Fans familiar with Jaeger-LeCoultre’s iconic Reverso series will remember the Reverso Tribute Enamel collection, which centers around the brand’s signature enamel craftsmanship, paying tribute to the skilled artisans and various figures and entities that Jaeger-LeCoultre is proud of. This year, following the tribute to the 19th-century Japanese art master and ukiyo-e artist Katsushika Hokusai in June 2021, JLC once again pays homage to this master by creating a new Reverso Tribute Enamel Hokusai ‘Amida Falls’ enamel wristwatch.
The new work named after Amida Falls is clearly inspired by the famous Japanese painting, one of Japan’s top 100 waterfalls, “Amida Falls.” When it comes to the relationship between “Amida Falls” and the master Katsushika Hokusai, JLC decided to use the woodblock print series “A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces” created by Katsushika Hokusai between 1833 and 1834 as the theme, with the most widely circulated masterpiece among the eight paintings as the subject for hand-painted enamel reproduction of this art master’s work.
Hailed as a representative figure of Eastern art, Katsushika Hokusai was innovative in themes, colors, and compositions, elevating ancient woodblock prints from “lowly” popular art to the realm of high art in 19th century Japan. In this creation, a group of JLC craftsmen presented the grandeur and every detail of the original work within a mere three square centimeters, from shrinking the composition, precise detailing, to presenting woodblock print effects, and materializing textures, each aspect became the ultimate challenge for the artisans. For this production, enamel craftsmen specially developed a unique technique to reproduce the original’s unique “color gradation technique” (bokashi), imitating the delicate gradient colors printed on paper, aiming to simultaneously present the consistent vivid blue and yellow tones in Hokusai’s works.
The new Reverso Tribute Enamel Hokusai ‘Amida Falls’ enamel watch features a minimalist design dial, paired with applied hour markers and princess-style hands; the dial and case back complement each other with micro-painted diamond-shaped guilloché patterns, presented in a deep texture against the bright green translucent grand feu enamel.
Friends who are familiar with Katsushika Hokusai should be most impressed by his “Fuji Mountain” and “One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji” created in his eighties, but before reaching the peak of his career, he made the “Waterfall” series in his seventies, which was already praised by a group of art historians as a masterpiece worthy of being recorded in history. Among the “A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces” series, the most familiar “Waterfall of Amida Buddha” perfectly embodies the artist’s fascination with waterfalls and magnificent landscapes, allowing picnickers to feel like a mere speck in the face of such grandeur.
This time, the design of the Reverso Tribute Enamel Hokusai ‘Amida Falls’ watch launched by Jaeger-LeCoultre completes the brand’s tribute to this artist with the Reverso Tribute enamel watch trilogy, connecting “Kurokami Mountain in Shimotsuke,” representative “The Great Wave off Kanagawa,” and “A Tour of Waterfalls in Various Provinces,” flawlessly embodying the exceptional artistic achievements of JLC’s Métiers Rares® workshop craftsmen and the brand’s vision of creating a beautiful world of art and culture.
Reverso Tribute Enamel Hokusai ‘Amida Falls’ limited edition watch released in 10 pieces, first available in Japan. Collectors, do not miss out.
資料及圖片來源：Courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre
