The Ultimate Travel watch: Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso Duoface
Brief History of the Reverso
“Jaeger” LeCoultre has been a well known Swiss watch manufacturer for many decades, having a deep rooted history dating back to their conception in 1833. Over those years, the brand has perfected their craft by creating more than 1200 calibres alongside some of the worlds most iconic timepieces. Of those watches, and undoubtedly one of the most iconic is the Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso. The Reverso was originally conceptualized in 1931 for British Army officers as a watch that would be able to withstand the rigors of a polo match, in an attempt to solve the repeating issue of glass breaking on timepieces. It was all put into motion by Jacques-David LeCoultre (owner of LeCoultre) when he immediately took to the challenge by contracting the Jaeger S.A firm, whom reached out to French designer Rene-Alfred Chauvot. Chauvot would go on to design the iconic slide and flip mechanism that would be utilized in the Reverso as the ideal solution to insufficient durability in watches of the time. This mechanism would give the user the ability to rotate the face of the watch downward, revealing a solid metal case back. If players opted to do this prior to a match, the brittle glass would be shielded from mallet strikes or any unintended impacts that would otherwise damage the timepiece.
Enter the Modern Reverso
Over the years the Reverso has underwent various iterations from the sports watch it was originally intended to be. The Reverso has transition from a “sports oriented” watch to what is by today’s standards considered a formal wear watch. Especially true to this new standard of watch is the Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso Duoface. Released in 1994, it was the company’s first attempt at combining two watch faces on the Reverso platform, both faces sharing a common movement. While two watch faces may not seem momentous, the significance of the movement is that the rear face’s hour hand can be adjusted independent of the front face time, because what good would two faces be if they told the same time and were only aesthetically different. The rear face time is adjustable in 1 hour intervals via a lever mechanism at the top of the case, which is only visible with the watch slid out. This functionality allows you to have standard time on the front while a secondary time zone is displayed on the back, making it an ideal travel watch. Flying from New York to California? Perfect, have the front face set to EST and the back set to PST and then upon your arrival just flip the watch.
Since the conception of the Reverso Duoface in 1994, the lineup has expanded slightly beyond the original time only watch; offering pieces with additional complications to suite a wider array of consumers. That being said, the original intent of the Duoface watch (having two semi-independent faces) remains consistent within the collections. The current Duoface offerings in the JLC lineup are as follows and are covered in more detail below:
Classic Duoface Small Seconds
Tribute Duoface Small Seconds
Tribute Duoface Moonphase
Tribute Duoface Calendar
Tribute Duoface Tourbillion
Reverso Classic Duoface Small Seconds
The Reverso Classic Duoface Small Seconds is offered in two size variants, a 42.9mm X 25.5mm standard variant and a larger 47mm X 28.3mm variant. All watches feature the JLC Calibre 854A/2 movement which uniquely splits it’s functions between the front and back face. The front dial features hours and minutes on center with small seconds at the 6 O’clock sub-dial. The back dial features a second adjustable time with hours and minutes on center in addition to a 24 hour indicator in the 6 O’clock sub-dial. As with all Reverso Duoface watches, the back dial hour hand is adjustable via the lever arm on the top of the movement, visible when the watch is flipped outward from the case. These pieces are offered in mainly stainless steel with one gold variant and start at $9350 topping out at $22800.
Specifications:
Case Materials: Stainless Steel & Pink Gold
Case Sizes: 42.9 X 25.5mm & 47 X 28.3mm
Water Resistance: 3 bar
Movement: Manual Wind Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 854A/2
Frequency: 21600 Vph
Components: 160
Power Reserve: 42 Hours
Front Dial Functions:
Hour - Minute, Seconds
Back Dial Functions:
Second time-zone, 24-hour display
Price Range: $9350 to $22800
Models:
Reverso Tribute Duoface Small Seconds
The Reverso Tribute Duoface Small Seconds is very similar to the offering above with the exception of a few aesthetic differences in the design. The Tribute Duoface still utilizes the same JLC Calibre 854A/2 movement which on the front face offers time on center with a small seconds sub-dial at 6 O’clock and on the back face the secondary adjustable time with a 24 hour indicator at the 6 O’clock sub-dial. Aesthetic differences include the Tribute’s use of hour and second indices without numerals unlike those seen on the Reverso Classic, a circular 6 O’clock sub-dial rather than square, and a chapter ring that is outboard on the case perimeter rather than inboard the numerals as it is on the Classic. Design difference continue on the back face as hour indices are placed inside of the circular clock rather than outboard, the 6 O’clock sub-dial becomes slightly more invasive to the main clock, the hand design changes slightly, and the verbiage at the bottom switches from “Travel Time” to “ Night Day”. These pieces are only offered in the larger size of 47mm X 28.3mm in both stainless steel and gold variants for a price ranging from $11600 to $24300.
Specifications:
Case Materials: Stainless Steel & Pink Gold
Case Size: 47 X 28.3mm
Water Resistance: 3 bar
Movement: Manual wind Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 854A/2
Frequency: 21600 Vph
Components: 160
Power Reserve: 42 Hours
Front Functions: Hour - Minute, Seconds
Back functions: Second time-zone, 24-hour display
Price Range: $11600 to $24300
Models:
Tribute Duoface Moon
The Reverso Duoface Moon is conceptually similar to the rest of the Duoface lineup, however this piece gets a change of complications on both the front and back face. On the front face the JLC Calibre 853A features time in hours and minutes only on center, a date display at the 6 O’clock sub-dial with a moon phase indicator on the 2nd register. The back face still features the adjustable 2nd time, in addition to a day/night indicator at the 6 O’clock sub-dial. The styling on this piece follows the more streamline design of the Tribute series rather than the Classic, incorporating many of the difference discussed above. While this piece is aesthetically similar, it does have a larger case size of 49.4mm X 29.9mm and is offered in stainless steel for a price of $14400.
Specifications:
Case Material: Stainless Steel
Case Size: 49.4 X 29.9mm
Water Resistance: 3 bar
Movement: Manual wind Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 853A
Frequency: 21600 Vph
Components: 223
Power Reserve: 42 Hours
Front Dial Functions: Date, Hour - Minute, Moon phases
Back Dial Functions: Second time-zone, Day/Night indicator
Price: $14400
Models:
Tribute Duoface Calendar
The Reverso Tribute Duoface Calendar is very similar to the Duoface Moonphase above; however, it is a slightly more premium offering coming in gold and featuring an additional complication, adding to the overall complexity of the piece. The movement within the watch is similar to the Calibre 853A used in the Moonphase and rightfully so as the movement in this piece is named the JLC Calibre 853. This movement features hours and minutes on center, date and moonphase at the 6 O’clock sub-dial, and the addition of a day/month register at the 12 O’clock position all on the front face. On the back face this watch shares the same complications as the Duoface Moonphase, having a second adjustable time and a day/night indicator at the 6 O’clock sub-dial. This piece is offered in a 49.4mm X 29.9mm case size and comes in gold, starting at a whopping $27300.
Specifications:
Case Material: Pink Gold
Case Size: 49.4 X 29.9mm
Water Resistance: 3 bar
Movement: Manual Wind Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 853
Frequency: 21600 Vph
Components: 280
Power Reserve: 42 Hours
Front Dial Functions: Date, Hour - Minute, Day, Month, Moon phases
Back Dial Functions: Second time-zone, Day/Night indicator
Price: $27300
Models:
Tribute Duoface Tourbillion
The Reverso Tribute Duoface Tourbillion is a rather unique offering within the Reverso lineup. This piece utilizes the JLC Calibre 847 movement, which on the front face features hours and minutes on center with a seconds tourbillion cage at the 6 O’clock position. Moving to the back face, complications include the second adjustable time on center, a day/night indicator at the one O’clock position, and the tourbillion cage that is visible through the back. With regards to styling, the front face is inherently consistent with the rest of the Tribute series. However, the back face features a slight deviation, featuring a partially open worked dial, exposing a few gears hidden behind the beautifully perlage finished bridges of the watch. The only true face that is shown on the back of the piece is the circular section where the hour and minute hands track, the rest is there to remind you that this is no ordinary Reverso. The case size on this piece is a slightly smaller 45.5mm X 27.4mm and is offered only in Platinum. Pricing on this one is so high that JLC asks that you inquire for it.
Specifications:
Case Material: Platinum
Case Size: 45.5 X 27.4mm , Thickness : 9.15mm
Water Resistance: 3 bar
Movement: Manual Wind Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 847
Frequency: 21600 Vph
Components: 254
Power Reserve: 38 Hours
Front Dial Functions: Hour - Minute, Seconds, Tourbillon
Back Dial Functions: Second time-zone, Day/Night indicator
Price: On Request
Models:
What do you think of the JLC Reverso Duoface? Can you think of a better travel watch that has such a deep rooted history?