Iconic Reverso by Jaeger-LeCoultre

The Reverso watch is unique. Over the years, it has managed to appear in new guises without ever losing its soul. Today, wearing a Reverso from the contemporary collections draws the owner into an exclusive world – that of watchmaking history, but also and above all into the sphere of technical perfection and aesthetic refinement. The Reverso watches presented in the 2012 collection express a vision of time through a triptych offering three entrancing means of savoring each passing hour. The Grande Reverso Blue Enamel provides enameling with a stage worthy of its art, set against a finely guilloché backdrop inviting its owner to have the solid case-back engraved with a personalized motif. The Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin SQ reveals the intricacies of its manually open worked, chased and engraved movement. The Grande Reverso Calendar welcomes a new complication into the movement, escorted by a traditionally crafted guilloché motif. Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin SQ open worked movement: A steel labyrinth; a timepiece with two finely crafted faces. The Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin Squelette lends its dual nature to the ancestral art of open working, thereby serving as the emissary of an artistic and technical expertise mastered by only a very few watch manufacturers. Entirely open worked and decorated by hand, the mechanical movement reveals its wheel-trains fascinatingly interwoven according to a purposefully created design that leaves nothing to chance. The artisan has patiently removed material using the blade of a small saw in order to reduce the mechanism to bare essentials, while nonetheless ensuring its flawless reliability. All the sides have been individually hand-drawn, chamfered, polished, chased and engraved. Blued screws are dotted across this delicate lacework, while the jewels are there as a reminder that this is a first-rate mechanical manually-wound movement, Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 849RSQ. The latter has become a legend because of its exceptional qualities including a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour and an ultra-thin 1.85 mm thickness comprising 128 parts. Its extremely slender architecture calls for exceptional machining precision, while its open working adds to the complexity of the task and represents an impressive accomplishment. In order to honour this exquisitely meticulous work, the white gold dial is framed by finely engraved arabesques, accompanied on the front by a blue-tinted translucent enamel coating echoing the traditional colour of the blued hands. Issued in a 50-piece limited edition, the Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin SQ radiates emblematic Art Deco lines and peerless finesse highlighted by rare forms of craftsmanship inherited from the past and handed down from generation to generation within the Manufacture.