The exquisite novelty unites two key themes that have defined La Grande Maison for much of its history: an exceptional expertise in chiming watches and the timeless story of the Reverso.
With the accompaniment of the distinguishable personality of Art Deco lines and a swiveling case, the Reverso has been hallmarked as one of the world’s most recognizable wristwatches throughout its 90 years journey within the Maison. Its story embodies Jaeger-LeCoultre’s eternal pursuit of beauty and aesthetic elegance, aggrandizing the Reverso’s stylistic realm by harnessing the full potential of its unique design. That story extends from the Manufacture’s endless inventive quest for technical advancement from the revolutionary idea of a case that could be flipped over, and the ingenious mechanism that made it possible, to the development of complications specific to the Reverso.
A Distinguished Legacy in Chiming Watches
Amid the rebirth of mechanical watchmaking that followed the quartz crisis in the 1990s, the Reverso, with its distinctive rectangular case, became the vehicle through which the Manufacture would redevelop its expertise in high complications. Having mastered the added challenge that rectangular movements dictate an entirely different architecture from that of traditional round movements – a particularly demanding challenge for chiming mechanisms – Jaeger-LeCoultre presented the Reverso Répétition Minutes in 1994, marking the embarkment of the Maison’s story on the miniaturized minute repeater for a wristwatch, thus creating the world’s first rectangular minute repeater movement.
In fact, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s mastery of chiming mechanisms dates back to the very foundation of the Manufacture in 1833, and its deep expertise is today confirmed by an archive of more than 200 chiming calibres. Since that first Reverso minute repeater from the 1990s, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s engineers and designers have redefined the benchmark for acoustic quality, harnessing new technology in service of this noble tradition.
A New Expression for the Minute Repeater
Embodying technical advances such as Jaeger-LeCoultre’s patented trebuchet hammers, silent regulator and a new generation of gongs, the Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater is powered by a revised version of the manually wound, in-house movement, Calibre 944. The new timepiece is distinguished by dials on both the front and reverse sides, bringing a fresh visual expression to the timeless Reverso design, as well as to the minute repeater mechanism itself. While the dials both display the same time, they are very different in character – one exuberant, the other more sober – both are a testament to the beauty of fine movement decoration and the exceptional level of craftsmanship that resides within the Manufacture.
The Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater houses a revised version of the manually wound, in-house movement, Calibre 944.
The front dial is entirely skeletonized, revealing the full complexity of the minute repeater mechanism and presenting a mesmerizing display of moving parts when the minute repeater is activated. Beneath a large bow-shaped bridge that sweeps from 11 o’clock to 7 o’clock, the components appear almost to be floating in three dimensions, the sense of visual depth and transparency enhanced by faceted indexes that are cantilevered from the chemin de fer minutes track. With a gleaming golden finish, the bridge, hour markers, gongs and several other components perfectly matches the color of the rose-gold watch case.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater Front Dial.
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater Reverse Dial.
While the exuberance of the front dial contrasts with the rectilinear geometry of the Reverso case, the relative sobriety of the reverse dial echoes and amplifies those straight lines. Vertical Côtes de Genève stripes extend over the entire height of the main plate, which also serves as the dial. Showcasing the timekeeping mechanism, with subtle color accents provided by blued screws and golden hands and hour markers, the cool silver tone of the metal provides an elegant counterpoint to the warm rose gold of the case.
Limited to 10 pieces, the Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater in pink gold case adopts the functionalities of hours and minutes on both dials, and a minute repeater.
Set into the side of the watch case, the slider that activates the chimes has been specially designed for the new Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater to be as slim as possible, without sacrificing ergonomics. Visually complementing the Art Deco lines of the case, the effect is one of great refinement.
The Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater in 51.1 mm x 31 mm dimension, with 11.41 mm thickness.
In showcasing both technical complexity and the aesthetic crafts, the Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater underlines the eternal modernity of the Reverso design, marrying the technical prowess of the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre to its eternal quest for new forms of visual expression.
Discover an array of Reverso pieces online, or find a boutique near you to explore the rest of the Jaeger-LeCoultre collection.
