To celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year in 2022, nine decades after the Reverso was born, Jaeger-LeCoultre presents the Reverso Tribute Enamel ‘Tiger’. Created to coincide with the Chinese Lunar New Year and the grand opening of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new flagship boutique in Shanghai, the new timepiece pays tribute to the Year of the Tiger. Swiveling the 18K pink gold watch case —measuring 45.5 mm x 27.4 mm x 9.73 mm— to its reverse side reveals a magnificent tiger. Engraved into the pink gold case, it seems to leap out from its background of black opaque Grand Feu enamel, the polished surface of the tiger’s coat and the contrasting rhodium-brushed texture of its stripes catching and refracting the light to create the illusion of movement and power.

To maximize the sense of volume and bring depth to the engraving, the artisan engraver used a technique called modeled engraving, using differently sized chisels to sculpt the metal step by step. Adding to the challenge of creating this interpretation of the Reverso Tribute Enamel, the engraver’s work began not, as is usual, with a bare metal surface but with one that already had its coat of Grand Feu enamel. An unprecedented accuracy of gesture is necessary in order to avoid all risk of damage to the pristine enamel, and the engraver devoted 55 hours to the creation of this masterpiece.

The dial of the Reverso Tribute Enamel features the same opaque black Grand Feu enamel as the case back. The elegant simplicity of the Reverso Tribute dial, with its faceted appliqué hour-markers, Chemin de fer minutes track, and pink gold matching Dauphine hands.

The apparent simplicity of the pure black enamel is deceptive because in Grand Feu enameling, the outcome of the firing process is never entirely predictable. Building up the enamel layers to create a black of such depth and richness, with each new layer followed by firing, the enameling of the two surfaces of the Reverso Tribute Enamel ‘Tiger’ required no less than 20 hours. Additionally, Jaeger-LeCoultre remains one of very few watch Manufactures to have its own in-house enameling atelier, safeguarding and advancing this ancient craft.

Created to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year and made only to order, the Reverso Tribute Enamel ‘Tiger’ offers the possibility of being personalized with different enamel colors. An ideal canvas for artistic expression, the case back of every Reverso offers limitless potential for clients to harness the talents of the artisans in the JLC Métiers Rares atelier —from enameling and engraving to miniature painting and gem-setting— to craft one-of-a-kind creations. The Reverso Tribute Enamel ‘Tiger’ is powered by the legendary manual wound Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 822A/2. The watch is water resistant to 30 meters.

Sticker Price €90,000 Euro —approximately $103,000 USD. For more info on Jaeger-LeCoultre click here.