Reverso Tribute Tourbillon Duoface: it’s all there in the name. But for those not familiar with the range, let’s just quickly go over the distinctive features of the Reverso. Jaeger-LeCoultre released the first Reverso watch in 1931. It was designed with a unique pivoting case intended to protect the watch crystal shocks by turning it to face the skin. The Duoface concept, launched in 1994, makes the most of the Reverso’s reversibility by offering a second dial rather than a caseback; the two dials on the front and back of the watch can thus display different functions, driven by a single movement. As well as the Classic and One ranges, there are the Tribute models which are directly inspired by the original watches. The Reverso Tribute Tourbillon Duoface, a 185th anniversary model recently unveiled by the Le Sentier watchmaker, will be produced in a limited edition of 50. This Reverso, with two dials and a tourbillon, pays tribute to the timepieces of the 1930s.
The tourbillon is in fact a flying tourbillon – and it’s the first time a complication of this type has been included in a Duoface watch. But it’s not the first Reverso to be equipped with a tourbillon. Back in 2008, Jaeger-LeCoultre launched the Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2 (with hours and minutes, 24-hour indicator, seconds and a spherical tourbillon on the front, and a power reserve indicator on the back), followed in 2016 by the Reverso Tribute Gyrotourbillon (with hours and minutes, day/night indicator and the spherical tourbillon on the front, and a second time zone with 24-hour display on the back).
The new Reverso Tribute Tourbillon Duoface resembles the Tribute Gyrotourbillon of 2016 both aesthetically and functionally. Like its forebear, it is made of platinum, but it is smaller (45.5 mm x 27.4 mm, compared with 51.1 x 31 mm) and over 3 mm thinner (9.15 mm) – an advance made possible by in-house efforts to rearrange the components of the Duoface design. Elsewhere, the watch reflects the timeless design codes of the collection, with its shot-peened gadroons, integral lugs, spear-shaped hands and minutes railroad track. On the front, the classic and elegant sunray blue dial offers a simple hours and minutes display, contrasting with the more technical dial on the reverse. Here, a silvered dial, secured by visible screws to the Geneva-striped baseplate, displays the time in the second time zone. A day/night indicator at 2 o’clock blends into the workings of the movement, while the tourbillon flaunts its bridges and a seconds scale.
On the blue dial side, the flying tourbillon with integral seconds draws the eye, appearing to float in the case thanks to a ball-bearing mechanism that supports the cage and balance spring. The watch is driven by a new in-house movement, the hand-wound calibre 847.
