Hokusai’s fame, ukiyo-e and woodblock prints became central to forming the West's perception of Japanese art. His monumental series Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, includes The Great Wave off Kanagawa —one of the world’s best-known works of art— which Jaeger-LeCoultre honored with a limited-edition Reverso in 2018. A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces marked the first time that the theme of falling water was approached in ukiyo-e painting. Highly expressive, each work is dominated by the waterfall, which dwarfs its human onlookers.

Both Reverso Tribute Enamel Hokusai are cased in 18K white gold measuring 45.6 x 27.4 mm x 9.73 mm thick and feature dials that have been guilloché by hand. The miniature paintings on the Reverso case backs were executed using the Geneva technique, involving at least 14 layers of enamel, each fired at 800-degree Celsius before the next can be applied, and requiring a total of 80 hours’ meticulous work. As well as the technical feat of reproducing Hokusai’s original colors —including the graduated bokashi effect— in an entirely different medium, the enameler faced the challenge of precisely reproducing every detail with pinpoint accuracy, on a scale approximately one-tenth of the original. Both watches are powered by the manual wound Jaeger-LeCoultre calibre 822 which provides a power reserve of 42 hours when fully wound. The Reverso Tribute Enamel Hokusai is available in two 10-piece limited editions delivered on a black alligator strap.

Most remarkable, perhaps, are the cartouches near the top of each frame, in which the original captions have been hand-written on a microscopic scale while remaining perfectly accurate and legible. Beyond mastering this technical feat, the enameller seeks to express the original artist’s intention and touch, imbuing each work with emotional resonance and a sense of soul.

The simplicity and discreet styling of the watches’ front dials with the faceted appliqué hour-markers, Dauphine hands and chemin-de-fer minutes track characteristic of all Reverso Tribute timepieces provides a contrast to the intricacy of the miniature paintings. However, this apparent simplicity belies the highly complex craftsmanship behind their creation.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel Hokusai The Waterfall at Ono

The Waterfall at Ono portrays a famous site in Nagano Prefecture, on the ancient road that linked the historic capital of Kyoto with the seat of the Tokugawa shoguns in Edo —today’s Tokyo. A small Shinto shrine stands on a rocky promontory next to the falls and, on a bridge below it, a group of travelers stand in awe of the power of the falling water. The composition of the painting amplifies this sense of power, with the water plunging in a straight vertical line between two towering cliffs. The Japanese traditionally believed that remarkable physical phenomena indicate the presence of a kami or Shinto god, and Hokusai rendered his scenes with a powerful sense of life, reflecting his animistic beliefs.

For this particular watch, the pattern on its dial is a classical barleycorn design, requiring three to four hours of painstakingly accurate work. Once the guillochage is completed, four to five layers of translucent green enamel are applied, with each layer requiring separate firing and drying —representing a total of eight additional hours of work, over the course of a week.

Sticker Price $107,000 USD. For more info on Jaeger-LeCoultre click here. 

Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel Hokusai The Waterfall at Yoshino

The Waterfall at Yoshino depicts a famous Japanese tale —an episode from the life of General Minamoto no Yoshitsune (1159–1189). Fleeing from his older brother who considered him a traitor for joining forces with the Emperor, Go-Shirakawa, the General paused to rest and bathe his favorite horse amid the mountains of Yoshino —in today’s Nara prefecture. In this powerfully graphic composition, the waterfall’s strong curves express the full force of the water passing through a deep, tree-lined valley. Evoking an image of a giant hand embracing the earth with fingers spread open, it is a poignant exploration of the relationship between nature, man and animals. On the dial of this model, the craftsman applied a lozenge pattern comprising no fewer than 800 lines, each of which required five passages of the lathe —4,000 passages in total—, representing eight hours of work only for the guillochage. Once the guillochage is completed, four to five layers of translucent green enamel are applied, with each layer requiring separate firing and drying —representing a total of eight additional hours of work, over the course of a week.

Sticker Price $107,000 USD. For more info on Jaeger-LeCoultre click here.