A Closer Look At Jaeger-LeCoultre’s New Reverso Tribute Enamel Hidden Treasures Collection

Last August, Catherine Rénier, Chief Executive Officer of Jaeger-LeCoultre, invited the press to a top-secret press presentation of a very delightful capsule collection called Reverso Tribute Enamel Hidden Treasures, a trio of watches that celebrates the work of three great masters from the dawn of Modern Art.

But what makes these watches special is that all three were inspired by paintings that were lost at some point in their history and later found. The change in fortune of these masterpieces fits in neatly with the essence of La Grande Maison’s Reverso – one of the world’s most recognizable watches.

Here are the stories behind these unique limited edition timepieces and the state-of-the-art craftwork that brought them to life.

In the press presentation, Rénier characterized the Reverso Tribute Enamel Hidden Treasures as a gallery of the brand’s expertise in unique handicrafts in by showcasing the talent of designers and artisans from every aspect of the brand’s savoir-faire, both past and present.

Beyond that, 2021 marks a special anniversary for Jaeger-LeCoultre – the 90th anniversary of the Reverso. First introduced on March 4, 1931, the intent behind the Reverso’s now-iconic swiveling watch case was to allow polo players to spin the case around while on the field to protect or “hide” the crystal.
 

Polo was a big deal in India in the 1930s. So, naturally, the Reverso became popular among the courts of the Maharajahs, who had their watches decorated with paintings executed by Mumbai’s skilled miniaturists. In fact, one of the most exceptional timepieces in the brand’s archives is a Reverso from 1936 known as the Indian Beauty.

It was watches like this that gave the Grande Maison the idea of showcasing its métiers d’art with Reverso pieces that revealed works of art.
 

The first piece in the Reverso Tribute Enamel Hidden Treasures collection is a reproduction of a work by Vincent Van Gogh. The painting, called “Sunset at Montmajour,” had been owned by a Norwegian industrialist. But at a party, one of his distinguished guests called it inauthentic. Embarrassed, the owner hid it in an attic.
 

The painting then sat there for six decades until, at long last, a family member decided to send it to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to settle the authenticity question. Using Van Gogh’s letters, chemical analysis of the pigments, and X-rays of the canvas, experts announced that the 1888 landscape “Sunset at Montmajour” was the real deal.
 

This Reverso Tribute Enamel Hidden Treasures model has a deep green sunray-guilloché dial to reflect the lushness of the landscape. The texture of the dial also evokes the looseness of Van Gogh’s brushwork.
 

French realist painter Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet lived the latter part of his life in exile in Switzerland. In 1873, he settled near Vevey, on the shore of Lake Léman (a.k.a. Lake Geneva), where, in 1876, he was inspired by the constantly changing views across the water.
 

In 1892, his painting, entitled “View of Lake Léman,” was donated with a group of works by lesser artists to The Musée du Vieux Granville in Normandy. Assumed a fake, it was put into storage until 1945. There it languished until a curator working sent it to Courbet experts at the Center for Research and Restoration of Museums of France (C2RMF), which confirmed that the landscape of the lake was indeed a later work by the French master.
 

“View of Lake Léman” is a wonderful example of the atmospheric landscapes he produced at this time, capturing the movement of the clouds and the sunlight dancing on the water’s surface. So, to capture Courbet’s impasto technique, the brand chose a distinctive herringbone guilloché texture to complement the misty gray-blue enamel of the dial. Vevey, where Courbet worked, is just a few miles from the Jaeger-LeCoultre manufacture, no doubt providing real-life inspiration for the rich gold and russet tones of the watch’s face.