There could be no better setting in which to showcase the time-honoured skills of La Grande Maison’s Métiers Rares workshops: presenting the priceless human skills behind the creation of rare objects, Homo Faber brings together 15 exhibitions that celebrate the savoir-faire of exceptional master artisans from all over Europe. This year, reaffirming the shared values of craftsmanship that transcend cultures and borders, Homo Faber features 12 Japanese Living National Treasures as guests of honour.

In homage to this connection, La Grande Maison has chosen to depict the sakura or cherry blossom on the new Atmos Régulateur. An emblem of Japan, cherry blossom has become a universal metaphor for Spring, a symbol of renewal and a precious reminder of the fleeting nature of life, and of time itself. In keeping with this year’s Stellar Odyssey theme, the Atmos movement features a moon-phase display – the best-known and perhaps most beloved celestial complication of all.

Noble in presence and delicate in detail, the Atmos Régulateur ‘Cherry Blossom’ is a one-of-a-kind work of art, showcasing the clock’s mechanism within a transparent glass cabinet set between two dramatic panels of black Grand Feu enamel.

A branch of cherry blossom, hand-painted in enamel, extends seamlessly from one side, across the dial ring, to the opposite panel. Petals scatter in the air around it, as if shaken free by a passing breeze.

With the enamelling alone requiring 200 hours of dedicated work by the master artisans in the Métiers Rares® atelier of Jaeger-LeCoultre, this is the largest enamelled piece ever undertaken at La Grande Maison. While the enamellers have thoroughly mastered the techniques of enamelling on watch cases and dials, the large scale of this piece presented an entirely different set of challenges. Rising to it, the artisans of the atelier worked closely together, spending countless hours on preliminary research, exchanging ideas, experimenting and making trials before the enamelling could begin in earnest. Materials and techniques were examined and reconsidered – and a new kiln specified, to accommodate such large pieces.

For the panels – measuring 196mm by 105.2mm – copper was found to be more suitable than the gold used for enamelling on watches. For such large surfaces, the enamellers had to perfect the ‘dry enamelling’ technique of sifting powdered pigment onto the copper plates (rather like dusting the top of a cake with icing sugar), repeating the process again and again, to achieve the desired depth and uniformity of black. After every layer, the panels had to be fired, then cooled and perfectly flattened – with every stage carrying the risk of bubbling, cracking or dust specks, any of which would ruin the work.

For the two dial rings, it was determined that silver was the best material – despite its being a soft metal and therefore less resistant to firing at the high temperatures required for grand feu enamel. Normally, to prevent deformation, the back of an object is prepared with ‘contre-email’, but in this case it was impossible since the dial is visible from behind. The rings were hollowed out to form a trough into which the enamel was applied. Then, as for the panels, came the challenge of multiple firings.

Finally, when the black enamel backgrounds were completed to perfection, the work of the miniature-painter could begin – bringing with it the almost contradictory needs for artistic flair and absolute precision. As with the black enamel, this work was done in a series of layers, each needing to be fired, with every firing again carrying the risk of damaging everything that had been done before. To succeed in such work is testament to an extraordinary level of finesse, and a degree of mastery that can be achieved only with countless years of experience.

Invented in 1928, with a unique mechanism that is driven by tiny changes in air temperature, the Atmos is an extraordinary timepiece and an objet d’art in equal measure. Since the 1970s the Manufacture has invited a series of leading designers and proponents of the artistic crafts to reinterpret this mechanical prodigy. With a clear sense of artistic intention, this new interpretation, the Atmos Régulateur ‘Cherry Blossom’, amplifies the distinctive identity of the clock with balanced proportions and visual harmony allied to fine artistry.

The movement of this exceptional piece, conceived and entirely produced within La Grande Maison, is the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 582, which is distinguished by its regulator display. With an architecture defined by circles within circles, the large minutes ring and smaller hours ring are complemented by a monthly calendar and moon-phase display, as well as by the shape of the annular balance that slowly oscillates beneath the displays. The moon-phase indication is so precise that it will take 3,821 years to diverge by just one day from astronomical reality.

As a one-of-a-kind work of art, the Atmos Régulateur ‘Cherry Blossom’ is testament not only to La Grande Maison’s exceptional depth of savoir-faire but also to its commitment to preserving rare skills within the Manufacture, supporting and encouraging the expansion of those skills, and celebrating human creativity.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

ATMOS RÉGULATEUR ‘CHERRY BLOSSOM’

Dimensions overall: 468 mm x 183 mm x 255 mm

Dimensions of panels: 196 mm x 105.2 mm

Calibre: Mechanical, perpetual Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 582

Functions: regulator type display of hours and minutes; 24-hour indication; month indication; perpetual moon-phase indication (one-day discrepancy every 3,861 years)

Dial: Grand Feu Enamel

Panels: Grand Feu Enamel

Cabinet: glass

Reference: Q5604302

Homo Faber Event is open to the public from 10 April to 1 May 2022, at Fondazione Giorgio Cini on the island of S.Giorgio Maggiore, Venice. Information and tickets are available at homofaber.com

In a fitting commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Hodler’s death, landscapes of mountains and lakes, so characteristic of the painter’s work, were chosen to decorate the case of the Reverso Tribute Enamel. This watch, with its iconic Art Deco styling, features a white gold case that was specially created to serve as a canvas for the enamel miniature.

The three models are each issued in eight-piece limited editions.

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Rare Handcrafts “Métiers Rares” celebrate the work of Ferdinand Hodler

Remarkable guillochage work is featured on the front of the piece. Jaeger-LeCoultre's artisan guillocheur has embellished the dial with the help of a century-old machine requiring considerable expertise and years of experience. The dial’s small lozenges, giving the illusion as though they have been weaved, were created with finesse and delicate rendering. The engraving was then covered in translucent enamel. The colour of which, was carefully chosen to match the painting’s tone recreated on the reverse side.

On the reverse of the watch, the handcrafted engraving continues, with lines tracing out an elegant frame for each of the enamelled paintings. This incredible work is unique on each model, enhancing the reproduced paintings, it is also a fitting supplement to the three gadroons so emblematic of the Reverso watch.

A work of art in Grand Feu enamel

The Reverso Tribute Enamel series was inspired by Ferdinand Hodler’s masterpiece. To remind one of the majestic serenity emanating from Hodler’s work, artisan enamellers spent more than fifty hours on each watch reproducing the Master’s paintings as faithfully as possible.

Each painting presented particular challenges for Jaeger-LeCoultre’s enamellers. The main difficulty emerged from having to feature a large original painting on the 3cm2 surface area of the Reverso.

Lake Geneva with Mont Blanc in the Morning Light, 1918 (74 x 150 cm)

For this oil on canvas, obtaining the exact same pink and gold morning light was essential; it required a lot of effort. A light and very tender grey was chosen for the front of the watch, harmonising with the painting’s colours. As sky and lake seem to blend, this painting’s interesting play of light was expressed through small spots of colour transcribing the landscape’s depiction of peace and quiet.

Lake Thun with Symmetric Reflections Before Sunrise, 1904 (89 x 100cm)

This painting gives prominence to a brighter scenery, the artisan’s work focused on the creation of blue shades revealing the mountains. The way that the transparency of the water lets the rocks appear in a foreground of green shades is truly remarkable, and it inspired the artisan enameller to seek out a pine green colour to decorate the dial on the front. Ferdinand Hodler’s typical work on symmetry can be easily identified through this enamelled work.

Lake Thun, Symmetric Reflection, 1909 (67.5 x 92)

The third painting depicts the Alps mountains’ reflection in the water catching the last day light.The mirror effect and the blue and white shades’ softness call to mind the tranquillity of Lake de Joux. A translucent enamel in light sky blue was chosen to cover the guilloché.

An Art Deco icon to showcase the work of a master

With its emblematic Art Deco styling, faceted appliqué hour-markers, Dauphine hands and railtrack minute circle at the heart of the dial, the Reverso Tribute Enamel is a sophisticated and original canvas for the work of the Rare Handcrafts “Métiers Rares” enamellers. This is the continuation of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture’s series of enamelled Reverso watches. These three new pieces, devoted to Ferdinand Hodler, will certainly catch the eye of art lovers. This is yet, another way to share the precious expertise of the Rare Handcrafts “Métiers Rares” practiced under the Manufacture’s roof, and to express the Grande Maison’s openness to the world of art and culture.

Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918), a Swiss painter honoured in 2018

This year marks the 100^th anniversary of Ferdinand Hodler’s death, who passed away in Geneva in 1918. It is an opportunity for the art world, and more particularly for the main Swiss museums, to pay tribute to this major figure of symbolism and emblematic painter of Switzerland.

Jaeger-LeCoultre pays tribute to a Swiss artist whose depiction of Switzerland’s lakes and mountains brings memories of the Vallée de Joux – birthplace of Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture in 1833. With the parallelism of the landscapes he paints, Ferdinand Hodler shares his vision of the nature’s order. A clear and simple expression of the world, revealing a universal dimension present in each of his pieces.

Technical characteristics

Size: 45.5 mm x 27.4 mm
Thickness: 9.73 mm
Calibre: 822A/2 – Manual
Functions: Hour/Minute
Recto: Translucent Grand Feu enamalled and guilloche dial
Verso: Grand Feu enameled miniature and hand engraving
Limited Edition: 8 pieces (for each model) Boutique Edition