The Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 Red shows a specific red dial.
One of the neat features is that only the word “Reverso” is printed on the dial and not the name of the manufacture, like on the vintage version and on the standard Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin that was first released in 2011.
The hour markers are applied markers, like on the vintage version, however the hour markers at 12 and 6 are different. The 12 o’clock marker are two stick markers and at 6 one can see the same single stick marker like on all other hours.
This special edition was available exclusively at the JLC boutique in Milan.
It is in mint condition and full set.
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The Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 Red shows a specific red dial.
One of the neat features is that only the word “Reverso” is printed on the dial and not the name of the manufacture, like on the vintage version and on the standard Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin that was first released in 2011.
The hour markers are applied markers, like on the vintage version, however the hour markers at 12 and 6 are different. The 12 o’clock marker are two stick markers and at 6 one can see the same single stick marker like on all other hours.
This special edition was available exclusively at the JLC boutique in Milan.
It is in mint condition and full set.
In 1931, René-Alfred Chauvot officially patented his invention of a “wristwatch which can slide on its base and flip over on itself”. The Reverso watch was born. It all started during the winter of 1930-1931. While travelling in India, the Swiss businessman and watch collector César de Trey attended a polo match at a club of British army officers. One of these officers challenged de Trey to create a watch model robust enough to resist to a polo match. César de Trey discussed the idea with Jacques-David LeCoultre, the then owner of the LeCoultre manufacture, who could provide the movements for the new watch. LeCoultre appointed the firm Jaeger S.A. for the creation of the reversible case, which in turn contracted the French designer René-Alfred Chauvot, the actual inventor of the unique slide and flip mechanism. The result was an elegant watch with a dial that could flip, protecting it from shocks while offering a case back with a generous surface that could be used for personalisation. The original Reverso case was 38 mm long x 24 mm large. The dial of the original model featured only hours and minutes hands. Then in 1934, LeCoultre introduced a version with small seconds counter at six o’clock.
In 1937 Jaeger S.A. and LeCoultre merged officially becoming Jaeger-LeCoultre. Representing an elegant and sophisticated response to a technical challenge, the Reverso established itself as a great Art Deco classic constantly inspiring the watchmakers, artists and inventors of the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre to reinterpret the back of the watch.
Unfortunately, after World War II, with the mode switching to round watches, the symbol of the Art Deco was somehow disregarded compared to previous years. In the late 60s, the invasion of Japanese quartz watches put mechanical watches on the back burner for a while.
Luckily, an Italian watch dealer noticed some unused Reverso cases at the Manufacture during a visit in 1972. He bought all of the remaining stock (200 empty cases), had movements installed and sold them all in Italy. Confident that Reverso’s re-launch would be a success, he convinced the brand to use only mechanical movements in its models.
Finally, in 1982 the Reverso was revived in a line of watches that housed mostly quartz movements. In 1985, Jaeger-LeCoultre presented the first-ever water-resistant Reverso case. This required a complete makeover to offer unprecedented wearing comfort and guarantee total security in pivoting.
In 1991, the Reverso 60ème launched the era of limited editions of Reverso models with complications. Framed by a large-size 18 ct pink gold case, the solid silver guilloché dial conceals a hand-wound Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 824 with a power-reserve and date hand. Other 500-piece limited editions soon followed: a tourbillon in 1993, a minute repeater in 1994, a retrograde chronograph in 1996, a dual time zone in 1998 and a perpetual calendar in the year 2000.
Since then, many variations of materials, dimensions, complications and dials have been commercialized by the brand, through standard production or limited series.
The Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 was launched in 2011, for the 80th anniversary of the Reverso.
In 1833, Antoine LeCoultre set up a small workshop in the Vallée de Joux to create high precision watches. In 1903, Edmond Jaeger, a French renowned watchmaker challenged Swiss watchmakers to produce an ultra-thin movement of his own design. The LeCoultre family took up the challenge and this marked the beginning of the alliance leading to the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand. The company’s history is very rich, but if there was only one year to remember, it would be 1931, which marked a major milestone in the history of JLC: the birth of the Reverso, a watch conceived to withstand polo matches!
The purpose of this document is to determine whether the constituent parts of the watch are conform to the model reference /period or not, and to value their condition and importance.
All the watches are provided with a digital certificate (the Watchfid-ID), that will be uploaded on your protected and anonymous digital wallet.
This document presents each watch in the most objective and detailed manner possible, thanks to a substantiated analysis, high-resolution photos designed to highlight all elements of the watch and an innovative rating system. Available in printed and digital versions.
On request and when available, an extract of the archives from the manufacturer can be obtained.
