Jason Lee Jaeger-Lecoultre presents a trio of white gold level sotribute enamel models pairing a caseback with a hand guilloche with a replica of the miniature gran feu enamel from Xu Beihong’s horse painting. The three pieces are distinguished by both the front dial treatment and the reversed subject. Limited to 10 per reference, the series line up Reverso’s equestrian origins with Chinese equestrian symbols before the New Year of the horse in February 2026.
Jaeger ‑ lecoultre has long worn the “watchmaker watchmaker” sobriquette. Founded in 1833 at Valléede Joux, the manufacturing industry integrated a wide range of metiers under one roof, creating more than 1,400 Caribbere in its own numbers, securing over 430 patents. Its integrated model keeps informed of how the brand builds and decorates watches today, providing the context of the lasting relevance of Reverso almost a century after its debut.
Reverso began his life in 1931 with a practical brief. Protects the watch dial while polo. The solution – a rectangular case that slides and flips to reveal the inverse of solid metals – was robustly suppressed for sports, especially while establishing a pure Art Deco profile. Even after over 90 years of technical and aesthetic diversification, this line remains recognizable. Jaeger-Lecoultre points out that its blank verso has become a natural stage in decorative art, including sculpture, grandhoo enamel and gem setting. In that sense, models are always both instruments and media.
Contrary to that background, the new Reverso tribute enamel “Xu Beihong” trio fits neatly with the model’s decorative tradition. Each watch is paired with a hand-executed guilo cage and a laid-out semi-transparent Grand Feu Enamel dial after a work by Xu Beihong (1895–1953). This set was presented before the Horse New Year in February 2026, and its connection to Reverso’s equestrian origin story is clear. Each reference is limited to 10.
The Xu’s place in Chinese art in the 20th century is easy to exaggerate and difficult to exaggerate. He defended paintings from life and sought to refresh traditions through his involvement with Western training. He traveled extensively in Europe between 1919 and 1927 at Ecole des Beaurt. Within his horse, economical brushwork translates muscle tissue, balance and forward movements with very few strokes. Symbolicity exists, but secondary to the observed form.
Compressing that language into Reverso’s caseback requires technical control. The painter must translate the calligraphy marks of the swept into tiny gestures that can survive repeated firings. Jaeger ‑ lecoultre describes the reduction from the original over 1 square meter to an enamel surface of about 2cm², requiring approximately 80 hours of painting on each caseback before firing and finishing.
On the dial side, all three clocks aim to interact, not literally echo. The translucent enamel colours choose to resonate with the common tones in Chinese landscape paintings, but are on top of different guillothi patterns. Metalworking is important as the guilo cage shapes how light travels under the enamel. Sunrays, barleys or herringbones each send different reflections, thus changing the depth of the recognized color. The visual impression is suppressed. A two-hand layout that has no dates and leaves the field open for tones and textures.
The three pieces are distinguished by both the front dial treatment and the reversed subject. The “running horse” shows a single galloping figure, characterized as maison’s predominant dignity and grace. Its dial is evergreen pine green on top of the sunreigirochi with 120 engraved lines. “Two Horse” depicts a moving black and white horse (energy and mutual affinity), setting the blue enamel of a distant mountain over a barley seed guilloche. The “standing horse” takes a more quiet position after Xu’s 1939 portrait highlighted the nobility and potential. Here the dial is a soft crimson dawn orange above a 120-line herringbone pattern. The two casebacks refer to Xu’s 1942 run (6 horses). It nods to Zhao Mausoleum’s Tang – Dynasty Six Steeds, but the third follows Standing Horse (1939).
Technical commonality is simple. The case is 18K white gold with the familiar Reverso tribute footprint, 45.6 x 27.4 x 9.73 mm, and has a water resistance rating of 30m. Inside, it sits a manually covered in-house caliber 822 that offers a 42-hour power reserve and provides a beat at 3 Hz. The watch is delivered in a black crocodile strap with an interchangeable double folding clasp.
Close thoughts
This project is remarkable for its alignment of ideas and media. The Reverso format allows wearers to advance the dial during daily wear, protect the artwork, and reserve miniatures for private viewing and conversation. This is a functional approach to decorative work that avoids relegating art to mere dial textures. The exercises are less about collaboration with living artists than translations, as caseback paintings are replicas rather than free interpretations. Known images move into vitreous enamel at different scales with different constraints.
This release strengthens two chains that tend to define Jaeger‑lecault in the minds of lovers. The first is integrated manufacturing that has historically supported both technical chains based on deep movement capabilities and unique collections and colleagues’ collections. The second is the design strands embodied by Reverso. This is a watch that has proven to be an unusual acceptance of Métier’s art without losing sight of its original purpose. Xu Beihong Trio follows these lines to a logical conclusion. It’s a reminder that the watch needs to work first, even if the story is reversed, with a pair of Art on the Lyst canvas that you can actually wear.
Pricing and availability of Jaeger-Lecoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel ‘Xu Beihong’
The Jaeger-Lecoultre Reverso Tribute Enamel ‘Xu Beihong’ collection will be available directly from Jaeger-LecoultreBoutiques starting September this year. Price: on request
Brand Jaeger-Lecoultre Model Reverso Tribute Enamel ‘Xu Beihong’ Reference Q39334B1
Q39334B2
Q39334B3 Case Dimensions 45.6 x 27.4mm(d) x 9.73mm
