Nature’s beauty, as award-winning director and cinematographer Louie Schwartzberg once said, is a gift that cultivates appreciation and gratitude. And countless artists have sought through time to emulate, encapsulate or evoke facets of nature in man-made creations: valiant human attempts, it could be said, to capture a fleeting moment – a shooting star, a flower in full bloom – for our enjoyment in perpetuity.
The beauty of butterflies dancing among orchids is masterfully rendered in miniature on the dial of Jaeger‑LeCoultre’s Rendez-Vous Sonatina, their lifelike three‑dimensionality demonstrating the house’s mastery of micro‑painting. The delicate composition, framed by a halo of diamonds, holds deeper meaning: The orchid embodies beauty, elegance, courage and strength, while the butterfly symbolises evolution, hope and new life.
This feminine edition is presented in three colourways: Purple Orchid, Nude Orchid and Green Orchid, limited to just eight pieces each. Mother-of-pearl, loved for its inimitable lustrousness, stands as a canvas that magically captures light within. It is carefully engraved with a wavy motif to bring out its tonal variations, then tinted purple, pink or green before an artisan puts brush and paint to it.
Every measured stroke by the skilled artisans from Jaeger‑LeCoultre’s Métiers Rares™ (Rare Handcrafts) Atelier adds visual depth to the pretty flowers and dainty creatures. A closer look reveals a free-form, flower-like aperture nestled among the blooms that houses the watch’s elegant day and night indicator. Brilliant diamonds set into the bezel of the pink gold case, which measures 38.2mm across, attests to the maison’s gem-setting mastery.
Beautiful specimens celebrating the Art of Precision in both technical execution and aesthetic expression, these new additions to the Sonatina family are animated by the self-winding Calibre 735, which has a power reserve of 40 hours.
An alarm function allows you to set a reminder, marked by a gold star on the periphery of the dial that is set by a crown at two o’clock, for a special rendezvous. When the magic hour hits, a melodious chime (alluding to the timepiece’s name, Sonatina, which is a musical term for a short melody) sounds. A transparent caseback reveals the intricacies of the mechanism, which is produced and assembled in-house by hand.
But look beyond the horological and artful excellence, and you’ll find that Jaeger-LeCoultre has given us not just wearable pieces of art, but a timely reminder in this increasingly fast-paced world to make time to appreciate the beauty of the present moment. For as American entertainer Eddie Cantor so succinctly put it, “it’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why”.
Jaeger-LeCoultre, #B2M-240 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands and #02-08 Ion Orchard
