In early March 1931, the Paris patent office received an application to register "a watch capable of sliding in its support and being completely turned over".
The idea of a flippable case came from Swiss businessman César de Trey, after a British army officer and polo player in India asked him to find a way to protect his watch during matches.
René-Alfred Chauvot was tasked to design a robust case, and de Trey registered the name Reverso in November of the same year.
His partnership with Jacques-David LeCoultre led to the production of the Art Deco style Reverso, which became one the world's most recognisable wristwatches.
In collaboration with publisher Assouline, Jaeger-LeCoultre has launched the richly illustrated book Reverso, which traces its 90 years of history through archive images and original photography, together with evocative text by noted author, historian, journalist and horological specialist Nicholas Foulkes.
Published by Assouline, the richly illustrated Reverso traces the story of Jaeger-LeCoultre's classic timepiece.
The original Reverso featured a black face with contrasting indexes, which was referred to as "the dial of the future". Back then coloured dials were unconventional, and the Reverso also stood out in bright red, chocolate brown, burgundy or blue lacquer.
Variations included smaller feminine models that could be worn on a cordonnet bracelet or transformed into pendants or handbag clips.
Based on the mathematical Golden Ratio, the proportions of the original rectangular case were crucial to the success of Chauvot's design, whose core elements included horizontal gadroons and triangular lugs.
The reversible case fitted so perfectly into its carrier that, at first glance, there was no evidence that it could be flipped over.
While its blank metal flip side had begun as a purely functional solution to avoid damage to the dial, it was an ideal surface for personalisation with monograms, emblems or personal messages using lacquer, engraving or enamel.
A Reverso decorated with the emblem of the British Racing Drivers Club from 1937.
Among the 1930s models from the Jaeger-LeCoultre's museum collection is a Reverso decorated with the emblem of the British Racing Drivers Club, and a Reverso that commemorates the record-setting flight from Mexico City to New York by female aviator Amelia Earhart in 1935.
Throughout its 90-year history, the Reverso has had its ups and downs.
Its launch was an immediate success, but the swivelling timepiece waned after World War II, and it was almost forgotten during the Quartz Crisis, following the introduction of watches with the Japanese technology.
The turning point was when the brand's Italian distributor fitted the last remaining 200 Reverso cases with mechanical movements, and they were all sold within a month.
Following its comeback in the mid 1970s, the Reverso was redesigned to modern technical standards while maintaining its Art Deco aesthetic.
In 1985, Jaeger-LeCoultre unveiled a new case with a modified carrier and lug attachments as well as an upgraded flip-over mechanism. It comprised 55 parts, rather than the 23 of the original.
Reverso Grande Complication à Triptyque.
Along with the revival of mechanical watches, the Reverso featuring various complications with rectangular movements was introduced in the 1990s.
Since the turn of the 21st century, the Swiss maison has created even more innovative models, ranging from Reverso Grande Complication à Triptyque with 18 functions, Reverso Gyrotourbillon featuring a unique bi-axial flying tourbillon, and Reverso Répétition Minutes à Rideau, whose chiming mechanism is activated by the movement of a pair of theatre-style curtains as they reveal and conceal the dial.
Through the nine decades, the Reverso has housed more than 50 different calibres, while its blank metal flip side has become a canvas for artistic expression.
Due to changing tastes, ornamentation on watches was rejected from the mid-20th century, which led to the dying of traditional artistic crafts such as enamelling, miniature painting and guillochage. Fortunately, the renewed interest in mechanical watches led to the resurgence of these crafts.
In 1996, Jaeger-LeCoultre released timepieces adorned with grand feu enamel. The set of four Reverso watches each bore a reproduced miniature of a work by the Art Nouveau master Alphonse Mucha.
Enamelling then became a signature of the Reverso collection. The enamellers were joined by engravers, gem- setters and guillochage masters, who since 2016 have been executing their crafts at the Atelier des Métiers Rares, in the manufacture located in the village of Le Sentier, in Switzerland's Vallée de Joux.
As well as tracing the history and evolution of the Reverso, the new book explores the social milieu and cultural changes that provided the backdrop to its creation and reinventions, as well as stories of more than a dozen owners, who have personalised their watches in meaningful ways.
