This post was inspired by my recent viewing of Bad Teacher (which was no where near inspiring) in which Justin Timberlake sports a Jaeger LeCoultre watch. If there are things I know about Jaeger LeCoultre before I wrote this post, it was that apart from being the makers of the amazing Atmos clock (thanks to an episode of Pawn Stars), it had a name I didn’t know how to pronounce, and if I knew how to pronounce it, it would probably sound way out of my league.
What the Submariner is to Rolex, the Reverso is Jaeger LeCoultre. The Reverso is the most recognizable Jaeger-LeCoultre timepiece with its iconic rectangular shape and reversible case, being on the wrists of the King of Denmark, King Edward VIII of England and even the great pilot, Amelia Earhart. Jaeger-LeCoultre was addressing the complaints of British Army officers in India about their watches not being able to withstand the damage of brutal polo games. Some serious first world problems going on there, yet the watch maker took them seriously and and introduced the Reverso in 1931.
The Reverso allows wearers to flip the face over so that you wouldn’t damage the face of the watch in your polo games and allowed people to show off the engravings on the back of the watch as they do so. It became an instant hit at that time, but slowly fell into obscurity as Jaeger LeCoultre chose to concentrate on simpler range of watches as the Reverso’s case was expensive due to its complexity. The makers woke up their ideas in the 1960s and its popularity never relented since.
While the iconic design of the reversible watch face gave birth to many variations, my preference has got to be the Jaeger-LeCoultre “Tribute To 1931″ Reverso, which says in its name that its a version that stays as true to the original as possible. I’m not sure if anyone would wear these to polo games, but it’s still a very nifty watch with a story to tell. Purchase details here.
See also:
Ask Men’s Jaeger-LeCoultre “Tribute To 1931″ Reverso
Unique Watch Guide’s Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso
