Reverso, Lines of Time: When Art Deco Meets the Present

on October 31, 2025

1 minute read

For over 90 years, the Reverso has stood the test of time without yielding to fashion. Two new variations — the Classic Monoface Small Seconds and the Classic Monoface Origin — remind us that for Jaeger-LeCoultre, modernity can be a matter of refinement rather than rupture.

The year 2025 marks the centenary of the Art Deco movement a perfect occasion to revisit the creative effervescence of the 1920s and 1930s. And when one speaks of Art Deco in watchmaking, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso immediately comes to mind. Rooted in the past, present, and future, it truly lives up to its reputation as a timeless icon. For more than 90 years, this emblematic timepiece has transcended eras without ever bowing to fashion — with it, there is no false step, no fleeting trend, only enduring elegance that accompanies us throughout life. Today, the Swiss Maison unveils two new versions that return even more faithfully to the model’s original spirit.

The Reverso doesn’t reinvent itself, it adjusts to the passing of time.

The Maison Jaeger-LeCoultre

From the Polo Fields to the Drawing Board, the Reverso Has Reigned Since 1931

To understand what the Reverso represents today, one must look back several decades. We find ourselves in India in the 1930s, a country where British army officers passionately played polo. A devoted player himself, businessman César de Trey conceived the idea of a watch case that could flip over, protecting the dial from damage during matches. He challenged his friend Jacques-David LeCoultre to design a timepiece whose glass and dial would be fully shielded.

In March 1931, the Paris patent office received an application for a “watch capable of sliding within its frame and turning completely over on itself” in order to conceal its dial. The solution came in the form of a rectangular case design. Thus, the Reverso was born a creation as innovative in concept as in the ingenuity of its mechanism, allowing the case to pivot on itself and lock securely into its cradle. The story was only just beginning.

“Its infinitely exceptional character reflects the diversity of the Maison. By exploring its fundamental expressions since its origins, we realized just how versatile it can be, and how deeply it is connected to the ingenuity of the Manufacture. Very few watches possess this rare ability to exist as an utterly modern and functional piece.”

Jérôme Lambert, CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre

Jaeger-LeCoultre today unveils two new iterations paying tribute to the original 1931 Reverso: the Reverso Classic Monoface Small Seconds and the distinctly feminine Reverso Classic Monoface Origin. Once again, the gesture here is not one of rupture, but rather of perfect balance and measured refinement.

The Spirit of 1931, in Tune with the Present

The Reverso Classic Monoface Small Seconds continues the legacy of the original 1931 model. Its polished stainless steel case, with proportions subtly refined since 2024 (40.1 × 24.4 mm and 7.56 mm thick) to suit both feminine and masculine wrists, preserves the iconic Art Deco geometry while bringing it beautifully up to date. The evolution reveals itself on the dial: Jaeger-LeCoultre introduces a new “coin stack” guilloché pattern at the center and within the small seconds display at 6 o’clock, evoking the delicate ridges along the edge of a stack of coins. Powered by the hand-wound Calibre 822 a Manufacture movement composed of 108 components and offering a 42-hour power reserve — this new Reverso is paired with a black calfskin strap crafted by Casa Fagliano, the renowned Argentine bootmaker long associated with the Maison. True to tradition, the solid metal caseback remains a blank canvas, inviting personal engraving — or simply the quiet eloquence of style.

The collectibles

Sous de nombreuses formes montres-bracelets, clips pour sac à main ou encore pendentifs les montres féminines n’ont jamais été délaissées par Jaeger-LeCoultre depuis sa création. Cet été, la Maison choisissait de le célébrer les femmes à travers la quatrième capsule de son programme « The Collectibles » et les 100 ans du Duoplan en proposant à la vente dix pièces rares de son patrimoine, dix visages d’une même audace aussi révolutionnaire que discrète.

Continuing along this feminine line, the Maison now unveils the new Reverso Classic Monoface Origin, a creation that pays tribute to the very first model of 1931. This timepiece shares the exact proportions of the original (32.5 × 16.3 mm), affirming that elegance is not a matter of size, while perfectly embracing today’s trend for miniature watches. In every other respect, nothing has changed — it remains the worthy heir to its predecessors. Powered by a quartz movement displaying the hours and minutes on a sunray guilloché silvered dial, it embodies the essence of understated refinement. Two versions are offered: one with a blue alligator leather strap, and the other with a polished steel bracelet matching the case. With its quiet confidence, this Reverso proves that simplicity is the key to enduring style pure Jaeger-LeCoultre.

These new variations fit perfectly within the “1931 Polo Club” theme, unveiled this year by Jaeger-LeCoultre at Watches & Wonders through an immersive stand inspired by the stables of grand aristocratic estates the very places where polo matches were once played on private fields at the time of the Reverso’s creation. Back to basics: this year, the Maison returns to its roots, to its mythical and timeless model. The Reverso is not a watch that seeks to define an era, but one that gracefully transcends them. With 2031 marking the centenary of this enduring icon, we can’t wait to see what comes next.

Featured brand