Zhang Ziyi, Jackson Yee and Kim Woo Bin Illuminate Jaeger-LeCoultre’s ‘The Dream Shaper’ in Shanghai
Celebrities, artistry, and more than 70 exceptional timepieces set the stage for Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new exhibition ‘The Dream Shaper’—a tribute to nearly two centuries of feminine watchmaking.
By Kenneth Goh - published
On a rainy Shanghai night where the air felt heavy with anticipation and humidity, the stars came out to celebrate a cinematic moment for Jaeger-LeCoultre—Chinese celebrity and brand ambassador Zhang Ziyi, Jackson Yee, and Kim Woo-bin. Add Olympic champion Wang Shun to the mix, and Jaeger-LeCoultre’s opening of ‘The Dream Shaper’ at Zhangyuan had the mood of an old-world gala with a distinct modern gloss.
Zhang Ziyi
Kim Woo Bin
Jackson Yee
Wang Shun
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But beyond the red-carpet sparkle, there was a deeper kind of spectacle. In the centre of it all, Chinese animation director Jackie Wang unveiled Drawn in Time, a work created with the early film device, the phenakistiscope.
Made of Makers Jackie Wang
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Imagine moons spinning, birds taking flight, and flowers blooming in rhythmic cycles—a hypnotic meditation on femininity as something eternal and ever-shifting. Watching it, I felt both the fragility and resilience of time, which is the Maison’s métier.
Inside the exhibition, housed in a restored Shanghainese warehouse, that dialogue between women and watchmaking unfolded. Over 70 timepieces—archival treasures, Métiers Rares marvels, and global debuts— told a story of evolving femininity: from the delicate artistry of the 19th century to today’s audacious expressions like the Rendez-Vous Shooting Star and the Reverso Secret Necklace.
The Rendez-Vous Shooting Star
An enamelling detail on the Reverso
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The newly revealed Reverso Tribute Enamel Xu Beihong ‘Horse’ seemed especially poignant here in China, a nod to cultural heritage framed through craft. I watched the transformation of a large painting getting miniaturised to form a tiny masterpiece on your wrist. Each delicate flick of a hair-width brushstroke creating movement and form of a galloping horse.
What struck me most wasn’t just the beauty of these pieces but the way they felt anchored in Shanghai itself — a city that thrives on constant reinvention while never letting go of its colourful past. The Dream Shaper tapped into that rhythm. Guests lingered over enamel demonstrations, peeked into ateliers across four major themes in the exhibition, and witnessed watch makers craft delicate movements with the precision of a surgeons’s knife.
More than an exhibition, it felt like an invitation: to see femininity not just as a chapter in watchmaking, but as its driving force.
The Dream Shaper runs until 26 September at Zhangyuan, Shanghai, with complimentary public admission.