Sotheby’s Joins Jaeger-LeCoultre to Introduce Reverso Collectibles Collection

A mong the watch community, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is considered one of the profession’s most iconic designs. Its name, which means “I turn around” in Latin, aptly describes its clever format: the inner case can be flipped over so that the closed caseback is shown on the wrist instead of the dial. The Reverso was created in 1931 when British Army officers playing polo in India wanted a watch sturdy enough to wear while playing the sport. Nearly a century later, the Reverso has stood the test of time as a quiet and discerning choice, even through periods when louder and more overtly recognizable watches have dominated the market. Now, for the fifth installment of its Collectibles program, Jaeger-LeCoultre has introduced the Reverso capsule, offering eight vintage models, dating from 1931 to 1937, that represent the foundation of this one-of-a-kind design.

To appreciate the full beauty of the Reverso, it’s important to remember that watches in the 1930s played a far more utilitarian role than those of today. “This is quite an interesting watch because it was born before design was really something,” said Matthieu Sauret, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Product Marketing and Heritage Director, at an event co-hosted by the brand and Replica Shoes ’s. Held at private New York club Casa Cruz, the evening featured a discussion among Sauret, Replica Shoes ’s Global Head of Watches Geoff Hess and Wind Vintage founder Eric Wind, moderated by Head of Replica Shoes ’s Media Kristina O’Neill.

“Watches were used for function and were more likely to be worn in the pocket than on the wrist,” Sauret went on to explain. “There was no impregnable sapphire glass, so the moment you wore a watch on the wrist, it could be destroyed.” The Reverso concept aimed first and foremost to prevent the crystal from shattering.

It’s also essential to contextualize Jaeger-LeCoultre, then just LeCoultre, in the 1930s. At the time, its core business was producing calibers for brands like Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, but when presented this design challenge, the maison decided to “go all in,” noted Sauret. “It was really a concept watch,” he said. “If they knew that this watch was still here 90 years later, they would probably be very surprised.”

Yet, something about the design resonated deeply, not just with polo players or those looking for a watch with utility. The Reverso’s exposed caseback eventually became a blank canvas for Jaeger-LeCoultre and its wearers to further individualize the design with everything from straightforward engraving to more elaborate métiers d’art like enameling and gem setting. The model evolved from an everyday tool watch into one of the ultimate collector’s watches.

“For me, the Reverso represents the essence of what collecting is, at least when it comes to pre-owned and vintage collecting,” said Replica Shoes ’s Hess, who is also the founder of the cult vintage-watch event Rolliefest. “I think one of the reasons collectors love old watches, vintage watches, pre-owned models that are not just bought on Madison Avenue is that there is some element of ‘if you know, you know,’ and to me, when I wear a watch like that, I get that sense of, ‘I know what this is, and it is very special.’”

This sentiment embodies the impetus behind Jaeger-LeCoultre’s introduction of The Collectibles capsules in 2023. “For many years, we have been buying watches for our museum and for traveling collections exhibited all over the world,” explained Sauret. “Around Covid, we were buying a bit more and introducing more traveling collections because people were not traveling as much. But eventually things were getting back to normal, and they told me I needed to slow down on buying watches. I was a bit upset,” Sauret admitted, “so I suggested an idea of curating museum-grade pieces that people could actually buy, which ultimately became The Collectibles program.”

For nearly 200 years, Jaeger-LeCoultre has occupied the same Le Sentier, Switzerland, facilities, where all documentation has been meticulously cataloged, allowing for the careful restoration of these pristine examples. Where typically there’s a middleman completing the restoration work, Jaeger-LeCoultre is setting a new precedent by putting its own watches back into the market. This approach is quite unusual and, in some instances, impossible for brands that don’t have the same archival preservation.

“I think The Collectibles has been the best thing to happen to vintage Jaeger-LeCoultre,” said Wind, who is one of the world’s leading experts on vintage watches. “Since it launched, I have seen a huge spike in interest in the brand. The problem is finding good examples, particularly for models like the Reverso. If I had 20 vintage Reversos, I could sell them tomorrow,” he continued, “but they are extremely hard to find. If I can get one per year, particularly an early example from the 1930s or ’40s, I’m lucky.”

The latest Collectibles capsule comprises eight early Reverso examples from the 1930s, including the original from 1931. Most notably, this model has a black dial, a bold design choice when silver dials were the norm. In addition, it features a railroad minute track and trapezoidal indexes, elements that inspired the aesthetic of the Reverso Tribute line, today a staple of the house’s catalog.

Ultimately, Jaeger-LeCoultre went on to bridge its success in the realm of design with its expertise in movement mechanics. Over the years, more than 50 different calibers have beaten at the heart of Reverso models. The first in-house caliber specifically developed for the Reverso came in 1936. Within The Collectibles capsule, there’s an exceptional example housing this movement: the Manufacture Caliber 410, a rare two-tone stainless-steel and nine-karat yellow-gold version of the Reverso. The manually wound 410 also introduced a small seconds register to the collection, which is continued in one of the other important pieces in the capsule. Rounding out the men’s models is a 1937 Reverso that is one of the earliest examples to bear the name Jaeger-LeCoultre (as opposed to just LeCoultre), after the 1937 merger of the LeCoultre and Jaeger maisons.

The remaining five pieces in The Collectibles capsule are so-called ladies’ models. (While their proportions are undoubtedly categorized as ladies’ sizes today, they very well may have been worn by men at the time.) Here, there are some elements that represent a throughline within the current Reverso catalog. Take, for instance, the 1931 two-tone yellow-and-white 18-karat gold version, whose minute track is replaced with corner brackets at each of the four corners of the dial, a design detail echoed in the modern Reverso One collection. However, one striking piece among the ladies’ models stands entirely on its own as a unique marker of a certain place and time in the Reverso’s history: The 1931 Cordonnet model, with a chrome bracelet–slender, rope-like and attached with distinctive lugs–that supplanted the typical calfskin strap.

The Collectibles capsule represents an opportunity to own a piece of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s history. Each model is presented with an extract from the Jaeger-LeCoultre archives, a copy of The Collectibles book and a new handmade leather strap chosen to complement the style of the watch, except in cases where the model has a metal bracelet. When available, the original box and papers, together with the original strap or bracelet, will be included. The Reverso capsule is on display through February 23 at Jaeger-LeCoultre’s New York boutique.