2020-07-24

Jaeger-LeCoultre joins hands with SIFF for a promise of ten years

On July 25, 2020, as the 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival is about to kick off, Jaeger-LeCoultre, a Swiss high-end watch manufacturer, will usher in a promise of ten years as the longest official partner of the Shanghai International Film Festival. For a long time, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been committed to exploring the art of time, inheriting advanced watchmaking skills with a long history, and constantly breaking through the boundaries in the field of watchmaking. Unlimited enthusiasm and excellence are the traditions of Jaeger-LeCoultre. Jaeger-LeCoultre also extends this adherence to the world of cinema art. Over the past ten years, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been devoting itself to the art of film in a variety of ways, guarding the classics of cinematography, and tirelessly offering long-term and far-reaching support to Chinese films. At the beginning of midsummer, Jaeger-LeCoultre arrived with the sparkling stars as promised, reunited with the grand ceremony of cinematography, cherished infinite blessings for the future, and continued to create a magnificent chapter of light and image.

The main visual poster of the 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival

Protect the time and cherish blessings

Fine watchmaking and the world of film have a long-lasting connection. Both of them integrate technology and art, recording the passage of time in their own unique ways, interpreting the meaning of life, and engraving the imprint of the times. Chronology precipitates the precious skills that have passed through time and condenses the inspiration of generations of craftsmen, just like films, they treasure heavy memories and the painstaking efforts of countless art creators to recreate history. Jaeger-LeCoultre embraces the pious love for the art of time, joins hands with the world of film with the same artistic values, and takes this love across the stars in front of the screen to go deep into the world of light and image, so as to recreate the cultural memories of classic movies, smooth the traces left by time, and make the classics of cinematography last forever.

Since 2011, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been actively involved in the film restoration project for ten years: from Spring River Flows East, which is known as the guidepost of the history of Chinese film development, to the most successful comedy film Crow and Sparrow in the late 1940s, and then to Outside the Window, which opened up the style of fresh romantic films in the 1960s and 1970s. Each classic film after restoration carries the warmth of time and Jaeger-LeCoultre’s sincere heart to the art of immortality. So far, Jaeger-LeCoultre has cooperated with the Shanghai International Film Festival to invigorate more than a dozen classic films and continue to contribute to the inheritance of Chinese film art. During this year\'s Shanghai Film Festival, the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy the two restored films Stage Sisters and Crossroad at the Xintiandi open-air screenings and the Global Harbor open-air screenings at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

It is worth mentioning that among the classic films in which Jaeger-LeCoultre participated in the restoration, the famous performing artist Bai Yang starred in all three films Spring River Flows East, Eight Thousand Li of Cloud and Moon and Crossroad. This year, on the centenary of Bai Yang\'s birth, Jaeger-LeCoultre, together with the Shanghai International Film Festival and the China Film Archive (China Film Art Research Center), conducted a 4K restoration of New Year Sacrifice, another classic starring Bai Yang to pay tribute to her immortal achievements in the film history of the People\'s Republic of China. Since the era of Chinese silent films, Bai Yang has been rooted in the film industry for more than 60 years and has been praised by generations of the audience for her natural, implicit and accurate style of performance. In 1956, she was invited to star in the first color feature film New Year Sacrifice in the People’s Republic of China, successfully portraying the tragic role of Mistress Xiang Lin, and her artistic achievements reached its peak.

Poster of New Year Sacrifice

This film is adapted by the famous playwright Xia Yan according to Lu Xun\'s novel of the same name, and director Sang Wan portrayed the typicality of the characters in many aspects and angles through an accurate grasp of the social environment in the original work. The film uses a relatively lighter cold tone to symbolize the exploitation and oppression of the people at the bottom by feudal ethics but also reveals social inequality and human indifference. Therefore, during the 4K restoration of the film, the color and tone of the film respected the intent of the director, maintained the overall light cold tone, and faithfully restored the profound connotation expressed by the film. Thanks to the efforts of Jaeger-LeCoultre, the Shanghai International Film Festival and many film restoring staff, this classic film has been revived. It will be presented to the audience with a new attitude during this year\'s Shanghai International Film Festival.

A promise of reunion shines like the stars

Each film contains a unique realm of light and image, in which countless romantic legends are staged, just as each Jaeger-LeCoultre piece gathers exquisite art, receives the romance of the universe between inches, and presents a unique state of time in the wrist. A promise of ten years, we will reunite this summer, the artists of Jaeger-LeCoultre, with their superb skills and unlimited creativity, capture the sparkles of the stars and the romance of the moon, and compose an ode to the art of time, just like the Rendez-Vous Moon High Jewellery dating series of high-end jewellery moon phase watches, celebrating time and interpreting light and image with stars.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Moon High Jewellery

Dating Series Premium Jewellery Moon Phase Watch - scenario

Rendez-Vous Moon High Jewellery dating series high-end jewellery moon phase watches are made of platinum, surrounded by the depth of the sea of blue stars and the brilliance of the glittering moon. The upper part of the dial is inlaid with gemstones and decorated with rectangular cut gems, shining brightly at any angle. In the vast night sky on the dial, sapphires and diamonds are inlaid with snowflake inlaying craftsmanship. The sparkling starlight echoes with the bright cut diamonds on the lugs and bezel, which is full of female charm. Glittering gems with dreamlike colors make people dazzled and indulged. A mysterious star-shaped pointer, indicating the time of the next appointment on the dial, is an ingenious combination of function and elegance. The Jaeger-LeCoultre 935 self-winding mechanical movement equipped with the watch has a 40-hour power reserve and moon phase display. The moon phase display, as the most complex function with soft charm, occupies a prominent position on the dial. Jaeger-LeCoultre adheres to the consistent innovative spirit of the Atelier and gives it a high degree of accuracy. While the traditional moon phase function has a one-day error every two and a half years, the Rendez-Vous Moon Premium Jewellery Moon Phase series can remain accurate in 972 years without adjustment as an example of combining exquisite art with precision watchmaking skills.

The dance of the stars and the moon above the vast night sky not only interprets the eternal brilliance of the universe but also bears witness to the precious friendship between Jaeger-LeCoultre and the Shanghai Film Festival for ten years. Jaeger-LeCoultre is willing to work with the Shanghai International Film Festival, together with Chinese filmmakers who focus on the art of film, to continue to wait for the agreement of time and light and image and to make a promise on the next glorious reunion.

Jaeger-LeCoultre fine watchmaking Atelier was established in 1833

Jaeger-LeCoultre Atelier is located in Vallée de Joux. The quiet environment gives people a unique sense of belonging. The natural scenery of the Jura Mountains is the inspiration of Jaeger-LeCoultre Atelier, which is endowed with a unique soul under the guidance of infinite enthusiasm. Jaeger-LeCoultre Atelier brings together a variety of watchmaking techniques under the same roof, and watchmakers, engineers, designers and artisans work side by side to create many outstanding masterpieces. The spirit of innovation and vigorous enthusiasm is not only the driving force that motivates every member of Jaeger-LeCoultre to struggle day after day, but also the source of subtle and elegant exquisite art and technological innovation. Inspired by this spirit, Jaeger-LeCoultre has developed more than 1,200 movements since 1833 and has become a “leader in fine watchmaking”.