Reverso Gyrotourbillon 2

The Reverso was created in 1931 by René-Alfred Chauvot for polo players who needed a watch that could survive the impact of mallets and balls. The solution was elegant: a case that swivels within its cradle to present either the dial or a solid metal back. What began as a practical sports watch became one of the most distinctive case designs in watchmaking and Jaeger-LeCoultre's most recognised model. The reversible case has since been used as a canvas for enamel art, dual time zones, and even triple-calendar complications on the hidden face. No other watch case design has proven so versatile over so long a period — ninety years and the Reverso remains as relevant as the day it was drawn.

The second version of the Gyrotourbillon is distinguished by an essential organ: the presence of a cylinder-shaped balance-spring with end curves. This component was invented by English watchmaker John Arnold, who had it patented in 1782. Due to the complexity involved in its production and the difficulties implied by attempts to miniaturise it, this ingenious discovery which guarantees a regular and perfectly isochronous development of the balance-spring was reserved exclusively for marine chronometers and a few generously sized pocket-watches. Innovative watchmakers chafed at this regrettable situation, since its rating characteristics are unanimously considered to be infinitely better than those of a flat balance-spring. The engineers and watchmakers of the Manufacture proved able to grasp the opportunity represented by the spherical tourbillon and to present a cylindrical balance-spring nestling at the heart of a wristwatch. Combined with the specific advantages of the spherical tourbillon, this innovation represents a breakthrough in the field of accuracy and paves the way for a level of rating precision that is simply unprecedented on a timepiece designed to follow its wearer’s arm movements.