In Case You Like Your Reverso Complicated: Jaeger-LeCoultre Presents The Reverso Tribute Geographic And Minute Repeater
It’s not like you’re going to play polo any time soon anyway, so why not have your Reverso complicated and with two dials? Jaeger-LeCoultre presents the Reverso Tribute Geographic and Minute Repeater, showing once again that the brand knows how to tastefully combine a classic design with horological technicity. Both complications are not just fascinating and stunningly executed but also (somewhat) practical. The Geographic helps you navigate the world, always with the right time on your wrist, and adds a grand date as a bonus. Not only will the Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater tell you the time in the darkest of conditions, but its soft chime will also soothe your soul. As you might expect, soothing the soul doesn’t come cheap.
No one predicted in 1931, the Reverso’s birthyear, that a watch designed to withstand the rough sport of polo would become a platform for complications. But it did. This year, Jaeger-LeCoultre once again proves that the rugged sports watch, by design, is ideally suited to showcase horological complexity, like the world-time complication, which simultaneously shows the time in 24 major zones. The new Reverso Tribute Geographic, which comes in an unlimited steel version (ref. Q714845J / €23,000) and a rose gold iteration limited to 150 pieces (ref. Q714256J / €38,200), is powered by a newly developed in-house movement. The 209-part caliber 834 offers 42 hours of power reserve and displays world time on the reverse dial. On the front dial, the outsized date is a tell-tale sign that this isn’t your ordinary Reverso — if there is such a thing.
Jaeger-LeCoultre presents the Reverso Tribute Geographic
With its swiveling case and complex movement inside, the Reverso is a double complication in a way. The 29.9 × 49.4 × 11.14mm case is a clever engineering piece with no rivals. Jaeger-LeCoultre can compete with all the great watchmaking houses not just when it comes to creating cases or complicated movements but also when creating dials. The front dial shows a deep blue adorned with a sunray finish (for the steel case) or chocolate (for the pink gold version).
The large date display has a polished metal frame that matches the case and amplifies its strong rectangular lines. A counterpoint to all these straight lines comes from the small, circular seconds register. It echoes the circular world time display, which is revealed when turning the watch over.
The world-time display on the reverse dial shows itself in the context of a polished case back. The steel model has details in shades of blue, complementing the cool tones of the metal. The rose gold reference features black and gray details, highlighting the precious metal’s warm hue.
The construction of the display on three different levels is very intriguing, and it creates a remarkable effect of visual depth. The engraved city names appear directly on the case back, while the rotating 24-hour ring set within the aperture indicates day and night. The dial’s center shows the world map marked with longitude lines that provide additional visual orientation in relation to the time zones. This map is created in-house and combines the crafts of lacquering and laser engraving.
A rectangular sound machine: the Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater
On an even higher horological level, we find the new Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater (ref. Q7122480 / price on request). This ultra-complicated watch is a limited edition of 30 pieces and features a new in-house movement holding seven patents. The mechanism that produces the sound is caliber 953’s “party piece.” To enhance chime quality, JLC uses its proprietary trébuchet hammers, crystal gongs, and silent-interval elimination.
A few other complicated features of the 31 × 51.1 × 12.6mm watch need mentioning. The first ones are the newly designed dials on both the front and reverse. Both dials show the same time but do so quite differently. The teal front dial with Grand Feu enamel also showcases a hand-guilloché barleycorn pattern. Its structure creates a dynamic optical illusion of movement as it catches the light from different angles. It takes the master craftspeople of the Métiers Rares ateliers four hours to apply the guilloché pattern. The enameling process for each dial took another eight hours.
The skeletonized reverse dial reveals the repeater mechanism’s complexity and, when activated, presents a fascinating display of moving parts. Last but not least, the adjustable 46-part folding clasp (sorry, no pictures yet) deserves a mention. That’s not just because it’s a complicated piece of “equipment” but also because it’s adjustable to 0.5mm. That may not seem a lot, but we all know that on the wrist, every tenth of a millimeter counts.
As you may know, I have quite “a thing” for Jaeger-LeCoultre Reversos, so I’m excited to go hands-on with these at Watches and Wonders. Expect a review with live pictures soon, and in the meantime, let me know what you think of the Reverso Tribute Geographic and Minute Repeater.
