To celebrate the 74th Venice Film Festival, Jaeger LeCoultre announces three new additions to the Rendez-Vous Sonatina collection. The Rendez-Vous collection has always been associated with cinema since it was launched in 2012. And we have covered earlier editions of this very elegant collection from the Rendez-Vous Minute Repeater in Watches and Wonders 2014 till the recent SIHH 2017's beautiful Sonatina. The new Rend-Vous is issued from the Grande Maison's Métiers Rares "Rare Handcrafts" workshop to express three different stages of romantic feelings: seduction, romance, and love. Each one is released as a limited edition of eight pieces.
This latest addition sees the Sonatina in a pink gold case, measuring 38.2mm in diameter. The movement is the Calibre 735, which is the same as the earlier Sonatina which we reviewed here. The movement allows an alarm to be set to go off at a specific time, and when it does, it strikes an elegant strike of a gong. Commensurate with the character of a lady.
The alarm time is set using the crown at 2 o'clock, a star indicating the rendezvous time. And a day/night indicator is housed at 6 o'clock in an aperture shaped like flowers painted on the dial where the sun and moon is displayed.
Each of these new watches feature three crafts: guillochage, painting on mother-of-pearl, and gem setting. The mother-of-pearl dial is decorated by hand with a guilloché motif that stretches across its entire surface, before being coated in a slightly tinted layer of paint to give it a gleam.
Each watch is set with precious stones. The bezel is adorned with brilliant-cut diamonds. And a line of diamonds run above the numerals on the flange, echoing the string of stones around the dial's central painting. The case side also feature diamonds.
Then, for the first time, the Manufacture's artisans have produced a miniature painting by hand on the mother-of-pearl. The results are supremely subtle, with all the details appearing truer than life. Some parts of the painting, such as the birds, have been covered with a layer of clear lacquer to add an impression of depth and to play with the material. As the painting is done by hand, each dial is therefore unique, despite belonging to the same series of eight pieces.
Each of the paintings is an original Jaeger LeCoultre creation.
The first stage of romance is embodied by the Rendez-Vous Sonatina "Séduction". Two swallows soaring over a lavender field embody this moment, a time of discovery and heightened emotions as lovers get to know one another, a theme often central to major film productions. Symbolising freedom and happiness, the birds appear to be performing a romantic ballet as they glide gracefully across a guilloché mother-of-pearl sky. The mother-of-pearl is dressed in twilit shades of blue and purple. The birds' every detail is painted with painstaking care, showcasing the artist's spellbinding talent of recreating the feathers of outstretched wings. A flower-shaped aperture housing the day/night indicator emerges from the heart of the deep lavender-blue plants, as if to provide a window on the rapid passing of time experienced by those falling in love.
The Jaeger LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Seduction.
After seduction comes romance, a time when the heart is filled with the image of the beloved. The Rendez-Vous Sonatina "Romance" depicts this state of endless reverie with a kingfisher perched on the branch of a blossoming cherry tree. A symbol of peace and prosperity with its blue and orange plumage, the kingfisher seems to forget the passing of time. Associated with life's important moments, such as romantic encounters, the blossoming cherry tree is magnificently recreated in graduated shades of pink and white. Delicate pink paint on the guilloché mother-of-pearl further enhances the intense colours of the petals.
The Jaeger LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Sonatina Romance.
The last model of the limited editions, the Rendez-Vous Sonatina "Amour", depicts the enduring bliss of love. Above a patch of peonies, two magpies fly alongside one another, recreated in graduated shades of green shifting from turquoise to sea-green. Symbols of happiness, these birds appear to be delighting in unison at their journey together. The peonies, often associated with wealth and honour, also embody this romance, and are considered to bring good luck and promise a happy marriage. The cleverly created blend of harmonious greens across the dial gives this extremely poetic model a great softness.
The Jaeger LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Sonatina Amour.