As an old-time saying of the Chinese goes, “Painting was a ‘silent poetry’ and poetry was a ‘painting with sound’”. The symbiotic relationship between painting and poetry has been significant in Chinese culture for thousands of years. The earliest form of Chinese painting could be seen on silk in the Qin and Han dynasties. The invention of paper made it easier for Chinese paintings to be popularized and preserved, which has allowed us to appreciate a variety of styles of artistic heritage today. The Lingnan School of painting was established in the late Qing dynasty by Two Gaos and one Chen: Gao Jianfu, Gao Qifeng, and Chen Shuren. Impacted by the Western art and Japan Meiji Restoration, they advocated “an eclectic fusion of the Chinese and Western, the ancient and modern styles”. The artists of the contemporary era have been profoundly influenced by this revolution.

Since 2005, Ms. Hui Chan Hiu Wan, Janice has been an art student of the famous painter Lam Wu Fui, who was also trained under the renowned Chinese artist Zhao Shao’ang at the Lingnan School. Janice specializes in freehand brushwork, which emphasizes the semblance in the spiritual aspect. While most of her works feature birds and flowers, she loves drawing pine trees as they represent the abilities to remain virtuous, steadfast, and withstand adversity. Holding this attitude in high regard, Memorigin collaborated with Janice on the Lustre tourbillon watch.






The watch name is based on the poem “Welcome Rain on a Spring Night” by Du Fu in the Tang Dynasty, where there is a line “And moistens all things softly, without sound”. The painting presents a scene where the trees and birds are enjoying the moist breeze of spring when it comes quietly. An old pine tree is depicted on the dial in ink wash. The brushstrokes are tough while remaining elegant, delineating the lush and blooming pine needles. A dash of red on the bird creates a vibrant contrast with the tree and further enhances its vividness. The drawing elicits the emptiness and stillness philosophy in Chinese aesthetic appreciation of nature. The chapter ring is removed, leaving only the night-illuminating blue hands to indicate the time. This avoids the art appreciation from becoming distracted.

The watch is equipped with a manual-winding tourbillon watch which has 148 pieces of subassembly module and 18 jewels, providing 50 hours of power reserve. The tourbillon at the twelve o’clock position oscillates at a frequency of 28,800 times per hour.

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