ED209's post introduces the Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 976 Ceniceros Edition, a limited release celebrating the Reverso's 80th anniversary and the opening of JLC's Mexico City boutique. This article explores the unique collaboration with Mexican artist Guillermo Ceniceros, highlighting how the Reverso's iconic reversible case becomes a canvas for art, blending horological craftsmanship with artistic expression.
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
Key Points from the Discussion
The Reverso's unique sliding and rotating case makes it an ideal canvas for artistic collaborations, transforming the watch into a dual piece of art and horology.
The 'duality' concept, central to both the Reverso and Guillermo Ceniceros's work, is beautifully expressed through the watch's design, featuring a classic horological dial on one side and a superb artistic creation (red enamel or engraving) on the reverse.
The collaboration is seen as a significant success, immortalizing the concept of duality by blending art and watchmaking, particularly with the Reverso's iconic design.
The rose gold version, with its warm dial and mysterious etched caseback, initially captivates, but the stainless steel version's equally intriguing artwork often grows on observers, making both highly desirable.
The project is lauded for its well-balanced execution, successfully integrating a significant part of the Ceniceros family's artistic patrimony with JLC's horological expertise.
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The Discussion
ED
ED209
Oct 26, 2011
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso 976 Ceniceros Edition in Stainless Steel: (note: Video is optimized for 3D, however 2D can be toggled on for non 3D displays) This message has been edited by ED209 on 2011-10-28 14:46:36
ED
ED209
Oct 26, 2011
Jaeger-LeCoultre 976 Ceniceros Edition Reverso in Rose Gold: (note: Video is optimized for 3D, however 2D can be toggled on for non 3D displays)
ED
ED209
Oct 26, 2011
Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 976 Ceniceros Edition (from L to R) Maestro Guillermo Ceniceros, Mr. Alberto Ciurana, JLC CEO Mr Jerome Lambert, Ms Esther G. Ceniceros, Mr. Alfredo Nolasco. Watches have the ability to connect with their wearer's, their owners, on a personal level. This physical and visual connection between man and timepiece elevates watches in their highest form to objects of art. Jaeger-LeCoultre represents a storied past of producing watches that bear the highest form of expr
ED
ED209
Oct 26, 2011
Jaeger-LeCoultre GRANDE REVERSO 976 Guillermo Ceniceros Special Edition "The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is recognized by watchmaking connoisseurs as an Art Deco icon that stands out from other horological creations with a case that slides at the base and rotates completely on itself. It was perhaps this uniqueness and originality that drove Jaeger-LeCoultre to create a unique Special Edition linked to conceptual art that pays homage to the renowned Mexican painter, muralist, and engraver Guillermo
AM
amanico
Oct 26, 2011
I will try to stay objective, which is difficult for me, as Guille and Milan are old friends. Honestly, the Reverso 976 was a nice watch, the " 976 Ceniceros " is a very nice watch. I was not really impressed by the sapphire case back of the 976, when it was revealed, and was hoping that one day it came with a solid case back. Here, the solid case back is the frame for a superb work of Art. Guille said it nicely: The common point between the Reverso and his father's work is Duality, which I can
BL
BluNotte
Oct 26, 2011
I find myself gravitating towards this piece very much, especially the SS version! So, let me clarify this, but this is available ONLY in the boutiques in Mexico and the US, and not in the asian boutiques? Cheers! Stephen
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