In the rarefied upper echelons of the watchmaking industry, there are relatively few brands with iconic watches in their collection that date back over 40 years. The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak is as old as your editor-in-chief, while the Patek Philippe Nautilus is two years younger. But only two brands have models still in their current collections whose origins are almost as old as the wristwatch itself. One is Cartier, whose Tank model dates back to 1917; the other is Jaeger-LeCoultre with its unique Reverso watch, born in 1931.
What sets the Reverso apart is that it is a model that revolutionized watch design at the time and still does so today. Its Art Deco codes have stood the test of time and the singular feature that gives it its name, its reversible case, remains unique in the industry. It is little wonder, therefore, that the late Michael Balfour, a renowned English watchmaking journalist and author, included the Reverso in his 2007 book Cult Watches.
To celebrate the milestone of its 85th birthday, Jaeger-LeCoultre presents a series of Reverso models that hark back to the very first Reverso that was presented in 1931. For Jaeger-LeCoultre’s CEO Daniel Riedo the crucial consideration in the new models was “preserving the nature of this exceptional watch, safeguarding its elegance and its contemporary spirit and introducing three stylistic expressions – Reverso Classic, Reverso Tribute and Reverso One – with their own distinct worlds and aspirations.” The latest evolutions in the Reverso collection also include three different case size options, new self-winding movements and the possibility to create your very own personalised watch through the Atelier Reverso.
Reverso Classic
This is truly a model to suit all tastes, with cases in stainless steel or gold, available in three different sizes (small, medium and large) and designs aimed at both ladies and gentlemen. The Reverso Classic pays a fine tribute to the original Reverso model with its Art Deco theme of Arabic numerals surrounding an inner railway-style minute scale. In keeping with the underlying principle of the Reverso, which was to offer a means of protecting the dial during polo matches, the Reverso Classic has a blank case back that can be used as a canvas for personalized engravings. The small version is powered by a Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 657 quartz movement, while the medium and large versions are both driven by the self-winding Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 965, which offers a 38-hour power reserve.
Reverso Classique Medium Steel. © Jaeger-LeCoultre Fake Watches
The Reverso Classic Large Duo models come in larger 47mm by 28.3mm cases in 18-carat pink gold or stainless-steel and have front and back dials, the former in a silver-toned shade with Arabic numerals for the home time, the latter in black with contrasting white hour markers to show a second time zone. Two smaller versions of the same model, dubbed “Duetto”, offer a similar configuration but without the small seconds subdial on the front dial and with the addition of an Arabic 12 and 6 on the back dial.
Reverso Classic Small Duetto. © Jaeger-LeCoultre Fake Watches UK
Reverso Tribute
All of the models in the Reverso Tribute collection feature the “Duo” concept of two different dials with a day/night indicator and second time zone display, for which the corrector pusher has been hidden in the case middle at 6 o’clock. The Reverso Tribute Duo in stainless steel also has a small seconds display on both faces, while the Reverso Tribute Calendar, in 18-carat pink gold, comes in a larger case and with a date and moonphase complication and is powered by a new hand-wound mechanical movement, the Calibre 853.
Reverso Tribute Duoface. © Jaeger-LeCoultre Fake Watches
The future of the watch/no watch
As the grandfather of the wristwatch, there is little need to worry about the future of the Reverso. Decades before smartwatch manufacturers were selling the power-saving deactivation of their energy-hungry displays as a means of forgetting time, the Reverso had been allowing its wearers to do just that with a simple twist of the case. The Reverso’s pedigree is also without question: while King Farouk of Egypt succeeded in getting to shipments from the brand in Le Sentier at Cairo airport before the brand’s local agent, securing the best Reversos for himself before anyone else in the country, Queen Elizabeth II wore a Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 101 on her Coronation Day in June 1953, the most important day in her life. In terms of ambassadors and publicity, that is difficult to beat!
