The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso: From Colonial Aristocracy To Amelia Earhart And Into Its 80th Year

by Benjamin Clymer, Executive Editor, HODINKEE

Jaeger-LeCoultre has long been considered a premiere manufacture, but the Reverso, what is now considered the mark’s defining model, was not always revered as such. In fact, while the Reverso experienced immense popularity in the 1930s, it quickly took a backseat to round wristwatches in the 1940s, and remained a secondary player, even falling completely out of production for a brief period, until the 1980s.

Here we will take a look at the earliest days of the Reverso, who famously wore it, and what it represents to Jaeger-LeCoultre. We will end with a preview of the new Reverso “1931” to be shown at the SIHH in the coming weeks.

Cesar De Trey And The Polo Connection

Chauvot's Original Reverso Drawing / Copyright Jaeger-LeCoultre

A French industrialist by the name of Cesar De Trey, a man who had made a fortune in denture sales, had long sought to break into the world of mechanical watchmaking. He was a top-tier collector, and with his considerable means he was already responsible for introducing Jean-Leon Reutter, the creator of the Atmos clock, to Jacques-David LeCoultre, the then head of LeCoultre.

While traveling to colonial India in the late 1920s, De Trey took in a polo match with a group of friends. After the match, he met with a player who had heard of De Trey’s association with clock making. The unnamed player showed De Trey the battered wristwatch he had worn during the recent match – the crystal was shattered. The player pleaded with De Trey to create a wristwatch that could withstand the pressures of a professional polo match. The idea for the reversible wristwatch, one in which the crystal and dial may be removed from harm’s way without the use of any tools, was born.

Building the First Reverso

Original Advertising For The Reverso / Copyright Jaeger-LeCoultre

While De Trey had the idea and his partner LeCoultre had the movement manufacture, the pair was still not in any position to create a reversible watch. LeCoultre reached out to a French firm named Jaeger S.A., with whom he had worked closely for approaching two decades, to see what could be done about designing the case – after all, the case was and still is the defining trait of the Reverso. Jaeger contracted engineer and designer Rene-Alfred Chauvot to draw the innovative, reversible case and he is the man who conceived the Reverso as we know it today. The design was purchased by Jaeger, LeCoultre, and De Trey for a fee of 10,000 Swiss Francs, plus a commission of 2.50 Swiss Franc per each watch sold.

The trio hoped to produce the new reversible watch in time to be sold in the holiday season of 1931, and as such, Jaeger would not be able to meet the production requirements for the complicated cases. They asked another party, A&E Wenger, to produce the original Reverso cases. Also, LeCoultre did not have a movement that would fit inside these cases – the movements designed for round watches were too small and the “Duopan” movements LeCoultre had become famous for were too thick – so the first Reversos featured movements by Tavannes Watch Co. While the cases were supplied by Wenger and the movements by Tavannes, all Reversos were assembled by LeCoultre at the manufacture in Le Sentier. In early 1933, LeCoultre completed a caliber designed specifically for the Reverso (Caliber 11 U – a 15 jewel, 18,000 BPH movement with a 50 hour power reserve), and the Tavannes movements were replaced.

Wristwear For Emperors, Kings, and American Heroes

The Reverso was bound, from its blue-blooded conception deep within a swanky colonial parlor, to be welcomed by the upper echelons of society. The watch was wholly different from existing models – but what cemented its place within the stratums of European aristocracy was the supremely engraveable case. All wristwatches had flat case backs, but most already included manufacture information and model numbers. The Reverso, on the other hand, offered a blank canvas on which to paint. In addition to offering a clean slate for wealthy watchfans to engrave family crests, military markings, initials, and other such regalia, the reversible case meant the engravings could be worn and displayed prominently on the wrist. Engravings on traditional casebacks were rarely seen by anyone besides the owner, but the Reverso offered the chance to display the engraving proudly, and acted as an identification of sorts for those from families of stature.

Some of the most notable Reverso owners included several members of European royalty. In 1934, the Prince of Denmark wore his Reverso on an expedition through the severe climate of southern Morocco. Upon his return to Copenhagen, he wrote a letter to the LeCoultre manufacture congratulating them on building an exemplary watch, one that had survived the harsh climate perfectly with neither internal nor superficial damage.

King Edward VIII of England was also a Reverso owner. While his reign was short-lived, Edward’s legacy is one of a romantic who could not be constrained by the rules of the Royal family. The story goes that he stepped down from his position as King in order to marry an American woman named Wallis Simpson. Simpson was a divorcee and the British constitution forbade any king from marrying a woman with living ex-spouses. King Edward did indeed marry Simpson and his brother, who replaced him as King, soon created the titles of Duke and Duchess of Windsor for the newly minted couple. King Edward VIII was also the Emperor of India, so it is fitting that he would wear a Reverso, a watch conceived on Indian soil. King Edward VIII was also an alleged Nazi sympathizer, but that’s another story.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the great American pilot Amelia Earhart was known to wear a Reverso. The watch she wore was adorned with a lacquer engraving of her record-setting solo flight from Mexico City to New York (though she landed in Newark, technically).


The Prince of Denmark's Reverso (Circa 1933, Caliber 411, Steel), King Edward VIII's Reverso (Circa 1937, Caliber 411, Steel and Yellow Gold), Amelia Earhart's Reverso (Circa 1935, Caliber 410, Steel) /
Copyright Jaeger-LeCoultre
The Generations Lost & The Era of the Modern Reverso

By the time of World War II, no less than 11 different movements had been used in the Reverso. But, constraints on the manufacture brought about by wartime caused the Reverso take a backseat to round, simpler timepieces. During the 1940s, 50s, and 60s few, if any, Reversos were produced by JLC. In 1972, the Italian distributor for JLC visited the Swiss manufacture and noticed unused Reverso cases. He purchased all the cases from JLC and placed movements into them to be sold in his stores back in Italy. As the story goes, they sold out within weeks.

In the early 1980s, the manufacture ceded to both countless requests from collectors and a large push from the same influential Italian distributor, and reintroduced the Reverso. In 1985, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced an updated case that consisted of over 50 components, while the original case was made from less than 30. The result was the first ever water-resistant Reverso.

Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, JLC continued to develop the Reverso concept to include the duoface, chronographs, world-timers, tourbillons, perpetual calendars, and even a minute repeater.

The 80th Anniversary of the Reverso

2011 marks the 80th anniversary of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, and the brand has big plans for its most famous model. In fact, they have released an innovative "Virtual Museum" that includes many of the Reverso’s landmark events, as well as the opportunity to upload your own pictures of the Reverso.

Additionally, Jaeger-LeCoultre has announced two tribute models that will be officially released at the SIHH in mid-January. The “1931” Reverso will be available in both stainless steel and 18k red gold. The case is 46mm in height, but only 7.2mm thick. The piece will include dagger hands and baton hour markers. Inside the ultra-thin case is Jaeger-LeCoultre’s manually wound Caliber 822, and the dial is marked only with “Reverso” just as the original models were produced in 1931. The 1931 is already being heralded as the link to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s past, much like the Royal Oak “Jumbo” is considered the link to Audemars Piguet’s past. Also, just like the Jumbo, production of the 1931 is expected to be quite limited and highly sought after by collectors.

While most modern Reversos have become “Duoface” pieces, the 1931 is a simple watch, with only hours and minutes present. The opposing side of the head doesn’t offer a second time zone or a chronograph like we’ve become accustomed to seeing, but rather will be a blank slate for which the wearer to engrave as he or she sees fit. The 1931 is the perfect canvas for Jaeger-LeCoultre authorized master engraver JC Randell, a man who has become the Reverso engraver par excellence.

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso 1931 will be officially unveiled, with full pricing and availability information, at the SIHH on January 17th. Worn by athletes and kings, aviators and actors, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso has an undeniably storied history, and we will soon see what is sure to be an exciting new chapter in one of watchmaking world’s most elegant and timeless designs.


Ultra Thin Reverso "1931" Prototype /
Copyright Benjamin Clymer


Ultra Thin Reverso "1931" Prototype /
Copyright Benjamin Clymer

Did You Know?

Since the Reverso’s earliest days through the current models, including the 1931 Tribute pieces, the ratio of the case’s height to its width has been constant. In fact, Jack Forster, Editor in Chief of Revolution Magazine said "Out of curiosity about the Reverso's perennial appeal, I became interested in the aspect ratio of the Reverso watch (the ratio of case length to width.) After calculating the aspect ratio for several non-square models I discovered what many diehard Reverso fans already know: that for all non-square models the ratio is about 1.6:1, which is the Golden Ratio; and the manufacture confirms that this proportion has been preserved in all rectangular Reverso models."

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Copyright 2011, Benjamin Clymer
All Rights Reserved