The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso watch has a wonderful storied past. Legend has it that a polo-playing gentleman was upset when his watch was smashed during a particularly intense polo match. Said gentlemen then asked a friend to create a watch that would be able to withstand the physical stress and occasional contact during a match. Thus was born the Reverso — a watch whose dial could reverse with a quick swivel to protect the crystal. The year was 1931, and now more than 9 decades later, the Reverso is still a fantastic watch.

The Golden Ratio
Perhaps the Reverso is so appealing because it adheres to the Golden Ratio, that mythical number that somehow uses mathematical concepts applied to objects. The harmony and beauty seem effortless, but apparently follow a mathematical construct. Think of the innate beauty of a Nautilus shell, for example. Though not exactly symmetrical, the spiral is a thing of beauty. A supermodel’s face that aligns with the Golden Ratio is often used to show the beauty of the, well, beauty.

Though the Reverso watch has had various iterations through the years, the initial design is a constant characteristic. The Reverso is a combination of functionality and style, which required a new way of thinking about watches. Watches were typically round, harkening back to the sundial, the original timepiece. The Reverso though was and is rectangular. It is no simple feat to simply compress the round mechanism to fit into a rectangular case, and you can’t just lob off the errant sections either. A redesign, or a reinvention, of the watch mechanism was needed.

Adding to the feat was having the case swivel while still connected to the frame. A simpler solution could’ve been to just pop out the dial completely and then reinsert it face-down. But the likelihood of the dial popping out during a fast-paced polo match was too high, so the dial still needed to be attached to the watch frame. The slide-and-swivel mechanism is quite complex, with 40 of the 50 components purely for the swiveling move.

Slimmer Silhouette
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Small Seconds has all these design aspects from the original Reverso, and yet it still brings something new to the table, or rather, the wrist. One significant change is the case being even slimmer than it was. Reducing the case by almost a full millimeter brings the Reverso Tribute to a mere 7.56 mm, and yet the watch retains the elegance and sophistication, and yes, still adheres to the Golden Ratio.

The flipside of the dial here remains an open slate for personalization. It can be kept blank, a solid statement, or it can be engraved with something special just for the wearer. Perhaps the first run of the Reverso watches had the polo team logo or mantra.

Dial It Up
Shortly after the 1931 release of the Reverso, Jaeger-LeCoultre began to experiment with variations of color. White or silver dials were expected back then, but Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced dials of other colors. The 2023 Reverso Tribute Small Seconds continues with that successful foray and has four dials to choose from.

Color abounds in these Reverso Tribute Small Seconds models — deeply rich colors. The black sunray dial model (reference no. Steel Q713842J) is an homage to the original 1931 Reverso. The silver sunray dial model (reference no. Q7132521) is very elegant and perhaps easier to read, with hour markers and hands that match the pink gold case. The showstopper here though is the deep burgundy lacquer dial model (reference no. Q713256J), which is a perfect pairing with the pink gold case. The rich color draws you in like never before, and the color is echoed on the straps.

Metal Decision
The three dial versions mentioned earlier each have a pink gold case. Pink gold, sometimes called rose gold, has copper added to the yellow gold to achieve the delicate pink color. The more rich the pink, the more copper in the alloy.

There is a fourth model available, new for 2023, and perhaps this was meant for those who prefer the look of steel (reference no. Steel Q713842J). The silver opaline dial has black nickel hands and indexes, bringing a modern look to the Reverso Tribute.

Mechanical movement
The Reverso Tribute is powered by the Calibre 822. A mechanical movement, as watch-lovers know, has an oscillating rotor that spins as the wearer’s wrist moves. Each time your wrist moves, the rotor spins and the mechanism is given power. The 822 has 108 components, each of which is finely finished and decorated. Though there is no crystal caseback here, you know the watch is just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside.

Back to the Root
Remember the polo-playing gentleman from the start of this article? This Reverso Tribute has well, another tribute in this collection. The straps that accompany the watch are the result of a collaboration with Casa Fagliano, a leather brand known for their exclusive polo and equestrian boots. Legend has it that in 1920, a polo player asked the artisans of Casa Fagliano to repair his polo boots. So impressed with the workmanship, the polo player ordered some new boots too. Thus began that intertwined life of Casa Fagliano and polo. I wonder, is this the same gentleman who commissioned the polo-proof watch over a decade later?

The pink gold models of the Reverso Tribute each have two straps — the signature Fagliano Collection design of calf-leather-and-canvas, and a second all leather strap. For the pink gold models with the black dial and the burgundy dial, the second strap is all-calf-leather. For the pink gold model with the silver dial, the second strap is black alligator leather. The steel model with the silver opaline dial has the Fagliano Collection calf-leather-and-canvas strap.

“The watch retains the elegance and sophistication, and yes, still adheres to the Golden Ratio.”

Looking Forward
With the Reverso’s 100-year milestone coming up, we can only wait with baited breath to see what Jaeger-LeCoultre will bring us next.