The Reverso was created in 1931 at the request of a British officer, who didn’t want his watch to get damaged while he was playing polo. It has evolved over time, responding to changing fashions while remaining true to the Art Deco aesthetic that gave it its pared-down styling, the rectangular case, the gadroons that accent the top and bottom of the case, and its signature reversibility.
For the SIHH 2019, Jaeger-LeCoultre expanded its Reverso collection with two boutique exclusives, the Reverso Tribute Small Seconds and the Reverso Tribute Duoface Fagliano Limited, plus a men’s Reverso Tribute Duoface and three Reverso One Duetto watches for women.
Two exclusive models for boutiques
For the two latest versions of the iconic Reverso, created exclusively for the watchmaker’s own-brand stores, Jaeger-LeCoultre approached the renowned Argentine bootmaker Casa Fagliano. Each of the models is fitted with a sumptuous Cordovan leather strap to match the dial colour.
The Reverso Tribute Small Seconds comes in a gadrooned stainless steel case measuring 45.6 mm by 27.4 mm. The dial is sunray brushed in a stunning wine colour, which is picked up on the Casa Fagliano leather strap. The hand wound manufacture calibre 822/2 inside gives the watch a 42-hour power reserve. The front face features a small seconds dial at 6 o’clock, while the completely clear expanse on the reverse gives the lucky owner carte blanche to customise it how they wish.
The Reverso Tribute Duoface Fagliano Limited builds on the Duoface concept developed for the Reverso in 1994. It comes in a rose gold case measuring 47 mm by 28.3 mm. As its name suggests, the model features two dials with different functions, driven by a single movement: the hand-wound 854A/2, with 42-hour power reserve. On the front, an intense summery blue sunray dial provides hour, minute and small seconds functions; on the back, the silvery grey dial decorated with a Clous de Paris guilloché motif offers a second time zone and a day/night indicator. This 100-piece limited edition comes with a Cordovan leather Casa Fagliano strap to match the colour of the main dial.
The Reverso Tribute Duoface for men
The Reverso Tribute Duoface for men offers basically the same features as the Reverso Tribute Duoface Fagliano Limited, but with a couple of aesthetic differences. For this unlimited version, rose gold is replaced with stainless steel, and the hands and applied indices are in a matching silver colour.
Reverso One Duetto for women
But women needn’t feel left out. The new Reverso One Duetto is inspired by the original 1930s model. The signature gadroons on the men’s models are replaced with two glittering rows of 56 brilliant-cut diamonds (0.63 ct). The diameter is also narrower, at 40.1 mm by 20 mm, which gives the watch a sleek, elongated profile.
Like the equivalent men’s Duoface, the Duetto concept builds on the concept of reversibility, with two sets of hands driven by a single movement. The hand-wound calibre 844 with its 38-hour power reserve is housed in either a rose gold or steel case. On the front, all three interpretations come with a silver grey guilloché sunray dial; on the back, the rose gold version has a spangled burgundy lacquer dial, while the steel version has the same dial in blue, with coordinating blued dauphine hour and minute hands.
The rose gold model is fitted with a matching burgundy leather strap, and the steel version comes with either a midnight blue alligator strap or a satin-brushed steel bracelet. So there’s certainly something for every style.
