Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso watches

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is a rectangular Art Deco watch whose case swivels in its carrier so the dial and crystal can be turned to face the wrist. It was created in 1931 after polo players asked the watch dealer César de Trey for a watch that could survive their sport; de Trey took the problem to Jacques-David LeCoultre, and the French engineer René-Alfred Chauvot designed the reversible case, patented on 4 March 1931. The name comes from the Latin for "turn around".

The design was revived in stages. Jaeger-LeCoultre brought the Reverso back as a quartz ladies' watch in 1975. Its engineer Daniel Wild redesigned the case from 1981, and the new case appeared four years later; it is now known as the Reverso Classique. The 1994 Duoface was the first Reverso with a dial on each side showing two different times. The square-cased Squadra followed in 2006 for the 75th anniversary, the year Jaeger-LeCoultre also made the Reverso Grande Complication à Triptyque, with three dials driven by one movement. The Gyrotourbillon 2 arrived in 2008.

The Reverso Classic comes in Small, Medium and Large sizes, alongside the older Reverso Classique and Grande Taille, the Grande Reverso Ultra Thin and Lady Ultra Thin, the Duetto, the Reverso One and the Tribute. Sizes run from the 18 mm Reverso One Jewellery to the 37.7 mm Triptyque. Steel and pink gold are the usual cases, with white gold, steel and gold, and platinum versions, and a silver dial is the classic look. Quartz versions exist of the Classic Small and Medium Thin, the Classique, the Lady and the Lady Ultra Thin. Limited runs range from the Reverso à Eclipse Van Gogh Sunflowers, made in 5 pieces, to 190 pieces of a Tribute Duoface Fagliano.