Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso GMT Duoface Special Edition

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso combines utility with a sleek and elegant Art Deco exterior that has become an icon of design. Along with the Cartier Tank, the Reverso’s rectangular case is perhaps the most distinctive silhouette in horology. While at first glance it appears like the ultimate dress watch for the discerning gentleman of fashion, to be cosseted and cherished like most dress watches, in the case of the Reverso, looks deceive.

While touring India in the early 1930s, Swiss businessman César de Trey met a British polo player who'd just cracked the crystal of his watch on the field. De Trey returned to Switzerland with an idea already taken root in his head, which he then discussed with Jacques-David LeCoultre: what if he made a watch with a case that could reverse? LeCoultre mulled over the question, discussing it with his head designer, Alfred Chauvot.

Chauvot devised the Reverso as an elegant solution to the problems polo players faced on the field. Once reversed, the delicate components of the Reverso’s case were protected from the shocks sustained while on horseback. No more would polo players crack the crystals or damage the dials of their watches.

The Reverso was patented in March 1931, and it soon became a fashionable alternative to the round-cased watches that dominated brands’ catalogs. Among famous Reverso wearers was King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, who had his coat of arms engraved on the case back of his. Amelia Earhart also wore one, and had the itinerary of her first flight engraved on the back of hers.

But with changing tastes in the 1960s—for round watches as well as quartz movements later in the decade—the Reverso fell out of fashion, and JLC discontinued it. The model would lay dormant for twenty years, until its triumphant re-issue in 1982. While those watches contained quartz movements, their success represented a future for the Reverso—both quartz and mechanical.

The Reverso made its triumphant return in 1991. While retaining the classic silhouette of the original 1931 Reverso—with its Art Deco striping on the front—the new model of Reverso increased the case size slightly to suit modern tastes. But the dial was still crisp, clean, and uncluttered, with large, legible numerals and a rectangular sub-seconds dial at 6 o'clock, which was first featured on the watch in 1934.

Many variations followed, including this version—the GMT Duoface Special Edition—in 2004.

JLC had experimented with adding complications to the Reverso since the 1990s, adding a tourbillion and even a minute repeater, but the addition of a GMT function makes the Reverso ideal for the gentleman on the go.

This particular Grande Reverso GMT is a Special Edition, with the second dial being white rather than the usual black most commonly found in this Reference.

This combination of new innovations and a time-honored appearance makes the Reverso hard to deny, and a GMT function makes it a watch you’d seldom want to take off your wrist. Even Bruce Wayne wore a Reverso in Batman Begins. If the Dark Knight wears one when he isn't saving Gotham, then imagine how amazing it would look on your wrist.    

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