Jeager-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 976 – The Guillermo Ceniceros Special Edition - Full Overview

Jeager-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 976 – The 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. In celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Reverso, Jaeger-LeCoultre decided to invite renowned artists and engravers to create exceptional works of art that will be featured on the case back.

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 Ceniceros. This magnificent association takes shape in the impressive Grande Reverso 976 Guillermo Ceniceros Special Edition.

The first model of the Guillermo Ceniceros Edition features a stainless steel case with lacquer engraving and is limited to 50 pieces.

The second edition is in rose gold, featuring a fully engraved case, and is limited to 10 pieces.

The Reverso has the special ability to exemplify its owners’ unique personalities, and transform their physical and visual styles into the highest forms of art. What better canvas for a work of art than the masterpieces of Guillermo Ceniceros? The world-renowned artist’s murals and engravings embody geometric form, space and harmony, and are featured in public and private collections around the world.

The symbolism of duality has long been a focal point for Ceniceros – from his iconic human faces, to the geometry of the human body, to air and land, and to light and darkness. His vision aligns perfectly with the duality of time – a concept that Jaeger-LeCoultre has mastered through the Reverso.

Jaeger-LeCoultre CEO Jerome Lambert recognized that partnering with Maestro Ceniceros represented an opportunity to bring Mexican artistry to the forefront of haute horology, and foster an even greater appreciation for the company’s classic timepieces, as well as for Ceniceros’ work.

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s watches promote the highest form of expression, both mechanically and aesthetically. The Reverso has elevated this expression to an art form. The true beauty of the Reverso lies in its unique and personal ties to the artistic community for over 80 years.

The Guillermo Ceniceros Special Edition attributes the precision of time to one face and the stoppage of time to the other face through the artist’s beautiful engravings. This splendid timepiece brings timeless artistry to the forefront of haute watchmaking and is a unique canvas for Guillermo’s renowned works.

“My interest in this collaboration focuses on the metal canvas that the Reverso represents. No other watch offers this. I was interested in being part of the 80th anniversary of an iconic model that has a rich heritage of collaboration with the arts, and now, too, an interest in the arts of Mexico. Art and horology have many things in common – certainly, the theme of precision. My work on the Ceniceros Reverso creates a new, very personal way for owners to relate to my art. I celebrate this.” -Guillermo Ceniceros
 
Artist Biography
Guillermo Ceniceros is an international renowned Mexican artist and one of the country's most important mural painters. His figurative public murals grace universities, hospitals nad the Mexico City subway system, and are enjoyed by over 500,000 people every day. Ceniceros' easel compositions and engravings center around themes such as space, geometry and the female form. These pieces grace the permanent collections of established museums and are part of important private collections, contributing to an aesthetic language and Ceniceros' internationally recognized cultural legacy.  

Technical Specification Grande Reverso 976 – Guillermo Ceniceros Limited Edition CALIBER: Jaeger-LeCoultre 976
MOVEMENT: Hand winding constructed of 151 pieces 

Vibrations per hour: 28,800
Power reserve: 48 hours
Jewels: 19
Barrel: 1 

Height: 4.15 mm
FUNCTIONS: Hour - Minute 
Seconds
CASE: Grande size 30 x 48.5 mm
Stainless steel
 Limited to 50 pieces, REF: Q373847M
Rose gold
 Limited to 10 pieces, REF: Q373247M
DIAL: Vertical black guilloché and Clous de Paris engraving
HANDS AND NUMERALS: Sword, vintage orange tint numerals and hands
STRAP/BRACELET: Alligator leather
BUCKLE: Double folding buckle 20.0 mm

This unique Grande Reverso Ceniceros Edition comes packaged with individual numbered lithograph art that inspired its creation.

With each watch you receive the Guillermo Ceniceros “Setenta Anos” book which chronicles the work of this living legend; a Special Edition Brochure about this project; numbered and signed lithograph displaying the concept art that was used for the engraving of each piece.

The Grande Reverso 976 Guillermo Ceniceros Special Edition was officially launched during the grand opening gala for the Jaeger-LeCoultre Mexico City Boutique, and is the first Mexico City boutique edition of it's kind. Since this special edition holds an unique place both in the hearts of Ceniceros art & watch collectors in the United States Jaeger-LeCoultre has arranged that orders may be booked and delivered thru the Beverly Hills Boutique.

Retro'd

Summer is the perfect time to go all King of Cool retro like this vintage cognac leather fatstrap paying hommage to Paul Newman on my good ol' 1967 Submariner combo'd with the Steve McQueen foldable Persol 714. Rock on!

Not every size fits all, but there is a Reverso for all ...

The Jaeger-LeCoultre iconic Reverso has a longstanding history recently celebrating its 80th Anniversary. Starting out as a sports concept of a watch that could survive the hard knocks of the polo game evolving over time to different iritations eventually becaming increasingly known as an art deco classic.
My best advice is to go & try few of them out to see which one fits You the best. I personally went through 4 different Reverso sizes finding my perfect match with the very special Grande Reverso 976 Ceniceros Edition.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Tribute to Deep Sea Americane

Tribute to Deep Sea Americane

Vintage Tribute to a True Classic!

Laurent Ferrier - Another vision of the Galet Classic

The flagship model in the Laurent Ferrier collection, the Galet Classic reveals a more contemporary and sophisticated face in an interpretation representing an authentic renewal for this double-hairspring tourbillon that is already much admired by devotees of traditional fine watchmaking.

Its new slate-grey dial is lit up by 11 applied red gold Roman numerals, while the “assegai-shaped” hour and minute hands and baton-type seconds hands are also made of red gold. A hollowed seconds counter appears at 6 o’clock, and the matching dial creates an aesthetically harmonious overall effect. 

The Galet Classic is still driven by the exclusive in-house movement developed, assembled and adjusted by Laurent Ferrier and which forged his reputation as an exceptional watchmaker. This calibre features a tourbillon device based on the principle introduced by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1801, and complemented for the first time by a double hairspring. The major advantage of this new construction is its ability to keep the balance centred on its axis, while compensating for the effects of gravity and thereby guaranteeing the extreme reliability of the rating system.

Its avant-garde innovative technical construction makes it a superlative chronometer instument, certified by the Besancon Observatory. Its high amplitude combined with manual adjustment of the escapement result in exceptional rating precision of the Tourbillon Double Spiral calibre that boasts a daily variation in rate of less than three seconds! 

The manual finishing of this calibre is truly exceptional, as confirmed by the many interior angles and the various smooth round-polished operations. The bridge of the tourbillon carriage is decorated in the finest watchmaking traditions, and the exquisite finesse of this craftsmanship is revealed only through the sapphire caseback, thereby confirming Laurent Ferrier’s preference for subtlety and discretion.

Technical specifications

Ref. LCF001-R 

• Movement: Calibre FBN 916.01, mechanical hand-wound, 80-hour power reserve
• Indications: hours, minutes, small seconds at 6 o’clock
• Movement diameter: 14’’’ = 31.60 mm 
• Movement thickness: 5.57 mm 
• Number of parts: 182 
• Number of jewels: 23 
• Frequency: 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hz) 
• Case: 18K 5N red gold 
• Water resistance: to 30 m
• Case diameter: 41 mm 
• Case thickness: 12.50 mm 
• Dial: 18K gold slate-grey plate, vertical satin-brushed with applied 5N red gold Roman numerals, hollowed small seconds at 6 o’clock 
• Hands: 18K 5N red gold, “assegai-shaped” for the hours and minutes, baton-type for the seconds 
• Strap: hand-sewn chestnut brown alligator leather with Alcantara lining 
• Buckle/clasp: pin buckle or double-blade folding clasp in 5N red gold 
  

Rare Jaeger-LeCoultre Antiquorum Auction Results

Last month at the Rare Jaeger-LeCoultre Timepieces Antiquorum’s Auction in Hong Kong some questions were answered with some very interesting results that were posted.

 The Gyrotourbillon One actually hammered at HK $2,420,000 equivalent to US $312,000 (including buyer's premium), while the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2 sold for HKD1,820,000 which is equivalent to about $235,000. 

 Last but not least the Reverso a Triptyque sold for HKD2,540,000 which is around US $328,000.

All of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Haute Horology Masterpiece complication Trifecta were auctioned for above the Antiquorum's estimates very much in line with few previous known comparable auction results inclusive of those done in the secondary private market.

I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about breaking up the Limited WG Trio but apparently the market has spoken giving approval to each individual piece as an entity & their respective individual values. This is certainly a welcome good news for JLC high end compilations and especially for their owners/collectors.

On the other hand other notable complication was a piece unique from IWC Destriero Scafusia in platinum which just couldn't meet the $220,000-270,000 estimate which in my opinion says a lot about the actual collectors demand as well valuation for high end pieces from the house of Schaffhausen.

In the other news the two notable Patek Philippe ( first time at auction ref 1526 Perpetual calendar in YG vintage from 1951 as well a vintage ref 1518 first Perpetual Calendar Chronograph from 1946) were both a surprising no sales. On the other had the ref 3939 Tourbillon Minute Repeater in PG Enamel dial originally sold in 2010 and first time offered on the auction went above estimate for HK $3,200,000 about US$513,000. Surprisingly this time the appetite for the highest of haute horology most recent watches prevailed over usual vintage blockbusters.

Sub & Cappuccino

Technicolor Tan

Black & White

Mocha Focus & Refocus

Focus

Refocus

more to come ...

Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos Marqueterie - The Kiss

During the 2012 SIHH Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced another masterpiece Atmos Marqueterie ‘The Kiss’.  A work of art clock which hankers back to life the famous piece of work by Gustav Klimt (limited to10 pieces).

 Way back in 1904, Belgian financer Adolphe Stoclet had commissioned Gustav Klimt to create a piece of art that would build on what his core strength would be; mosaics. Out of that tryst in destiny was born the Kiss, which gave Klimt much of the fame he is now known for. It is also later found, that the artist used 1,200 pieces of wood, each covered individually with gold leaf to create this master piece, especially the marquetry on the exterior. After all these years, it comes alive in this form, where exotic wood varieties such as maple, walnut, Ceylon lemon, pear, madrona burl and ash burl create a cabinet to house this horological masterpiece.

The automatic responsive cabinet open up to show the crystal sapphire covered dial, which is again an example of the Jaeger-LeCoultre brilliance which cleverly hides the very button operating this function.  Speaking of the dial, it features generous use of handcrafted mother of pearl on the main dial, where as the built in moon phase indicator uses gold, diamonds and petrified wooden varieties. The interior lining of the cabinet however, is rhodium and crystal glass.

Speaking of the technicals, there is a Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber 582 movement at the center of the watch function. It comprises of 386 handcrafted components, each put together individually. The beating rate for the movement is pegged at 120 vibrations per hour. As for the different functions there is the hour, minutes, 24-hour indicator, month and also the moon phase tracker. As for the official pricing there is none communicated to the public (rumored to be around +$200K) which is very fitting to the limited nature of this masterpiece and the work of art it represents.

Tudor Heritage Big Crown Ref. 79220R

The return of the Big Crown ... even if it's on a Tudor

One of the few (unofficial or sponsored you decide) leaks for the upcoming BaselWorld 2012 comes to us from no other then Tudor.  I could have just chalked this one up to the prevailing trend of other companies digging into their history coffers for ideas to bring yet another Tribute unless I was so excited to see an old friend coming back. (Again kudos to Jaeger-LeCoultre for starting this trend & always doing it the right way but then again I am biased)

So what's the lowdown on this new Tudor Heritage aka Black Bay Ref. 79220R.  The specs reported are as follows: larger 41mm steel case (I'm fine with slight increase), 8mm Big Crown (anything Big Crown is Godly in my book), Gilt dial(looks lovely on the rendering), Snowflake (not at all period correct as they are from 1970's Tudors and God awful style wise) hands, Convex glass (I hope this means its not sapphire cause Plexi is Sexy), automatic mechanical movement, on bracelet or leather strap with folding clasp, additional fabric strap with buckle.  OK so not everything is executed and as period correct to call it a proper Tribute as I would have liked (namely those garish snowflake hands which would be first to go then that red bezel insert which is unknown in vintage world), but all in all from what I see here it looks OK.  Also compared to Rolex recent re-designs of their staple classics I would say I prefer this exercise in revisiting this old vintage friend (faults and all).  

Comparing this Heritage to a true Vintage (as apples to apples) we simply can't do in all seriousness, especially when considering that last years Tudor Heritage Chrono was a very nice modern update of vintage Monte Carlo all while being priced at extremely affordable 3,000 Euro. I am expecting pretty much the same strategy with this Reference 79220R.

The earliest Submariner found in the Tudor family is the Reference 7922. The 7922 is a special watch as it would seem that both the Tudor Ref. 7922 Submariner and the Rolex Ref 6538 Submariner were introduced at the same time and indicate a simultaneous roll-out of the two models side by side. Also note that the Rolex and Tudor serial # ranges of the mid 1950's are almost identical.

The 7922 sports a 8mm Brevet "+" crown as does the Rolex 6538. The dial layout and hands are similar in styling, fonts and shape, to that of the Rolex 6538. Note the 100m dial vs. 200m dials is a difference between them but most likely the dials started out as 100m dials and in the late 1950's the 200m dials were introduced. The bezels are usually fitted as bi-directional bezels with red triangle - similar to the Rolex variation.  The movement is a cal. 390 Tudor movement. Originally produced by Fleurier.

This all brings us to an excuse to point out that they all are closely related to the vintage legend that is Rolex 6538 aka Big Crown. 

Truly a collectors dream piece.  Today one of the most desired, exclusive & highly valued timepieces of Rolex Submariner fame.  The extreme similarity to Rolex 6538 only helped make Tudor 7922 a legend in its own right and soon we will be able to own a small piece of it in Tribute to that Heritage piece the new Tudor 79220R.       

Vintage Heuer Obsession - well get your fix http://onthedash.com/

What became a chance discovery while scouring the Internets for some vintage Heuer fix I kept coming across this amazing site/forum/blog http://onthedash.com/ & since it has become my go to site for anything related to vintage Heuer. 

An absolute collectors dream for any kind of information & amazing reference on this wonderful vintage gems.  One could only wish we had resources like this for other brands and vintage timepieces.  

Today http://onthedash.com/ is celebrating its 9th Anniversary and I urge you to visit the best vintage Heuer resource in the Internets.   

Rare Jaeger-LeCoultre Timepieces Highlight Antiquorum’s February Hong Kong Sale

Rare Jaeger-LeCoultre Timepieces Highlight Antiquorum’s February Hong Kong Sale

Antiquorum Auctioneers will present its’ auction of “Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces” to be held on February 26th at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong.  Collectors will have the opportunity to bid on 452 exceptional modern and vintage timepieces including a collection of extremely rare and highly complicated Jaeger LeCoultre masterpieces and a rare Patek Philippe ref. 3939 in pink gold.  Previews will be held in cities across the globe including Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore as well as Hong Kong.

Amongst the highlights of the sale are three outstanding Jaeger LeCoultre timepieces to be sold individually originally sold as a set named “Hybris Mecanique,” the collection, produced in 2009 will be offered at auction for the first time. The trifecta set clad in 18K White Gold and sold exclusively as a package includes the following:

Gyrotourbillon One, No.02/20. The one that started this all a perpetual calendar bi-retrograde date spherical tourbillon wristwatch with equation of time and leap year calendar. It is accompanied by a fitted box and magnifying glass.
Estimate: HKD 1,900,000 – 2,300,000
 

Gyrotourbillon Two, No. 02/20. This extraordinary Reverso (and still my favorite out of all the Gyro's) contain mesmerising spherical tourbillon and is offered with a fitted box, guarantee certificate, instruction booklet and magnifying glass.
Estimate: HKD 1,400,000 – 1,700,000

Last but not least Reverso ‘Triptyque’ Grand Complication No. 02/20. This used to be the most complicated timepiece made by the Grand Maison with perpetual calendar retrograde date, triple-dial reversible tourbillon wristwatch with equation of time, civil time, sidereal time and sky chart also accompanied by the original fitted box, guarantee certificate, instruction booklet and magnifying glass.   

Don't know exactly how I feel about breaking up this collectors package.  I heard before of some collectors buying the trio and then splitting them up which actually made sense at the time as they only existed before in platinum LE which was sold out by then. Will the values rise or will they level off with additional units produce aftewards as a part of Hybris Mechanica we shall see.  Lastly this is how the Trifecta package looked during the presentation during the 2009 SIHH.

Watch the Throne

Inspired by the totally awesome Hodinkee post about Jay-Z wearing Jaeger-LeCoultre ReversoTribute to 1931 I decided to get my saritorial swag on so I got totally overdressed for a lunch & decided to rock my JLC Reverso Grand Reserve 8 Jours in Pink Gold.

Polaris forever

Three and a half years later still my favorite & most unique alarm complication - never duplicated, always admired staying a classic forever. So glad it was brought back from the depths back into the rightfully earned spotlight. Pretty much the one that started the whole vintage tribute trend these days seen across the horology industry ... more to come.