Jaeger-Lecoultre have transformed their Reverso watch into a tiny canvas that pays tribute to Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler on the 100th anniversary of his death, in 1918, who rose from a fairly miserable, hardscrabble start in life – his father, a carpenter, died along with two of Hodler’s siblings, of tuberculosis, when Hodler was only eight– to become one of Switzerland’s most respected artists.
The watch case is a specially crafted white gold piece that reflects an Art Deco style, serves as the perfect canvas to showcase the art of Ferdinand Hodler, with its serene landscapes and breathtaking views of Swiss grandeur. The dial features guillochage work designed to create a beautiful woven effect.
The three tribute watches each have different dial colors that echo some of the hues in the paintings on the back. The dials are delicately enameled. Creating the subtle interplay of colours to reflect the morning sun on Lake Geneva or the shadows dancing over Lake Thun at sunrise and sunset demonstrates the unparalleled expertise of the master craftsmen at the Maison.
The Reverso Tribute Enamel has a 45.5mm x 27.4 mm case and is fitted with the in-house manual calibre 822A/2 movement. These are limited editions of a total of 24 watches; they’ll be produced in three groups of eight watches. One will be based on Hodler’s Lake Thun With Symmetric Reflections Before Sunrise (1904) one on Lake Thun, Symmetric Reflection (1909) and one on his Lake Geneva With Mont Blanc In The Morning Light (1918).