The latest creation from the house of Jaeger-LeCoultre is a tribute to the Reverso as well as their Minute Repeater models. It was 90 years ago that the first Reverso was created, and 150 years ago when the Minute Repeater was born. Jaeger-LeCoultre brings these two historic models together with the Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater and will offer it as a limited edition piece with a total of 10 pieces being made.
The Reverso model is an iconic timepiece not just for Jaeger-LeCoultre, but also for watch lovers everywhere. The swivelling case along with its Art Deco lines, the Reverso is a culmination of the Manufacture’s endless pursuit for technical advancement. The rebirth of mechanical watchmaking in the 1990s saw Jaeger-LeCoultre bring back the Reverso. This ignited a desire within the Manufacture to push the boundaries of mechanical watchmaking and the Reverso with its rectangular-shaped case became the vessel in which a new chiming mechanism would be created.
Historically chiming mechanisms were left to round-shaped cases, but having mastered the creation of rectangular timepieces, Jaeger-LeCoultre saw this as a challenge to re-invent the wheel. In 1994, Jaeger-LeCoultre presented the first chiming watch within a rectangular case; the Reverso Répétition Minutes. Since this creation, the engineers and designers at the Manufacture have pursued the art of redefining the benchmark of acoustic quality in their chiming watches.
Design:
This latest timepiece, the Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater, features dials of a different character on both sides. The front dial of the watch is entirely skeletonised, which displays just how complex the minute repeater is. When the minute repeater is activated we can see the mesmerizing display of the different moving parts. Some of the components themselves appear to be floating, especially beneath the large bow-shaped bridge which sweeps from 11 o’clock to 7 o’clock. The faceted hour indexes are cantilevered from the chemin de fer minutes track, which gives and enhances the perception of visual depth and transparency. On the front dial side, the hour markers, the bridge, gongs, and several other components are finished in gold, which matches very nicely with the pink gold case of the timepiece.
The reverse side of the Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater is a bit more subdued in design. The reverse side features Vertical Côtes de Genève stripes that extend over the entire height of the main plate. The counterpart to the front dial side, the reverse side features golden hands and hour markers along with more subtle colour variation with blue screws, all set against the silver-toned backdrop of the metal.
This contrasts quite well against the pink gold case, which also provides two different aesthetic appearances with the different dials.
Movement:
The movement powering the Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater is Jaeger-LeCoultre’s in-house Caliber 944. This movement includes technical feats achieved by Jaeger-LeCoultre which include the patented trebuchet hammers, silent regulator, and the new generation of gongs. This hand-wound movement has a frequency of 21, 600 VpH and puts out a power reserve of approximately 35 hours.
Always looking to push the boundaries of technical prowess and visual expression, Jaeger-LeCoultre has once again proved that they are at the top of this game with the latest masterpiece in the Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater.
