Grande Reverso Duoface

Press Release


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.Grande Reverso DuoMovement
- Mechanical manually-wound movement, Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 986, crafted, assembled and decorated by hand
- 28,800 vibrations per hour
- 19 jewels
- thickness: 4.15 mm
- 183 parts
- 48-hour power reserveFunctions
- hour, minute, small seconds, date
- dual time-zone, 24-hour day/night indicationDial
- guilloché silvered/black.Case
- steel or 18-carat pink gold
- height: 48.5 mm
- width: 30 mm
- thickness: 10.2 mm
- “1000 Hours Control” indication on the case-back
- sapphire crystal, hardness N°9
- water-resistant to 3 barStrap
- black alligator leather with folding claspReferences
- Q3742421, 18-carat