Advertisement

PuristSPro.com: Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 976 Ceniceros Edition PART1

 


Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 976 Ceniceros Edition
by Edmund Woo
photos: Dr. Ming Woo





The Duality of Art and the JLC Reverso: These two concepts started as an idea that turned into a unique match to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the iconic Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso and the grand opening of the Jaeger LeCoultre Boutique in Mexico City.  Under the direction of Mr. Jerome Lambert, CEO of Jaeger LeCoultre, a limited edition Reverso was created to commemorate these two events.  But what elements go into the mind of the designers and what considerations are made by the watchmakers?  It's always intriguing to learn more about the details and thoughts of creating a limited edition that are not revealed in press releases.

Although this Limited Edition
is slated to officially launch on November 17th during the grand opening gala of the Jaeger Le-Coultre Mexico City Boutique , Team PuristSPro was invited to a special preview of the JLC Grande Reverso 976 Ceniceros Edition.  The two pieces on display were pre-production prototypes but still gave us a good indication of the final timepieces.
 
The familiar atmosphere of the JLC Beverly Hills boutique provided a relaxed setting for our interview with the artist's son, 
Guillermo Ceniceros Jr. and hosted by Jim Koonts and Milan Asanovic to discuss this exciting new project:






(pictured Left: Guillermo Ceniceros Jr., Right: Jim Koonts)








PPro:   www.PuristSPro.com
GC:    Guillermo Ceniceros Jr.
JK:     Jim Koonts - Manager, Jaeger LeCoultre Beverly Hills Boutique
MA:    Milan Asanovic - Consultant/Project Manager




JK:  It's a pleasure to have the PuristS here and we're very excited about revealing the prototype exclusively to the PuristSPro forum!  The Reverso just came in and I've had a chance to examine it, I think you will really appreciate what went into this amazing piece.

PPro:  Thank you Jim!  We’re excited to hear about these prototype special pieces that you are unveiling to the local L.A. PuristS tonight.  Guillermo, can you tell me about the inspiration for the project?

GC:  Well there are two ideas here.  One is that the idea of the actual project came about from the leadership  of Jerome Lambert and he envisioned something creative and unique for the 80th anniversary of the Reverso and opening of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Boutique in Mexico.  As that I’m from Mexico, I spoke to him and about my father, Maestro Guillermo Ceniceros Sr, and the work that he does.  So Jerome Lambert was interested in my father’s work and we send Mr. Lambert some pictures of his work.  Jerome said he was going to be in Mexico City and that he wanted to meet and see my father’s studio.  Thus he went with a group and got acquainted with my father.   While there, he was instantly attracted to this one piece and in his mind saw the possibilities of something special.  Right then and there he knew that this was a piece that we can integrated  on the back of a Reverso.   And that’s how it all started, Mr. Lambert saw it for the beautiful aesthetic contribution.


PPro:  So JLC wanted to incorporate your father’s art for this, why did your father want to collaborate with JLC?

GC:  The inspiration is the design of the Reverso itself.   He felt it for his vision and this was the most beautiful and perfect ‘canvas’ for his vision.  The fact that you can reverse it on the other side to see the art is special.


PPro:  There are quite a few limited edition watches out on the market, what makes this one so special or unique, appealing to a PuristS?

GC:  Yes, this a great question.  There are a number of things that are unique with the JLC Ceniceros Edition Reverso.  Firstly it is a collaboration with a well respected artist.  Secondly, it’s just not any piece of art, the artwork that was selected for this piece matches the concept of the Reverso.  The concept of the watch is ‘Duality’.  The concept of the art, which prevails in the work of Guillermo Ceniceros Sr., is also of ‘Duality’.  With the Reverso, you have the duality of time...precision on one side and stoppage on the other.  With my father’s work, it's the duality of human forms.  My father works a lot with geometry, especially the human geometrics.  The human body is very geometric but the human body is also human.  It has two sides, one side is almost a mathematical side and the other is who we are, it’s almost mysterious.
  My father always represents this in his art, which is not anecdotal but more conceptual art so the concept here for my father is the DUALITY of humanity represented by the two faces, so the concept of both duality is a wonderful match and makes it so unique.  I feel the piece is elevated to an atemporal level, it works in harmony as a whole instead of separate components.
 


PPro:  Can you tell me about the inspiration for these particular pieces?

GC:   The presence of Duality in the artwork is in finding the composition, positive and negative space, light and dark, noise and sound, etc… and for something to be told in an art concept you these elements present.  In this, what is the magic?  The magic is in the human form, the shapes that are placed.  In both pieces you have two faces, in one you have mystery because there are little characters lifting the face from one over another  one, which represents the duality.   The inspiration draws from his background as a muralist, painter, sculpture.  In this case, there’s not a more personal canvas than what’s found in a watch.  So, how his work can fit in the most personal ‘canvas’ for someone to wear and then have that be married into one concept, which fuse the relationship between the wearer of the watch and the art.  






PPro:  What type of techniques were used for the enamel and engraving?

GC:  One is a enamel the other is a deep free form engraving by the artisans of Grand
Maison.  There’s a lot of depth and volume to the hand engraving, we were really pleasantly surprised at the about of detail that was revealed by the pieces.  The other is a fired and polished enamel  and the interplay of negative space between the faces and the stainless steel case was perfect.  When we take a look at the piece, it has a beautiful depth to it, it looks 3 dimensional and comes to life in a very powerful way.  JLC does all the finishing and i t was conceived extremely well.

With the with the enamel and engraving process,  the manufacture was extremely respectful of the artist and in producing something that really do justice to the original artwork.  They accomplished that with traditional methods and were able to come out with what we have here.  If you examine the pieces, the colors of the enamel is based on the original lithograph artwork.

MA: As with this project storyline the design evolution was all about the organic melding of the best elements from the Manufacture..... the 'canvas' of iconic Reverso with the engraving expertise & capabilities by the Maison, with that of Meastro Ceniceros which is his iconic designs of women & duality of faces.  The same was done by designing the appropriate dial to unify these elements by purposely selecting a non-matching vintage tinted luminova dial combined with iconic sword hands which is a retro design element from the times past and very dear to both storied history of Reverso as well the artist himself.  Little understated details throughout the selection of design were what mattered most, following the that true idiom of less is more.     


PPro:  How many hours of work were put into the Ceniceros Edition Reverso by the engravers?

GC:  From what I understand, each piece takes about a week to engrave.  It’s precise and detailed work that is very labor intensive.










(pictured on the Left is Maestro Guillermo Ceniceros at a JLC event in Mexico City)







PPro:  Please tell us about the man behind the art, your father Mr. Guillermo Ceniceros Sr.

GC:  My father has always been an artist!  This is what he always wanted to do and passionate about since he was a young boy.  He began painting at an early age and then went to school in Mexico to do just that.  He has remained faithful in that line of work his entire life,  he’s now 72.


PPro:  Does your father have a  background with watches?  Does he collect?  Which brands does he respect the most?

GC:   My father loves watches and always been around watches.  Many fans of his artwork are also enjoyed watches.  Sometimes they would exchange watches for paintings so he always had watches around.  He has a variety of brands and as a matter of fact, one of the pieces he prides himself with is a Jaeger Le-Coultre!  It’s a Master Ultra-Thin vintage piece and he loves it!  It’s simple yet elegant, he feels that there’s  a beauty in it’s simplicity and he respects that the MUT accomplishes this in an elegant way.  






PPro:  Let’s go over the watch aspect.  How did you decide on the functions for this piece?

GC:  We wanted for the art to convey something timeless, you can say for eternity.  So we wanted the watch to feel that way as well.  We worked with the project leaders and accomplished this goal with the final design.   A highlight on the two pieces that JLC fans will appreciate is the luminous aspect of the numerals on the dial, which is in a vintage color.  The hands that were selected are stunning sword hands also in a vintage color.  The piece works as a whole.  We didn’t want this to look like a contemporary piece because the art is really temporal and transcends time.  As it celebrates the 80 years of the Reverso with the opening of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Mexico botuique, it respects and honors both.


PPro:  The JLC Ceniceros Edition Reverso is offered in Stainless Steel and in Rose Gold.  Are there any particular reasons for this?

GC:  Yes the JLC Ceniceros Edition will be crafted in stainless steel and rose gold.  There will be 50 pieces created for the Boutiques  in stainless steel, and 10 pieces available for the rose gold.  These materials were chosen since they integrated well with the overall concept.  As you can see with the prototype pieces, the rose gold is a excellent material for engraving, it allows for a rich depth to really bring out the art, and the stainless steel is also a wonderful contrasting color to the striking work of the enamel.

MA:
The Grande Reverso 976 Guillermo Ceniceros Special Edition is created for the Jaeger-LeCoultre Mexico City Boutique, and will be the first Mexico City boutique edition of it's kind. Since this special edition holds a place in the hearts of our friends in the United States we have arranged a very exclusive preview opportunity for the PuristS. To help us honor Guillermo and his father, the Maestro, we have arranged that orders available and delivered for us thru the Beverly Hills Boutique.  

PPro:  Any final words or thoughts that you can share with us?

MA: This unique Grand Reverso Special Edition also includes the art that inspired its creation. With each watch the Guillermo Ceniceros “Setenta Anos” book, which chronicles the work of this living legend,  a Special Edition brochure about this wonderful project, and lastly a signed and numbered lithograph displaying the concept art that was used for the engraving of each piece.

GC:  Certainly!   We feel that this is a unique opportunity  to celebrate the global anniversary of Reverso, celebrate  Mexico, and to celebrate the arts.  And I think the watch enthusiast, not just in Mexico but around the world,  are going to be excited to see art forum in it’s full concepetual potential  in it’s holistic way.  The art marries the concept of the watch and becomes into a whole and unique synergy. 


PPro:  Thank you gentleman for the prototype preview and much success to the new boutique in Mexico City!



(pictured:  Guillermo Ceniceros Jr. detailing the features of the Ceniceros Reverso to the guests)

























Press photos of Maestro Ceniceros in Mexico City























This message has been edited by ED209 on 2011-10-26 00:53:58 This message has been edited by ED209 on 2011-10-26 01:06:34 This message has been edited by amanico on 2011-10-26 01:17:28 This message has been edited by ED209 on 2011-10-26 02:20:57 This message has been edited by ED209 on 2011-10-26 10:49:19 This message has been edited by DRMW on 2011-10-30 11:51:40 This message has been edited by amanico on 2011-11-01 04:23:26

  login to reply