Jaeger-LeCoultre: the Reverso turns 93

It is a milestone that very few watches can boast that of Jaeger-LeCoultre and its iconic Reverso which, this very week, celebrates 93 years. Having become a timeless classic, the Reverso was created on 4 March 1931 with a very specific purpose: to withstand the shocks on the pitch of the heated polo matches.

The story goes that Cesar De Trey, a wealthy businessman, during one of his trips to India witnessed a game of the famous team game where a British army officer, riding his horse on the field, broke his watch following yet another collision. It was then that De Trey had the intuition to think of an engineering system capable of turning the case upside down so as to protect the glass and dial from possible blows without sacrificing an elegant and refined aesthetic.

It was, of course, Jacques-David LeCoultre, his great watchmaker friend who, for the project, was assisted by the French specialists at Jaeger. To this day, every Jaeger-LeCoultre model is entirely designed, manufactured and assembled at the company’s Manufacture in the Valléè de Joux, where it undergoes meticulous quality tests before being put on the market. With its unmistakable folding case and elegant Art Deco lines, the Reverso is one of the most iconic and recognisable watches in the world. Throughout its history, it has housed over fifty different calibres and numerous coatings such as enamel, precious stones or engravings.

Unique in its kind, it has become the emblem par excellence of the renowned Swiss-made luxury watch manufacturer. From the very beginning, this timepiece was radically innovative due to its unique features. Not only because of the high degree of engineering of its intricate mechanism, which allows the case to tilt while remaining in place, but also because of its refined design, inspired by the golden section, and its rectangular geometry, which to this day remains faithful to the splendour of its era of manufacture. Indeed, the style of the Reverso has succeeded in the arduous feat of evolving over time while remaining true to itself: adapting to the identity of the wearer while maintaining unchanged its unique expression of luxury and elegance.