Breaking News: The Green Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Goes With Anything

Can you believe it? I know I didn’t at first, but there you have it. The green Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute really does go with anything. And I literally mean with anything. Do You know why? Because it’s green, and therefore it probably won’t exactly match your outfit of the day. And because it doesn’t, it does. Catch my drift?

Not too long ago, I went on a quest to find out if the rectangular Reverso was a watch that had I deprived myself of for all the wrong reasons. I found my answer wearing a Reverso Classic Monoface Large Small Seconds. Turned out I had indeed been depriving myself of an undisputed watch icon for all the wrong reasons. I just never realized that a fairly dressy rectangular watch could adapt to my mostly casual attire. It did, though, flawlessly and with great ease.

The Green Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute really does go with anything!

The second experiment with a Reverso is all about color. And when it comes to color and Reverso’s you end up with either the blue, the red, or the green — the latest colored edition of the Tribute. There’s one thing you have to know about me ahead of the upcoming watch talk. I like to match the colors of my watch to what I wear. And by that, I mean sneakers, pants, shirt, the lot. I like it to somehow match. It can be because of a color detail on the dial which matches an accent in my shirt. Or the leather of the strap matching the leather of my shoes. That kind of thing.

… go for the blue one, it will match almost anything.

Because of this, it’s fair to say that I’m not afraid of colors, and green certainly is amongst my favorites. If I had to choose between the blue, the red, and the green Reverso Tribute my first instinct was to go with green. But my head would then step in and say, “go for the blue one, it will match almost anything.” But in this case, I decided to take a leap of faith. Ignoring the sensible choice, the easy way out, and instead, diving into something which I wasn’t quite sure would work all that well but which my heart told me to go with.

Forrest-green, not Kermit-green

Sometimes taking a chance pays off. Jaeger-LeCoultre didn’t send me the blue one, they delivered the green one. And my heart skipped a beat when I first put it on my wrist. What a lovely shade of lively green. It’s a radiant, deep forest green, not a bright Kermit green. In the light, it even ranges into the darker side of the spectrum, displaying some shades of black.

Though I liked the bâton-style blued hands on the Classic Monoface, but on a colored dial, the larger dauphine hands quite literally shine. They create a stark contrast with the dial and have a more sporty appearance than the thinner, stick hands. The Tribute is just a touch more athletic in the way it “dresses” compared to the Classic. And that’s why I found it even easier to wear with anything than the Reverso in my first experiment. Even in its full green attire.

A watch strap like a pair of polo boots

Apart from the green sunray-brushed dial, with its silver applied hour-markers, the strap is also a wonderful deep shade of green. And what a strap! The Argentinian leather specialist Casa Fagliano, famous for making polo boots since 1892, crafted the strap. Their expertise and heritage shine through. Casa Fagliano normally works with cordovan leather. This specially treated horse leather is tough and supple at the same time and has a bit of an “oily” feel. The green strap on the Reverso Tribute is made from calf leather instead. Maybe because calf is generally softer than horse leather. Although the strap is not made from the same leather as the polo boots the Casa Fagliano artisans normally craft, the detailing — the stitching and the double patch of leather where the strap connects to the case — is still reminiscent of them. The result is an elegantly rugged strap, which lends itself to a sportier look.

What if…?

The strap feels good and looks fantastic and thanks to the comfortable, slender folding clasp, it wears problem-free. The only thing I couldn’t stop thinking about was how it would look on a black shell cordovan strap with a simple, no-nonsense pin buckle. If you are the owner of a green Tribute you could certainly order a tailor-made cordovan strap for your Reverso from Casa Fagliano. I don’t know what the cost will be, considering that it takes 24 hours to make a single strap from scratch, you can work out a ballpark figure. Regardless of cost, I am sold on both the quality and comfort of the strap and could only find good things to say about it.

Don’t look at the color as a color

Back to the full green reality on the wrist. If you try to exactly match the green of the Reverso with let’s say a polo shirt, you’ll be in trouble. Maybe not if you’re running a Lacoste shop, but otherwise you most probably will struggle to find the right shade to match. The solution is to give up entirely. The different shades that the dial on this Reverso achieves don’t stand still or settle for a single tone, so why should you?

… somehow I have stopped seeing blue as a color.

A blue watch also doesn’t quite have to match the shade of my jeans, but somehow I have stopped seeing blue as a color. Like a blue sky isn’t a colorful sky, but just a blue sky. And a blue sky makes everything look good. That’s how I learned to look at this very green Reverso too. Yes, it’s green, but it’s a shade of green that goes with everything. You can wear this green Reverso in contrast with every other color you throw at it. And in doing so, it will shine even more.

Solid Reverso facts and figures

Enough about colors and time for some solid facts and figures. After wearing the Reverso Classic Monoface Large Small Seconds (Ref. 3858522), I can assure you that the Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds (ref. 3978430) offers a completely different experience. The first thing is the difference in price. The Classic has a price of €6,550, while the Tribute has a list price of €8,500. There are many similarities. Both steel cases measure 45.6 × 27.4mm, have a thickness of 8.5mm, and are water-resistant to 30 meters. The hand-wound caliber 822/2 comprising 108 components, beats at 21,600 vibrations per hour in both Reversos. And fully wound, it has 45 hours of power reserve. The only differences between these two watches are in the aesthetics. And the price, of course.

Don’t go looking for answers

I’m not going to try and explain the almost €2,000 price difference. I don’t think making a cost comparison between stick and sword-shaped hands — or between a vertically brushed, silvered gray dial with a guilloché pattern and transferred black numerals versus a sunray-brushed green one with applied indexes — will give you a satisfactory answer anyway. And I’m sure Jaeger-LeCoultre also doesn’t have the explanation we’re looking for.

I loved the silver white Classic, but adored the green Tribute because it has a more powerful dial …

To accept the price difference, I guess you have to look at it the way I look at blue, I don’t really see it anymore. All kidding aside, rationally explaining prices in the world of luxury watches is a risky business that often leads to hairy situations. I loved the silver-white Classic but adored the green Tribute, quite simply because it has a more powerful dial, and also because it changed my mind about mixing and matching. This article is breaking news for a reason, right?

But would I pay €8.5k for it? Probably not. But that’s also because I’m still on the hunt for my Eight Days Ref. 3018420. In the end, the question “would you pay more ‘green’ for the green?” is a very personal one, which I can’t answer for anyone other than myself.

But if you like the watch (and there is plenty to like), it works within your budget, and you’re looking for a classy rectangular watch that you can just as easily dress up as you can dress down, then I would say that there aren’t many better options out there!

For more information on the green Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute here.

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