Deep Value Of Precision

Grace Tay travels to Kyoto for an immersion in traditional Japanese kogei and Swiss watchmaking métiers, which find affinity in their deep value of precision

- Grace Tay

Koto music pierced the crisp night air as we walked up a black carpet overlaid on the shifting gravel of Shinnyo-do Temple’s outer grounds. This sacred space had an especial ethereal feel, as spotlights dotting the space illuminated beautiful ancient trees from below. The full moon hung high overhead; Jaeger-LeCoultre had apparently timed its event precisely for this lunar appearance.

For this spring evening, the activity hall of this 1,035-year-old temple housed a one-night-only Art of Precision exhibition. This unique showcase celebrated the art of three Japanese Living National Treasures – embroidery master Kiju Fukuda, lacquerware artist Kazuo Yamagishi and marquetry expert Kenji Suda – whose traditional kogei or artisanal crafts paralleled JaegerLeCoultre’s own watchmaking and decorating savoir faire. Hailing from Vallée de Joux were two veterans from the Swiss maison: master watchmaker Christian Laurent and enamel artist Sophie Quenaon.

Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan and the nation’s cultural heart, boasts 17 Unesco World Heritage Sites – one of the world’s highest in a single city. Dotted with olden temples, castles, ceremonial theatres, and centuries-old teahouses and restaurants, this heritage city lends itself well to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s homage to The Art of Precision, “an expression of its relentless pursuit of technical precision and aesthetic artistry” it introduced last December.

Japan aligns itself quite naturally to the ethos of a high horology brand from Switzerland. Which other nation comes close to the Swiss’s penchant for precision?