Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute To 1931 – The name of this watch is a bit of a mouthful but its worth it! The Reverso range from JLC is famous in its own right but if you didn’t know the reason behind this, I shall touch on a brief bit of history of this iconic rectangular timepiece.
The name Reverso is inspired by the Latin “I turn around”. The design of the Reverso dates back to the 1930s, or to be more precise 1931. Polo players were tired of having the crystals on their timepieces broken and damaged while playing this aristocratic game. Now, one would have thought that players would’ve just ceased wearing their elegant timepieces while playing “The Sport of Kings” – but no, Jaeger-LeCoultre came up with the idea of making it possible to flip the watch while on your wrist, so that the crystal was protected from severe thrashing. In 1931, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced (and patented) the Reverso watch. Throughout the decades, the Reverso was developed and grew to become the beautiful timepiece it is now.
Jaeger-LeCoultre released this, Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 model, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Reverso collection. What a “Tribute” this endearing timepiece is too. JLC don’t frivolously throw the term “Ultra Thin” around – at 7.2mm thick, it truly is.
Now, I’m not really a massive fan of square/rectangle timepieces but in regards to the Reverso range, I do have a bit of a soft spot for a small handful of them. This ultra thin Tribute to 1931 ref. 2788570, is one I really do adore. When I first picked up this Reverso, it was amazing how delicate and fragile yet reassuringly robust it felt!?
On the wrist it was superb, it almost felt nonexistent; obviously down to its dimensions of 46mm in length and 27.5mm in width. This may sound quite large to some but it truly does fit like a well-worn pair of shoes (minus the dodgy smell) and the alligator strap fitted into the integrated lugs, I’m sure aides this sensation. This dial features sword shaped hour and minutes hands, with just a simple but effective inscription of “REVERSO” below 12 o’clock. The case back is brushed – where you’ll find the brand name, confirmation of its depth of water-resistance and that it was subject to a 1000 hours of controlled testing by the watchmakers of Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Knowing that I was wearing the Reverso, it was time to put this function to the test. To flip the dial, it was just a case of grabbing the right side of the watch, pulling it and sliding the left side of the case through to the right side and then turning the crown side of the watch all the way to the left. During this process you’ll notice how the inner case back has been finished in perlage. Once reversed you’ll have a nice, shiny mirror to look into – or if you’re feeling quite creative you can fill this blank canvas with something personal.
This gorgeous timepiece list price costs £5,350. For more information visit the official Jaeger-LeCoultre website. Massive thanks to the guys at Mappin & Webb on Regents Street for your time, top-notch customer service!
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