Dressed to the Nines: Jaeger-LeCoultre Clads Reverso Tribute Chronograph in Gold
Right in time for the festive season, Jaeger-LeCoultre delights with an all-gold edition of its Reverse Tribute Chronograph. First introduced at last year's Watches and Wonders in pink gold case and stainless steel, the latest addition is entirely crafted from pink gold, including the dial with its applied indexes and the movement bridges. With its warm hue, the precious metal gives the Art-déco icon an awesome appeal.
Born in 1931 with a uniquely reversible case to protect its dial during the rigors of polo matches, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso swiftly became a symbol of refined, versatile elegance. Over more than nine decades, this legendary watch has evolved, its case crafted in materials from stainless steel to the most precious metals, while its signature flip side has been adorned with personalized engravings, lacquers, enamels, gemstones, or even transformed into a second dial. A masterpiece that continually redefines itself while preserving its essence, the Reverso stands today as a quintessential icon of 20th-century design.
The new Reverso Tribute Chronograph honours the Reverso Chronograph from 1996, which introduced an entirely new architecture for the integrated chronograph caliber. That earlier movement has been reinvented with the Caliber 860, which displays the time on both the front and reverse dials in addition to revealing the beautifully crafted chronograph mechanism on the reverse side. It displays the pink gold bridges with hand-beveled edges and vertical Côtes de Genève decoration that sit beneath the open-worked dial layout. The technical highlight, the column-wheel, is also on full display. The counters, chronograph seconds and minute tracks are highlighted in black to enhance the legibility and create a fine contrast. The same rings true for the blued chronograph hands and screws that add a dash of color. The polished pink gold indexes are invisibly attached to the minute track and appear to float above the movement.
Beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour, the self-winding chronograph caliber boasts a column-wheel with a horizontal clutch, which was chosen over the more familiar vertical clutch to reduce the overall thickness of the movement. To display hours and minutes on both the front and reverse dial, the notably thin Caliber 860 powers two sets of hands that move in opposite directions to indicate the time in correct clockwise fashion on both faces of the watch. Despite the retrograde minute counter which requires much more energy than a regular indication, the caliber has a power reserve of 52 hours.
While the chronograph side brings the beauty of sophisticated decorations to the fore, the dial celebrates refined minimalism at its best. It introduces a new finish to the Reverso Tribute line: the pink gold surface has been laser-engraved with fine horizontal lines spanning the width of the dial – a clean, elegant and contemporary aesthetic that reinforces the straightforward geometry of the Reverso case and amplifies the three horizontal gadroons above and below the dial. Set against this background are the signature Reverso Tribute design details: applied trapezoid indexes, Dauphine hands and a chemin de fer minutes track, here in black, to create a contrast.
The new Reverso Tribute Chronograph is available on a tan calf-leather strap designed by the Buenos Aires atelier of the celebrated Argentinian polo boot maker Casa Fagliano, or a black alligator strap. Limited to 250 pieces, the edition is priced at $66,000.
To learn more, visit Jaeger-LeCoultre, here.
