Reverso from Jaeger-LeCoultre emerged from the need to make a men’s luxury watch that could be worn on the polo field without being smashed by mallets during play. In 1930 César de Trey, a successful entrepreneur, was travelling in India where he encountered British army officers who had taken up the sport.
Related: Gearing up for adventure: The new Breitling Limited Edition Avenger
When asked if there was a way they could protect the glass and dial of their watches, de Trey came up with the idea that the case could be flipped over. The entrepreneur approached Le Coultre with the idea and a French industrial designer, René-Alfred Chauvot. designed the case.
Rare luxury watch
The company’s maison is in the heart of the Vallée de Joux, in the Swiss Jura Mountains. Every different stage in the creation of this men’s luxury watch takes place within the Manufacture.
The Reverso was born of the Art Déco movement in 1931 that first appeared in France just before WWI. It was a style of visual arts, architecture and design with simple, clean shapes, man-made, often expensive materials, rarely mass-produced.
Canada’s best luxury website: Jaeger-LeCoultre salutes Japanese Katsushika Hokusai
The Tribute Enamel Hokusai, limited to just 10 pieces, pays tribute to Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849). Hokusai was a Japanese artist known for his woodblock paint series, A Tour of the Waterfalls of the Provinces. This series includes the Kirifuri Waterfall, which brought the artist global renown. The piece inspired Jaeger-LeCoultre’s master enameller to adorn the back of this Reverso with this work.
This work of art is a part of the Ukiyo-E movement, a west Japanese artistic technique. Woodblock painting prospered in Japan from the 17th-19th centuries. Known for portraying “pictures of the floating world”, this artistic movement came to identify the hedonistic lifestyle of the merchant class of Edo (renamed Tokyo), Japan from 1600-1868.
Tribute to high culture
The watch comes in white gold case. It features a Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 822 manual movement with a 42-hour power reserve and 3 bar water resistance. It comes with a black alligator strap.
This remarkable wristwatch is a tribute to high culture and is sure to be an heirloom for years to come.
Daron Halajian received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Ryerson University. He has worked for American Express as a Travel and Lifestyle Consultant servicing elite clientele. He writes in both English and Armenian and his works have appeared in publications in Beirut, Los Angeles, Montreal and Toronto.
