KIH presents an exclusive look at Vacheron Constantin's Métiers d'Art 'La Symbolique des Laques' and 'Florilège' collections, showcasing the brand's mastery in traditional decorative arts. His post offers a rare glimpse into these magnificent pieces, highlighting the intricate craftsmanship of Urushi-lacquer and Maki-e dials. This article explores the community's admiration for these artistic creations and their place within haute horology.
Just happened to witness and handle these
magnificent pieces from VC. Just 'wow".....
METIERS D'ART: LA
SYMBOLIQUE DES LAQUES
This is the set of three Urushi-Lacquer or Japan or Maki-e
dial and back.
Those three has meaning - not trilogy
or Trinity but three typical Japanese things to enjoy with eyes in
different seasons.
It is called
"Setsu-Getsu-Ka".
Setsu - the snow in winter, Getsu - the moon
in autumn,
and Ka - the flower in spring. "???". Traditionally, not much to enjoy with eyes
in summer back then
1. First
up is "The Snow (Winter)".
Truly magnificent hand
painted craft. Motif is of course, snow
flakes.
Special
technique and plaster lacquer to make this
"relief".
They spared no expense on the
back as well. Motif: house roof on the
bottom, and thee pine trees whose branches are
protected by pulling by the ropes so that they wouldn't break by the
weight of the snow. See the some snow on
the pine branches?
Look at the layers of roof and pine tree
- so detailed, yet feel and show the distance and relief....
On the
catalogue.... These sets were ordered by
VC Japan to one of the ever so decreasing veteran Maki-e craftmen.
2. The Moon
(Autumn)
Motif is of course the moon - in the autumn cloud, in
most likely September moon.
Back:
Typical autumn leaves which
turn from green to red. Beautiful one.
And at the bottom is the "Torii" or
gates to the Shrines.
The
real autumn leaves of the same type:
This 3D expression is
extremely difficult and beautiful.
3. The
Flower
(Spring)
Motif is of course, Sakura or Cherry Blossom, Japan's national
flower.
The real Cherry Blossom in
Spring (Typically, late March to early April in Tokyo)
It seems like near the end of the season - see
a few pedals are falling.....
Back: it
looks to me the Cherry blossom tree right after the season over the old bridge..... Feels
sad, doesn't it?
?/ the Snow, ?/ the Moon, ?/
the Flower
Although if you are reading down to here,
you may be already familiar with Maki-e art, let
me add some information about
it.
Maki-e - One of the forms of Urushi or Japan
art. "Maki" is noun of verb "Maku" which
means scatter or sow, and
"e" means painting.
This type of Makie used for
this wonderful series is made on the black urushi
lacquer
base, on which another layer(s) of uUushi is painted as plaster, and before it
dries out, gold or silver powder is scattered on
it. The result is as you see above..... If you ever
visit Japan, try Kanazawa prefecture area where
there are several this type of Urushi workshops and some
of them let you try to make your own Maki-e!
Hope you enjoy
the pics with a bit of my own interpretation and narratives for your
deeper understanding and pleasure.
Movement:
Cal. 1003 SQ
Manual Winding
Thickness 1.64mm
Diameter 21.10mm
Number of parts 117
Number of stones 18
2.5 Hz
(18,000 v.p.h.)
Hour
and Minute hands
Geneve Seal
Case:
Diameter 40mm
Thickness 7.5mm
WG - The
Snow
PG - The Moon, The
Flower
Limited Edition of 20 sets (sold only in sets of all three)
================================================================================
METIERS D'ART:
FLORILEGE
Now, these are
the Western beauty. Cloisonne Enamel dial
with diamond bezel and buckle- stunningly
beautiful.
These are the
motifs....
From the art of 19th
century botanical illustrations....
...to
the prowess of artistic
crafts.
I.
Guillochage
II. Cloisonne Enamel
III.
Enameling
IV. Gem
Setting
Complete.
Now,
there is Baguette bezel version for each....
wow....
Thank you for looking and
reading.
As
always, special thanks to Vacheron Constantin Japan, and
The Hour Glass
Ginza.
Ken
This message has been edited by KIH on 2013-05-17 11:28:31
