Jaeger-LeCoultre

Reverso Tribute (Silver grained Dial)

Name: Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute (Silver grained Dial)
Brand: Jaeger-LeCoultre
SKU: Q3912420
Availability: InStock

Ref. Q3912420

On request

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Case49.7 x 29.9mm 18k rose gold

DialSilver grained, applied markers

MovementManual winding

StrapLeather

PapersBox

The Reverso was invented in 1931 so polo players could flip their dial away from the ball, and its Art Deco case has never needed a redesign. It is the rectangle by which all others are judged.

A Reverso Tribute in 49.7 x 29.9mm 18k rose gold, silver grained, applied markers on the wrist. Manual winding movement inside.

Fun fact: The Reverso case was patented in 1931 so British officers could flip the dial away from a polo mallet. The blank back became a canvas: Jaeger-LeCoultre still engraves and enamels them to order.

The 1931 case, hand wound and slim

ReferenceQ3978430, Reverso Tribute Monoface Small Seconds in stainless steel

Case45.6 by 27.4mm stainless steel, swivelling in a cradle, measured on the piece

MovementManual calibre 822/2, 21,600 vph, 42 hour power reserve as stated for this reference

IntroducedReverso from 1931. Production dates for this reference are given on the record card for the individual watch

Why this one matters

The Reverso was drawn for polo, played in British India, where watch crystals did not survive the game. Cesar de Trey took the problem back to Europe and the reversing case was patented in 1931, to a design by Rene-Alfred Chauvot. The watch slides in its cradle and flips, presenting a blank metal back to the ball and a plain surface for an engraving.

It was near dormant through the 1960s and 1970s, revived from 1972 after the Italian distributor found unused case stock, and back in full production in the early 1980s. The Tribute name goes back to the 2011 anniversary pieces and became a collection of its own when the Reverso range was reorganised in 2016. It sits above the Reverso Classic and below the Duoface and the complicated Tributes.

The movement

Calibre 822/2 is Jaeger-LeCoultre's hand wound rectangular movement with small seconds, running at 21,600 vph with a stated power reserve of 42 hours. It is shaped to fill the case rather than dropped into a round opening, which is part of why the watch stays thin. This reference has a solid metal reverse rather than a display back, so the daily wind is the only contact you have with it.

On the wrist

Rectangular sizes do not translate. At 27.4mm across, this reads smaller than a 40mm round watch, and the 45.6mm length runs with the arm rather than across it. It slides under a shirt cuff without a bulge. Thirty metres of water resistance means hand washing, not swimming, and a leather strap in Gulf summer is a consumable.

Questions we are asked about this reference

Why is there no sapphire back?

This reference keeps the original arrangement, a solid metal reverse, which is what the case was designed around and what people engrave. Other watches in the Tribute line, such as the Duoface, use the reverse for a second dial. This one keeps it solid.

Does 45.6mm mean it wears large?

No. That is the length. The 27.4mm width is what the eye reads, and the case lies along the forearm rather than across it. Many smaller wrists take it more easily than a 40mm round watch.

Manual or automatic?

Calibre 822/2 is hand wound. In a case this thin that is a design decision rather than a saving, since an automatic adds a rotor and height. Plan on winding it each morning.

Reverso

A 1931 rectangle on a case that flips over by hand.

The Reverso arrived in 1931, patented by René-Alfred Chauvot and made for LeCoultre, with a case that slides and flips in its carrier so, as the story goes, polo players could turn the glass out of harm's way. The Art Deco shape survived a long quiet spell and a revival, and the case is still a rectangle with three gadroons top and bottom. The family runs from time only pieces to Duoface models carrying a second dial on the back.

flip case in its carrier

three gadroons top and bottom

Art Deco rectangular case

blank reverse on plainer models

Sizes in the family

roughly 34mm to 51mm long, 20mm to 31mm wide

Who it suits

For the buyer who wants a rectangular dress watch with real mechanism to it, and a plain back worth engraving.

See every Reverso we have