While the Reverso enjoyed a serious celebration for its 90th anniversary in 2021, this year sees a renewed focus on the iconic rectangular cased watch design, with a handful of new references that show just how flexible a platform the Reverso is. In 2023, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso collection arrives with a new member of the ever-popular Tribute family that’s thinner than ever before, a chronograph for the international traveller, and a dual-sided tourbillon that doesn’t mind crossing time zones itself.
At Watches & Wonders in 2022, Jaeger-LeCoultre breathed new life into the Polaris collection (as well as generously showing us around its legendary factory). In 2023, however, it’s a return to the classic art deco design of the Reverso. While the Tribute Small Seconds is an impressive feat of ultra-thin watchmaking in and of itself, the other two main releases emphasise the two-sided dial real offered by the uniquely swivelling Reverso case, each of which also shows off an additional complication as well.
Highlights From The 2023 Jaeger-LeCoultre Collection
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Small Seconds
If you’ve been a watch enthusiast for a little while, there’s a good chance you’ll have come across the Reverso Tribute Small Seconds before, as the purest contemporary expression of the original Reverso DNA from 1931. Within this pared-back simplicity, the Tribute Small Seconds typically doesn’t offer any additional complications, however, this year its refined case design (the case alone features more than 50 different components) slims its profile even further to a wafter-like 7.56mm from the front to back and cements its position as one of the best dress watches money can buy today.
While the svelte profile of the rectangular pink gold case (which measures 45.6mm in length and 27.4 mm in width) is a remarkable achievement, the rest of the story is the three new dial colours available within this case, with black and burgundy made with lacquer and silver with a sunray treatment. The silver is also available in a more everyday stainless steel case, which features the same length and width dimensions but is a touch thicker at 8.5mm. All references arrive with either a Fagliano interchangeable calf-leather-and-canvas or all-calf-leather strap and are powered by the in-house manually wound Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 822. Price: AU$15,700 in steel and AU$35,600 in pink gold.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph
At first glance, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph has an air of familiarity to it thanks to its Duoface configuration, however, thanks to the new Calibre 860 powering it there’s an additional complication that we’ve not seen before. This latest chronograph reference can trace its roots back to 1996 with the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Chronographe Rétrograde, which was a ground-breaking watch for its time as the first rectangular-shaped chronograph movement, as well as the first watch to feature a manually-wound integrated chronograph movement in the modern era.
Created as two references in either pink gold or steel, they feature the same dimensions of 49.4mm in length and 29.9mm in width, with an impressive thickness of just 9.79mm despite the debut movement offering two separate time zones and a chronograph with retrograde minute counter. On the side with the solid dial, you simply get the time, but after flipping the case over you’ll see the skeletonised side with the additional timezone, as well as the blue chronograph hand, which makes one revolution per minute after being activated and the elapsed minutes tracked by the half-circle arc at the 6 o’clock position. Another year, another extremely impressive technical step forward by Jaeger-LeCoultre. Prices: AU$34,800 in steel and AU$61,000Â in pink gold.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Duoface Tourbillon
The most complex new member of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute family is the pink gold Duoface Tourbillon, which not only features two dials that can each be set to a different timezone but are regulated by a highly complicated tourbillon mechanism. Jaeger-LeCoultre debuted the tourbillon in its wristwatches in 1993 (the first Duoface Reverso was released only a year later) and this particular tourbillon mechanism is the beating heart of the Calibre 847 from 2018, which comprises a mind-bending 62 different components despite weighing less than half a gram at 0.455g.
Its rectangular pink gold case measures 45.5mm in length and 27.4mm wide, maintaining a slim 9.15mm profile despite the complexity of the movement within. The more traditional of the two dials features a silver sunray finish, while the reverse side boasts a smaller black dial framed by pink gold Clous de Paris guilloché patterned bridges and a day/night indicator at the 2 o’clock position. This Duoface Tourbillon isn’t likely to be your first Reverso, but it’s a wonderful example of technical watchmaking prowess and mastery of ultra-thin movement development. Price: AU$229,000.
