Grande Reverso Duoface
Q3748421
| Brand : | Jaeger-LeCoultre |
| Collection : | Reverso |
| Model : | Grande Reverso Duoface |
| Reference : | Q3748421 |
| Complement : | Steel |
| Year : | 2011 |
| Is not commercialised any more | |
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Brand : Jaeger-LeCoultre Collection : Reverso Model : Grande Reverso Duoface Reference : Q3748421 Complement : Steel Year : 2011 Is not commercialised any more List Price : 9 450 € Height : 48.5 mm Width : 30 mm Thickness : 10.2 mm Styles : Classical High Horology Types : Hand-winding Calibre : Jaeger-LeCoultre 986 Calibre distinction : Hand decorated Manually crafted Assembled by hand Complication : Small Seconds Second Time Zone (GMT) Day/Night Indicator Case material : Steel Case peculiarity : Reversible “1000 Hours Control” indication on the case-back Shape : Rectangular Water-resistance : 30 meters Dial : Engraved Dial color : Silver Display : Blued hands Indexes : Arabic numerals Glass : Sapphire hardness 9 Strap material : Alligator leather Strap color : Black Strap clasp : Folding buckle + More characteristics : Movement
Mechanical manually-wound movement. Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 986. crafted. assembled and decorated by hand
Thickness: 4.15 mm
183 parts
19 jewels
Frequency:
28.800 vibrations per hour
48-hour power reserve
Functions
Hour. minute. small seconds. date
Dual time-zone. 24-hour day/night indication
Alaso available in 18-carat pink gold
reference Q3742421
DESCRIPTION
- Reverso
A legend In movement, by master watchmakers at the pinnacle of refinement.
“A legend in movement”
By Jérome Lambert, CEO Jaeger-LeCoultre
Certain legends draw their strength from their age. Frozen in the past, immobilised forever, they speak only of the past.
But sometimes, the magic is so great that a strange phenomenon takes place: the legend lives, breathes, mutates, becomes more beautiful, all the while retaining its aura.
A long time ago, back in 1931, in a dusty vortex and to the accompaniment of horses’ hooves hammering, an idea was born: a watch with a dial that could protect itself from shocks, all the while offering a personalised engraved case-back. Eighty years later, the Reverso has progressed from watchmaking icon to cult status.
The Reverso is so unique that with the passing of time, it has been made in many other guises without losing its essence.
Today, wearing a Reverso from the current collections on your wrist is an entry to an exclusive world – not only in terms of watchmaking history, but above all to a universe of technical perfection and aesthetic refinement.
By inventing the Reverso, a small group of men with great imagination and innovative spirit did far more than create a simple reversible case. They gave birth to an emotion which has lasted more than 80 years, and designed a watch whose endless possibilities are still being discovered.
The Reverso’s strength lies both in its past, but just as much in its future.
A legend …
The anecdote belongs in the great history of watchmaking. It doesn’t require much imagination to visualise the scene. Let’s relive the sequence of events as if it were a film …
Set: outside by day. A large piece of land where dust fights for precedence over grass. The light is bright, the heat oppressive. In the distance, horses pirouette, take off at a gallop, come together, move apart whinnying. Their helmeted riders, wearing bright colours, brandish their long poles topped with a mallet. It is 1930 and we are in India which is under British domination. These men are mainly British soldiers in the colonial army. They are playing a fierce game of polo, the sport “of warriors, princes and kings” which they discovered a century earlier when they arrived in these lands so far from their native island. In this way, from being an activity only practiced before this on the steppes of Central Asia, Her Majesty’s soldiers made this “such a British” sport – a blend of elegance and combat.
A combat sometimes so excessive, that the first victims were usually the watches worn by the riders. Doubtless many players, at the end of a frenzied game, discovered that their timepiece hadn’t survived the shocks and bumps.
On that particular day, a match comes to an end. And one of the officers, covered in perspiration and dust, holding his horse by the bridle, walks towards an elegant man wearing a suit, standing at the edge of the field. His name is César de Trey. He is not a British subject, but a Swiss and a businessman who has made a fortune in London in dental products and gone into promoting Fine Watchmaking.
The officer who joins him, is holding his watch in his hand and the glass has been smashed during the match. “Another one broken!” he exclaims, crestfallen.
The same evening, during a reception organised at the club, the British soldier who has still not got over the incident, once again approaches César de Trey of whose profession he is aware. Like throwing down a gauntlet, he asks if he would be capable of inventing a watch that is solid enough to survive a polo match. Undoubtedly, our Swiss businessman, wisely, remains silent. But once he returns to Europe, he organises a meeting with a watchmaker he knows: Jacques-David LeCoultre. The latter is the director of one of the few manufacturers equipped with all the crafts required for the design and production of high quality movements. This house has already manufactured more than 200 different chronograph calibres and as many repeater movements. It is also exceptional in terms of its large number of inventions, both in the realm of mechanisms as in manufacturing processes. In addition, Jacques-David LeCoultre works in close collaboration with the House of Jaeger, in conjunction with which it designed the Duoplan watch.
The Parisian Jaeger workshop is therefore the ideal partner to make the case. …
From their exchanges, an idea is born for a case that can revolve in order to protect the dial, thus exposing only the metal back to potential shocks.
On March 14, 1931, Alfred Chauvot, a French engineer, lodged a patent for a watch “capable of revolving and sliding into its case”.
Once again, like a dialogue in a film, listen to the conversation between the official responsible for registering the new patent and its designers:
- What is the name of your invention'
- Reverso.
- What does that mean'
- “I turn around”, it comes from Latin.
- Noted, Reverso. Your patent is lodged …
In November 1931, after having secured all the rights to the invention of the Reverso from Alfred Chauvot, together with Jacques-David LeCoultre, César de Trey founded a company called Spécialités Horlorgères, with the aim of manufacturing and selling this revolutionary watch.
One can just imagine the British soldier from the beginning of our story when he puts the watch proferred to him by César de Trey onto his wrist, turns the case, mounts his horse, puts spurs to it and takes off at a gallop twirling his mallet, as if he is throwing down a challenge to his new Reverso…
On that day, despite the word END appearing on our screen, the saga of the Reverso has only just begun.
The Reverso’s success is so great that it has a considerable influence on the history of the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand.
In this way, after having bought the Reverso patent from de Trey, in 1937, Spécialités Horlorgères was renamed “Société de vente des produits Jaeger-LeCoultre”, marking the beginning of the process of the creation of the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand.
Another great story that turns out to be both a conclusion and the beginning of a great chapter.
1931, 2011 : the success of a timelessly classic style
The account of the conception of the Reverso, born in India in response to English polo players’ desire for an unbreakable watch, is even more amazing than it first seems.
While the watch presented in 1931 featured a resolutely Art Deco rectangular shape, a second square-shaped version had also been considered. The design engineers opted for the rectangular shape, and the sketch of the square Reverso was tucked away in the company archives where it was all but forgotten. It was not until 2006, in studying the historical records, that Jaeger-LeCoultre watchmakers and designers rediscovered this watch that was both historical and yet brand new! Ever since, the Reverso Squadra collection has rubbed shoulders with its illustrious rectangular predecessor, and both versions regularly display new creative feats expressed through innovative, high-performance and inevitably elegant
watches.
In 2011, the Reverso will appear in even more surprising and seductive guises, while remaining loyal to its legend that continues to push the borders of creativity.
Their names are Grande Reverso Ultra Thin, Grande Reverso Duo, and Reverso Répétition Minutes à Rideau, three original watches cultivating the roots of the Reverso while profoundly rethinking its technology and its aesthetic.
The Grande Reverso Ultra Thin embodies absolute purity with an exceptional slender case and represents the ultimate expression of horological classicism inspired by the original model.
The Grande Reverso Duo displays the time in two time zones on two different dial designs fitted back to back thanks to the technical ingenuity of a unique construction concept created by the Manufacture.
The Reverso Répétition Minutes à Rideau pursues the brand tradition of exclusive sophisticated complications and innovates through its striking-activation mechanism combining technical prowess with aesthetic magic.
These three Reverso watches are writing a new chapter in the history of Jaeger-LeCoultre and thereby inventing the next instalment of the Reverso legend.
With these new introductions for 2011, the Reverso continues to look resolutely towards the future.
…in movement,
By imagining a reversible watch with a case that would revolve in order to protect the dial and expose only the metal back to shocks, the designers of the Reverso knew that they had found an effective technical answer to the challenge that was given them: “to create an elegant watch capable of surviving
polo”!
They undoubtedly were not aware that their idea was gearing up to play another very different role than that of protective shield. The steel or gold back that could be made to appear by turning the case was going to write a new page in the history of watchmaking. A clean page that would make the Reverso much more than a watch: a cult object that every Reverso owner could make unique by personalising it.
Who was the first person to have the idea of engraving his initials' Or his regiment’s crest' His club’s emblem' Who, for the first time, wanted to make an enamel portrait of his beloved wife' To inscribe his lucky number'
Thanks to this surface that measures just a few square centimetres offering everyone the chance to realise their wishes in terms of personalisation, the Reverso became a watch-work of art and an object of emotion, to be transferred or shared.
To wear a Reverso that one intends to give to one’s son or daughter one day, or an engraved Reverso received as a gift from a loved one: is this only about owning a simple accessory intended to provide the time'
How many watches, in all the history of watchmaking, have carried such an enormous emotional potential'
With so many variations in its versions, dimensions, complications, the Reverso is quite simply unique. Unique in its history and its design, but above all, unique thanks to all those who one day decided to create “their own” watch. By wearing a Reverso on their wrists since 1931, men and women with taste, be they famous or unknown, have made a cult out of a veritable icon.
In 1930s, King Edward VIII of England had his family crest designed on his Reverso, just like a prince of Denmark who, in a letter in 1934, stated that even though “subjected to bad weather in Southern Morocco” his Reverso “had always given complete satisfaction”; the celebrated aviator, Amelia Earhart had the itinerary of the first flight from Mexico to New York engraved on it – an exploit performed by her on May 8, 1935; the English gentlemen who decorated their watches with the coat-of-arms of the very select British Racing Drivers’ Club; the elite soldiers of the Gurkha Rifles, from the personal guard of the Maharajah of Jaipur, from the Royal Sussex Regiment or the students from the Royal Airforce’s Cranwell College who wore Reversos in the colours of their units; young English girls who wore watches engraved with the insignia of Eton College, Harrow or St. Andrews University; Reverso owners who chose engravings depicting a cabin on a desert island, a map of a beloved country or an erotic scene…
All these men and women did much more than engraving a small metal surface: through personalising the case of their watch, they invented a new means of engraving their lives, their temperament as well as their dreams on the course of time. Through a fine line scratched on steel or gold, they have made their Reverso a discreet accessory to their emotions.
In 2011, the year of the 80th anniversary of the Reverso, the possibilities that exist in terms of personalisation have never been so huge. And the idea of sharing that is so inherent to its concept has never been this strong. Whether the back of the reversible case is adorned with initials, a name, a word, numbers, symbols, a design, a portrait or any other inscription from the simplest to the most complicated, anything is possible thanks to the know-how of the Manufacture’s artists. Never has Jaeger-LeCoultre been so keen to offer Reverso owners a place in the history of this watch and the brand. By personalising his or her Reverso, each person is adding a new line to the legend. And henceforth, all those who wish to can share their inspiration with other lovers of the Reverso across the globe through a virtual museum or a very real exhibition.
There are stories that deserve to be captured for ever
New in 2011: Emotion on tap
The metal back of the Reverso’s rotating case has been a privileged space for expression since its beginnings. The archives of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture contain the remains of hundreds of Reversos that have been hand engraved according to the wishes of their owners – most often with initials or crests, sometimes a number, a picture, or a portrait …
The relationship of each individual with time; the link with the object that enables him to measure and follow it; the intimacy that one often weaves with one’s watch: so many elements that contribute to the personalisation of a Reverso – an act that goes well beyond mere aesthetics.
Each being is unique, each life is unique and, since 1931, each Reverso that is engraved becomes as unique as the person who wears it.
For this reason, Jaeger-LeCoultre has decided this year to increase Reverso personalisation proposals. Keener than ever to fulfil all wishes and ideas, from the simplest to the most sophisticated, the company is working with a number of different crafts: engraving, jewellery, enamelling …
In the engraving workshop, one simply has to leaf through the Jaeger-LeCoultre catalogue and select a style for letters and numbers or any other sort of adornment. Master engravers will forever immortalise your magic moments and celebrate the power of your intimacy.
This year, the famous English letters and Art Deco will be complemented by new typefaces that provide initials with either the ultimate modern edge or classical elegance … and why not use a bit of colour while we’re at it'
One can go much further and choose a particular design, emblem or insignia. Or how about designing a
map of a region, or a country, or even personalising a watch in the most scientific way possible by reproducing a fingerprint in the metal' The Reverso lends itself to all manner of whims and fancies.
In the setting workshop, should one wish to make the back of the watch sparkle like a diamond, the most beautiful jeweller’s motifs reflect everyone’s desires. Dressed like this, the Reverso becomes completely unique, like the person on whose wrist it sits.
Enamelling is the pinnacle of personalisation and makes it possible for any dream to become a reality, be it the realisation of an enamelled portrait or reproduction of a famous painting.
Initials, a lucky number, a symbol or a fabulous design, each personalised Reverso becomes a unique watch, and above all, a piece of oneself to carry, to give or to transfer … so that the emotion of today remains the emotion of tomorrow …
Horological masterpieces
Once upon a one thousand times…
The story might have begun with the words “once upon a time there was a peaceful valley lost in the heart of the Swiss mountains. A place so remote and so cut off from the world during the long winter months that its inhabitants long ago developed the habit of forgetting time by developing horological mechanisms of peerless precision and complexity…”
Yes, the history of the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre, in its native home of the Vallée de Joux, could have begun like that. But the creativity and know-how of its watchmakers have proved such that it would be better to write “Once upon a thousand times”…
“Once upon a thousand times” like the thousand calibres invented and developed in 178 years of existence (of which around 50 for the Reverso alone):
Or perhaps “Once upon 400 times”, like the 400 patents registered and testifying to the constant innovations the Manfuacture has contributed to the sum of horological knowledge.
Since 1833, each new Jaeger-LeCoultre watch has added an innovative feature and enhanced precision, reliability or performance.
In 1844, in order to produce the most accurate possible components, Antoine LeCoultre invented the millionometer, the first instrument capable of measuring thousandths of a millimetre: the micron. Three years later, he devised a system that did away with the need for a key in winding and setting a watch.
1907 saw the introduction of Calibre 145, the world’s thinnest movement; 1928 that of the Atmos clock with its unique mechanism powered by the slightest variations in temperature and atmospheric pressure; and then in 1929 came the birth of Calibre 101, the smallest mechanical movement ever made, at 14 mm long, 4.8 mm wide and 3.4 mm thick…
Over the years, generations of passionately dedicated watchmakers have succeeded each other in the workshops of the Manufacture, united in their determination to express the word “extreme” in countless different ways.
From the extreme miniaturisation of Calibre 101 to the extreme precision of the Calibre 978 driving the Master Tourbillon (winner of the Chronométrie 2009 International Timing Competition), along with the extreme performances of the Calibre 780 powering the contemporary Master Compressor Extreme LAB2, extremes have always been the norm for Jaeger-LeCoultre.
The era of Reverso complications
While the Reverso has been driven by several generations of mechanical movements in the course of its history, it was not until the last decade of the 20th century that it came to house complications. This new phase sparked the creative imagination of the watchmakers who gave free rein to their imagination in creating complicated movements specially designed for the rectangular case of the Reverso. At the time, extremely large cases were not yet in favour as they now are, and operating horological complications within relatively small spaces called for considerable feats of miniaturisation.
In 1991, the Reverso welcomed its first ever complicated movement, Calibre 824. The Reverso Soixantième, with a pointer-type date and power-reserve display, became the first in an extraordinary line of Reverso watches issued in limited series. In 1993, the Reverso hosted a tourbillon. In 1994, the anufacture rose to a new challenge with the creation of the Calibre 943 powering the Reverso Répétition Minutes. In 1996, the Reverso was equipped with a chronograph mechanism. In 1998, a new 500-piece limited series displayed a dual time-zone. And in the year 2000, the Reverso Quantième Perpétuel set the finishing touch to the set of six limited-series pink gold Reverso watches.
In parallel, the Manufacture had devised the concept of two back-to-back dials which, on the Duo and the Duetto models, displayed the time in two different time-zones or on two different types of dial.
The Reverso celebrated the dawn of the third millennium with new limited series, this time in platinum: the Reverso Platinum Number One, Reverso Platinum Number Two and Reverso Platinum Tourbillon Squelette.
2006 witnessed the presentation of the Reverso grande complication à triptyque, the first watch with three faces, followed in 2008 by the extraordinary Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2, equipped with a spherical tourbillon gravitating on two axes and regulated by a cylindrical balance-spring.
A large family of complicated Reverso watches representing a set of authentic horological masterpieces.
New release for 2011: Grande Reverso Duo
In inventing the reversible swivelling case in 1931, could the creators of the Reverso possibly have imagined that their successors several decades on would use it to serve as something very different to a simple protective “shield”'
One day, in observing the metal surface revealed in full while the dial remained hidden from sight, a watchmaker at the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre suddenly had an epiphany: “What if…'”
What if one were to use the principle of the twin-faced case for a purpose other than to protect from shocks' What if one were to equip the Reverso with two dials instead of one' Suddenly, this concept of a reversible case took on a far greater dimension and opened up whole new vistas of horological creativity.
But what would one actually do with two dials' Maybe use them to show the time in two different time zones' In 1994, this idea gave rise to the Reverso Duo which reinvented the GMT function.
Naturally, nobody imagined for a moment that this performance could be achieved other than by entrusting a single
movement with the mission of driving this double time indication. The result was to take up the challenge of using a
single mechanism to power hands rotating in opposite directions and independently adjustable.
The new Grande Reverso Duo is distinguished by its generous dimensions and by a dial design that has been entirely rethought to provide enhanced visual pleasure and greater readability.
Within this area, the complication has evolved and the function has also been rethought. The travel time-zone is adjustable via the crown and located on the front side. In order to maintain the precision of the minutes and seconds, the adjustment is performed in one-hour jumps of the hour hand. And since user-friendliness is a must at Jaeger-LeCoultre, the date intelligently follows the time-zone display and can jump both forwards and backwards.
On the back, the “hometime” display maintains the reference time in the country chosen as the place of residence.
The front shows the small seconds and the date in a central arc of a circle aperture, both clearly readable on the rectangular white dial combining vertical guilloché work and a Clous de Paris motif.
Swivelling the case reveals the hidden face of the Grande Reverso Duo in the form of a double black dial displaying the time in a second time-zone complete with a 24-hour and day/night indication. Clous de Paris, horizontal guilloché work and satin-brushed/velvet surfaces meet and mingle in an harmonious arrangement marking off the various dial areas.
A new large balance oscillating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour ensures maximum precision. The larger case size has also made it possible to increase the power reserve to a full 48 hours.
Grande Reverso Duo: two time-zones, two times more aesthetic refinement, and double the visual pleasure.
- Reverso
A legend In movement, by master watchmakers at the pinnacle of refinement.
“A legend in movement”
By Jérome Lambert, CEO Jaeger-LeCoultre
Certain legends draw their strength from their age. Frozen in the past, immobilised forever, they speak only of the past.
But sometimes, the magic is so great that a strange phenomenon takes place: the legend lives, breathes, mutates, becomes more beautiful, all the while retaining its aura.
A long time ago, back in 1931, in a dusty vortex and to the accompaniment of horses’ hooves hammering, an idea was born: a watch with a dial that could protect itself from shocks, all the while offering a personalised engraved case-back. Eighty years later, the Reverso has progressed from watchmaking icon to cult status.
The Reverso is so unique that with the passing of time, it has been made in many other guises without losing its essence.
Today, wearing a Reverso from the current collections on your wrist is an entry to an exclusive world – not only in terms of watchmaking history, but above all to a universe of technical perfection and aesthetic refinement.
By inventing the Reverso, a small group of men with great imagination and innovative spirit did far more than create a simple reversible case. They gave birth to an emotion which has lasted more than 80 years, and designed a watch whose endless possibilities are still being discovered.
The Reverso’s strength lies both in its past, but just as much in its future.
A legend …
The anecdote belongs in the great history of watchmaking. It doesn’t require much imagination to visualise the scene. Let’s relive the sequence of events as if it were a film …
Set: outside by day. A large piece of land where dust fights for precedence over grass. The light is bright, the heat oppressive. In the distance, horses pirouette, take off at a gallop, come together, move apart whinnying. Their helmeted riders, wearing bright colours, brandish their long poles topped with a mallet. It is 1930 and we are in India which is under British domination. These men are mainly British soldiers in the colonial army. They are playing a fierce game of polo, the sport “of warriors, princes and kings” which they discovered a century earlier when they arrived in these lands so far from their native island. In this way, from being an activity only practiced before this on the steppes of Central Asia, Her Majesty’s soldiers made this “such a British” sport – a blend of elegance and combat.
A combat sometimes so excessive, that the first victims were usually the watches worn by the riders. Doubtless many players, at the end of a frenzied game, discovered that their timepiece hadn’t survived the shocks and bumps.
On that particular day, a match comes to an end. And one of the officers, covered in perspiration and dust, holding his horse by the bridle, walks towards an elegant man wearing a suit, standing at the edge of the field. His name is César de Trey. He is not a British subject, but a Swiss and a businessman who has made a fortune in London in dental products and gone into promoting Fine Watchmaking.
The officer who joins him, is holding his watch in his hand and the glass has been smashed during the match. “Another one broken!” he exclaims, crestfallen.
The same evening, during a reception organised at the club, the British soldier who has still not got over the incident, once again approaches César de Trey of whose profession he is aware. Like throwing down a gauntlet, he asks if he would be capable of inventing a watch that is solid enough to survive a polo match. Undoubtedly, our Swiss businessman, wisely, remains silent. But once he returns to Europe, he organises a meeting with a watchmaker he knows: Jacques-David LeCoultre. The latter is the director of one of the few manufacturers equipped with all the crafts required for the design and production of high quality movements. This house has already manufactured more than 200 different chronograph calibres and as many repeater movements. It is also exceptional in terms of its large number of inventions, both in the realm of mechanisms as in manufacturing processes. In addition, Jacques-David LeCoultre works in close collaboration with the House of Jaeger, in conjunction with which it designed the Duoplan watch.
The Parisian Jaeger workshop is therefore the ideal partner to make the case. …
From their exchanges, an idea is born for a case that can revolve in order to protect the dial, thus exposing only the metal back to potential shocks.
On March 14, 1931, Alfred Chauvot, a French engineer, lodged a patent for a watch “capable of revolving and sliding into its case”.
Once again, like a dialogue in a film, listen to the conversation between the official responsible for registering the new patent and its designers:
- What is the name of your invention'
- Reverso.
- What does that mean'
- “I turn around”, it comes from Latin.
- Noted, Reverso. Your patent is lodged …
In November 1931, after having secured all the rights to the invention of the Reverso from Alfred Chauvot, together with Jacques-David LeCoultre, César de Trey founded a company called Spécialités Horlorgères, with the aim of manufacturing and selling this revolutionary watch.
One can just imagine the British soldier from the beginning of our story when he puts the watch proferred to him by César de Trey onto his wrist, turns the case, mounts his horse, puts spurs to it and takes off at a gallop twirling his mallet, as if he is throwing down a challenge to his new Reverso…
On that day, despite the word END appearing on our screen, the saga of the Reverso has only just begun.
The Reverso’s success is so great that it has a considerable influence on the history of the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand.
In this way, after having bought the Reverso patent from de Trey, in 1937, Spécialités Horlorgères was renamed “Société de vente des produits Jaeger-LeCoultre”, marking the beginning of the process of the creation of the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand.
Another great story that turns out to be both a conclusion and the beginning of a great chapter.
1931, 2011 : the success of a timelessly classic style
The account of the conception of the Reverso, born in India in response to English polo players’ desire for an unbreakable watch, is even more amazing than it first seems.
While the watch presented in 1931 featured a resolutely Art Deco rectangular shape, a second square-shaped version had also been considered. The design engineers opted for the rectangular shape, and the sketch of the square Reverso was tucked away in the company archives where it was all but forgotten. It was not until 2006, in studying the historical records, that Jaeger-LeCoultre watchmakers and designers rediscovered this watch that was both historical and yet brand new! Ever since, the Reverso Squadra collection has rubbed shoulders with its illustrious rectangular predecessor, and both versions regularly display new creative feats expressed through innovative, high-performance and inevitably elegant
watches.
In 2011, the Reverso will appear in even more surprising and seductive guises, while remaining loyal to its legend that continues to push the borders of creativity.
Their names are Grande Reverso Ultra Thin, Grande Reverso Duo, and Reverso Répétition Minutes à Rideau, three original watches cultivating the roots of the Reverso while profoundly rethinking its technology and its aesthetic.
The Grande Reverso Ultra Thin embodies absolute purity with an exceptional slender case and represents the ultimate expression of horological classicism inspired by the original model.
The Grande Reverso Duo displays the time in two time zones on two different dial designs fitted back to back thanks to the technical ingenuity of a unique construction concept created by the Manufacture.
The Reverso Répétition Minutes à Rideau pursues the brand tradition of exclusive sophisticated complications and innovates through its striking-activation mechanism combining technical prowess with aesthetic magic.
These three Reverso watches are writing a new chapter in the history of Jaeger-LeCoultre and thereby inventing the next instalment of the Reverso legend.
With these new introductions for 2011, the Reverso continues to look resolutely towards the future.
…in movement,
By imagining a reversible watch with a case that would revolve in order to protect the dial and expose only the metal back to shocks, the designers of the Reverso knew that they had found an effective technical answer to the challenge that was given them: “to create an elegant watch capable of surviving
polo”!
They undoubtedly were not aware that their idea was gearing up to play another very different role than that of protective shield. The steel or gold back that could be made to appear by turning the case was going to write a new page in the history of watchmaking. A clean page that would make the Reverso much more than a watch: a cult object that every Reverso owner could make unique by personalising it.
Who was the first person to have the idea of engraving his initials' Or his regiment’s crest' His club’s emblem' Who, for the first time, wanted to make an enamel portrait of his beloved wife' To inscribe his lucky number'
Thanks to this surface that measures just a few square centimetres offering everyone the chance to realise their wishes in terms of personalisation, the Reverso became a watch-work of art and an object of emotion, to be transferred or shared.
To wear a Reverso that one intends to give to one’s son or daughter one day, or an engraved Reverso received as a gift from a loved one: is this only about owning a simple accessory intended to provide the time'
How many watches, in all the history of watchmaking, have carried such an enormous emotional potential'
With so many variations in its versions, dimensions, complications, the Reverso is quite simply unique. Unique in its history and its design, but above all, unique thanks to all those who one day decided to create “their own” watch. By wearing a Reverso on their wrists since 1931, men and women with taste, be they famous or unknown, have made a cult out of a veritable icon.
In 1930s, King Edward VIII of England had his family crest designed on his Reverso, just like a prince of Denmark who, in a letter in 1934, stated that even though “subjected to bad weather in Southern Morocco” his Reverso “had always given complete satisfaction”; the celebrated aviator, Amelia Earhart had the itinerary of the first flight from Mexico to New York engraved on it – an exploit performed by her on May 8, 1935; the English gentlemen who decorated their watches with the coat-of-arms of the very select British Racing Drivers’ Club; the elite soldiers of the Gurkha Rifles, from the personal guard of the Maharajah of Jaipur, from the Royal Sussex Regiment or the students from the Royal Airforce’s Cranwell College who wore Reversos in the colours of their units; young English girls who wore watches engraved with the insignia of Eton College, Harrow or St. Andrews University; Reverso owners who chose engravings depicting a cabin on a desert island, a map of a beloved country or an erotic scene…
All these men and women did much more than engraving a small metal surface: through personalising the case of their watch, they invented a new means of engraving their lives, their temperament as well as their dreams on the course of time. Through a fine line scratched on steel or gold, they have made their Reverso a discreet accessory to their emotions.
In 2011, the year of the 80th anniversary of the Reverso, the possibilities that exist in terms of personalisation have never been so huge. And the idea of sharing that is so inherent to its concept has never been this strong. Whether the back of the reversible case is adorned with initials, a name, a word, numbers, symbols, a design, a portrait or any other inscription from the simplest to the most complicated, anything is possible thanks to the know-how of the Manufacture’s artists. Never has Jaeger-LeCoultre been so keen to offer Reverso owners a place in the history of this watch and the brand. By personalising his or her Reverso, each person is adding a new line to the legend. And henceforth, all those who wish to can share their inspiration with other lovers of the Reverso across the globe through a virtual museum or a very real exhibition.
There are stories that deserve to be captured for ever
New in 2011: Emotion on tap
The metal back of the Reverso’s rotating case has been a privileged space for expression since its beginnings. The archives of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture contain the remains of hundreds of Reversos that have been hand engraved according to the wishes of their owners – most often with initials or crests, sometimes a number, a picture, or a portrait …
The relationship of each individual with time; the link with the object that enables him to measure and follow it; the intimacy that one often weaves with one’s watch: so many elements that contribute to the personalisation of a Reverso – an act that goes well beyond mere aesthetics.
Each being is unique, each life is unique and, since 1931, each Reverso that is engraved becomes as unique as the person who wears it.
For this reason, Jaeger-LeCoultre has decided this year to increase Reverso personalisation proposals. Keener than ever to fulfil all wishes and ideas, from the simplest to the most sophisticated, the company is working with a number of different crafts: engraving, jewellery, enamelling …
In the engraving workshop, one simply has to leaf through the Jaeger-LeCoultre catalogue and select a style for letters and numbers or any other sort of adornment. Master engravers will forever immortalise your magic moments and celebrate the power of your intimacy.
This year, the famous English letters and Art Deco will be complemented by new typefaces that provide initials with either the ultimate modern edge or classical elegance … and why not use a bit of colour while we’re at it'
One can go much further and choose a particular design, emblem or insignia. Or how about designing a
map of a region, or a country, or even personalising a watch in the most scientific way possible by reproducing a fingerprint in the metal' The Reverso lends itself to all manner of whims and fancies.
In the setting workshop, should one wish to make the back of the watch sparkle like a diamond, the most beautiful jeweller’s motifs reflect everyone’s desires. Dressed like this, the Reverso becomes completely unique, like the person on whose wrist it sits.
Enamelling is the pinnacle of personalisation and makes it possible for any dream to become a reality, be it the realisation of an enamelled portrait or reproduction of a famous painting.
Initials, a lucky number, a symbol or a fabulous design, each personalised Reverso becomes a unique watch, and above all, a piece of oneself to carry, to give or to transfer … so that the emotion of today remains the emotion of tomorrow …
Horological masterpieces
Once upon a one thousand times…
The story might have begun with the words “once upon a time there was a peaceful valley lost in the heart of the Swiss mountains. A place so remote and so cut off from the world during the long winter months that its inhabitants long ago developed the habit of forgetting time by developing horological mechanisms of peerless precision and complexity…”
Yes, the history of the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre, in its native home of the Vallée de Joux, could have begun like that. But the creativity and know-how of its watchmakers have proved such that it would be better to write “Once upon a thousand times”…
“Once upon a thousand times” like the thousand calibres invented and developed in 178 years of existence (of which around 50 for the Reverso alone):
Or perhaps “Once upon 400 times”, like the 400 patents registered and testifying to the constant innovations the Manfuacture has contributed to the sum of horological knowledge.
Since 1833, each new Jaeger-LeCoultre watch has added an innovative feature and enhanced precision, reliability or performance.
In 1844, in order to produce the most accurate possible components, Antoine LeCoultre invented the millionometer, the first instrument capable of measuring thousandths of a millimetre: the micron. Three years later, he devised a system that did away with the need for a key in winding and setting a watch.
1907 saw the introduction of Calibre 145, the world’s thinnest movement; 1928 that of the Atmos clock with its unique mechanism powered by the slightest variations in temperature and atmospheric pressure; and then in 1929 came the birth of Calibre 101, the smallest mechanical movement ever made, at 14 mm long, 4.8 mm wide and 3.4 mm thick…
Over the years, generations of passionately dedicated watchmakers have succeeded each other in the workshops of the Manufacture, united in their determination to express the word “extreme” in countless different ways.
From the extreme miniaturisation of Calibre 101 to the extreme precision of the Calibre 978 driving the Master Tourbillon (winner of the Chronométrie 2009 International Timing Competition), along with the extreme performances of the Calibre 780 powering the contemporary Master Compressor Extreme LAB2, extremes have always been the norm for Jaeger-LeCoultre.
The era of Reverso complications
While the Reverso has been driven by several generations of mechanical movements in the course of its history, it was not until the last decade of the 20th century that it came to house complications. This new phase sparked the creative imagination of the watchmakers who gave free rein to their imagination in creating complicated movements specially designed for the rectangular case of the Reverso. At the time, extremely large cases were not yet in favour as they now are, and operating horological complications within relatively small spaces called for considerable feats of miniaturisation.
In 1991, the Reverso welcomed its first ever complicated movement, Calibre 824. The Reverso Soixantième, with a pointer-type date and power-reserve display, became the first in an extraordinary line of Reverso watches issued in limited series. In 1993, the Reverso hosted a tourbillon. In 1994, the anufacture rose to a new challenge with the creation of the Calibre 943 powering the Reverso Répétition Minutes. In 1996, the Reverso was equipped with a chronograph mechanism. In 1998, a new 500-piece limited series displayed a dual time-zone. And in the year 2000, the Reverso Quantième Perpétuel set the finishing touch to the set of six limited-series pink gold Reverso watches.
In parallel, the Manufacture had devised the concept of two back-to-back dials which, on the Duo and the Duetto models, displayed the time in two different time-zones or on two different types of dial.
The Reverso celebrated the dawn of the third millennium with new limited series, this time in platinum: the Reverso Platinum Number One, Reverso Platinum Number Two and Reverso Platinum Tourbillon Squelette.
2006 witnessed the presentation of the Reverso grande complication à triptyque, the first watch with three faces, followed in 2008 by the extraordinary Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2, equipped with a spherical tourbillon gravitating on two axes and regulated by a cylindrical balance-spring.
A large family of complicated Reverso watches representing a set of authentic horological masterpieces.
New release for 2011: Grande Reverso Duo
In inventing the reversible swivelling case in 1931, could the creators of the Reverso possibly have imagined that their successors several decades on would use it to serve as something very different to a simple protective “shield”'
One day, in observing the metal surface revealed in full while the dial remained hidden from sight, a watchmaker at the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre suddenly had an epiphany: “What if…'”
What if one were to use the principle of the twin-faced case for a purpose other than to protect from shocks' What if one were to equip the Reverso with two dials instead of one' Suddenly, this concept of a reversible case took on a far greater dimension and opened up whole new vistas of horological creativity.
But what would one actually do with two dials' Maybe use them to show the time in two different time zones' In 1994, this idea gave rise to the Reverso Duo which reinvented the GMT function.
Naturally, nobody imagined for a moment that this performance could be achieved other than by entrusting a single
movement with the mission of driving this double time indication. The result was to take up the challenge of using a
single mechanism to power hands rotating in opposite directions and independently adjustable.
The new Grande Reverso Duo is distinguished by its generous dimensions and by a dial design that has been entirely rethought to provide enhanced visual pleasure and greater readability.
Within this area, the complication has evolved and the function has also been rethought. The travel time-zone is adjustable via the crown and located on the front side. In order to maintain the precision of the minutes and seconds, the adjustment is performed in one-hour jumps of the hour hand. And since user-friendliness is a must at Jaeger-LeCoultre, the date intelligently follows the time-zone display and can jump both forwards and backwards.
On the back, the “hometime” display maintains the reference time in the country chosen as the place of residence.
The front shows the small seconds and the date in a central arc of a circle aperture, both clearly readable on the rectangular white dial combining vertical guilloché work and a Clous de Paris motif.
Swivelling the case reveals the hidden face of the Grande Reverso Duo in the form of a double black dial displaying the time in a second time-zone complete with a 24-hour and day/night indication. Clous de Paris, horizontal guilloché work and satin-brushed/velvet surfaces meet and mingle in an harmonious arrangement marking off the various dial areas.
A new large balance oscillating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour ensures maximum precision. The larger case size has also made it possible to increase the power reserve to a full 48 hours.
Grande Reverso Duo: two time-zones, two times more aesthetic refinement, and double the visual pleasure.
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Brand : Jaeger-LeCoultre Collection : Reverso Model : Grande Reverso Duoface Reference : Q3748421 Complement : Steel Year : 2011 Is not commercialised any more List Price : 9 450 € Height : 48.5 mm Width : 30 mm Thickness : 10.2 mm Styles : Classical High Horology Types : Hand-winding Calibre : Jaeger-LeCoultre 986 Calibre distinction : Hand decorated Manually crafted Assembled by hand Complication : Small Seconds Second Time Zone (GMT) Day/Night Indicator Case material : Steel Case peculiarity : Reversible “1000 Hours Control” indication on the case-back Shape : Rectangular Water-resistance : 30 meters Dial : Engraved Dial color : Silver Display : Blued hands Indexes : Arabic numerals Glass : Sapphire hardness 9 Strap material : Alligator leather Strap color : Black Strap clasp : Folding buckle More characteristics : Movement
Mechanical manually-wound movement. Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 986. crafted. assembled and decorated by hand
Thickness: 4.15 mm
183 parts
19 jewels
Frequency:
28.800 vibrations per hour
48-hour power reserve
Functions
Hour. minute. small seconds. date
Dual time-zone. 24-hour day/night indication
Alaso available in 18-carat pink gold
reference Q3742421