WORLDTEMPUS - 23 December 2010
Elizabeth Lilly Doerr
Eighty years of the iconic Reverso are currently being celebrated in style by Le Sentier-based manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre. The new Reverso models will be revealed at the SIHH beginning on January 17 and will include a ladies line as well as a minute repeater with a twist. The men's collection already disclosed earlier this month in Buenos Aires represents a return to the roots for the Reverso – a fact that is destined to please followers of the brand and connoisseurs of fine watchmaking alike.
A modern Reverso case constitutes a full 55 components – reaching a unique complexity that few, if any, other manufacturers can match. “The Reverso is the epitome of function and style,” said CEO Jérôme Lambert as he counted the “secrets” of the Reverso's longevity in Argentina, which include a perfectly proportioned case, good transition between lugs, strap and case, and functional design. This functional design has also remained as fresh in a daisy in its updated and continuously reconfigured art deco style for eight full decades, over the course of which 42 calibers have been created to fit into the case. “The emotion of today remains the emotion of tomorrow,” Lambert summed up.
Manually wound manufacture Caliber 822 with 45 hours of power reserve boasts 134 components fit into only 2.94 mm of height. This is a grand achievement that allows the case to be no more than 7.2 mm in height as it delightfully lays on the wrist in an unobtrusive and elegant manner. Its vintage-style dial was inspired by an original model from the 1930s, though updated for modern times, and will be especially appealing to collectors and connoisseurs. The stainless steel version is unlimited, unlike the 18-karat rose gold version.
