KIH
[Purist]
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Metiers D'art: La Symbolique des Laques & Florilege - Beauties from East and West
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)
================================================================================
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
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Metiers D'art: La Symbolique des Laques & Florilege - Beauties from East and West
Just happened to witness and handle these magnificent pieces from VC. Just 'wow"..... METIERS D'ART: LA S Y MBOLIQUE 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 ...
Maki-e art, I love it ...
and not only with watches. From the watches you have shown, my favorite is the autumn version. Superb! Only the numbers ... are prohibitive, at least for me. Ken, thanks a lot for sharing that very special crafts with us and maybe there is one more good r...
Thank you, Ken....
for this look at the little seen Metiers d'Art pieces from Vacheron Constantin. I like that Vacheron Constantin is not requiring collectors to get all three of a series with the Florilege and Univers Infinish collectors. Bill
I was impressed much, too...
... for their attention to detail craftmanship on the dial... Yes, while Maki-e series are sold as a set of three, enamel series are sold separately.... For ladies.... wow.... Ken
Thank-you for this "eye candy".
What a great review of these special pieces. Please tell me, are the diamond-laden watches favored in Japan as in China?
Not for men, but for women, yes.
For men.... only those who MAY attend some kind of high-class parties, but it is really rare.... Ken
Even more beautiful than the last set...
...and a small argument in favour of the old system of outsourcing the very best artisans and artists from across the globe before the need to do everything in house became a grail. My favourite judging from these scans is The moon Thanks for the report
Fascinating craftmanship
and as usually great post my friend Stunning pieces indeed but non of them makes my heart tick faster Best regards D
It is good to see such stunning....
... craftmanship once in a while in person, nonetheless..... Thank you, my friend! Ken
Thank you for this in-depth exploration
We have not seen enough of these two Metiers d'Art series. La Symbolique des Laques has really grown on me since it was first introduced. The treatment of the cal 1003SQ inside is as fascinating to me as the art on the cases. What a great way to reacquain...
Hi respo....
... many thanks! Yes, this series are always quite an art and seeing in person is just awesome. I was just lucky to be there.... Thank you! Ken