PLEASURE WITH TWO FACES

After celebrating its 85^th anniversary in 2016, the Jaeger-LeCoultre icon has been adorned this year with some new faces and interchangeable straps to set off the Duoface model, available in two sizes.

The are many advantages to wearing a Reverso. To begin with, this is a beautiful watch designed by Jaeger-LeCoultre, well proportioned, finely detailed and transcending time (it has existed for 86 years!). Next, the fact it is reversible means it can be protected, and can be discreet while masking the time, and be used to express words of love engraved on metal or as a medium for artistic creation. What’s more, the back can hide a second dial with an aesthetically different display or a small, useful complication. This is the case with the Reverso Classic Duoface Small Second model, available in medium or large formats, with a second time zone and a day/night indicator on the reverse side.

Made for travellers who want to stay elegant even on the other side of the world, the Reverso Classic Duoface Small Second displays local time and home time on two dials. This is a watch with two different looks, but a single heart. The manual-winding JLC854A calibre drives the hours, minutes and second, on the one hand, and the second time zone and day/night indicator on the other, while providing a power reserve of 42 hours.

The front dial on this Reverso Classic Duoface Small Second is coloured silver, and blends two very different finishes: a vertically brushed pattern for the hour markers, with black Arabic numerals, and a guilloché motif of the honeycomb type with blue broadsword hour and minute hands. The second counter at 6 o’clock has the same decoration.

The reverse watch face, meanwhile, is wrapped in black, with a satin look in the centre, forming a disc where the hours and minutes slip by, embodied by two silver guilloché hands, and with a Clous de Paris pattern adorning the outside. The metal markers are set around the satin disc like the rays of the sun. At 6 o’clock, a circular counter split horizontally in two shows the day/night indicator against a silver or silver-lined black background.

The rectangular steel case on this Jaeger-LeCoultre model is available in two sizes: medium (42.9×25.5mm) or large (47.28.3mm).

Price: 8,350 CHF (Medium) – 8,450 CHF (Large)

By Sharmila Bertin

THE CHANT OF A STAR

In a world saturated with electronic alarms, the poetic watch-maker from the Vallée de Joux has invented a totally mechanical and romantic way to alert you to an appointment.

Make no mistake: all of us are, to varying degrees, the slaves of our smartphones, those almost diabolical objects grafted to our hands and ears that we check hundreds of times a day and that beep away from morning to night. A whole range of sounds for all our different notifications, depending on the number of applications we have installed on the telephone. The result? A flood of alarms, generally with a strident tone, which are not only more and more irritating, but also make us forget the important thing – to alert us to the fact we have an appointment or a message. Jaeger-LeCoultre has taken a stand against this cacophonic trend with the Rendez-Vous Sonatina Large. This watch also has a notification system, but one that is unique, mechanical and poetic.

Using the crown placed at 2 o’clock on the case, the golden star near the chapter ring can be moved to the chosen time. When the time for the appointment arrives, a chime made by a single hammer gently alerts the wearer. The reminder, as well as the hours and day/night indicator, are provided by the JLC 735 calibre. The manual-wind movement made by Jaeger-LeCoultre, with a 40-hour power reserve, is housed in a case with a 38.2mm diameter.

On the silvery opal dial, the sunray-brushed guilloché pattern forms an irregular pleated motif like a paper sunshade. A first disc featuring tiny markings and highlighted with gilded dots contains a trio of blued hands    at its centre – two “broadswords“ for the hours and minutes, and a second hand; on the part below, an eye-shaped opening from 7 to 5 o’clock contains the day/night indicator. The hour rim features large, black Arabic numbers set along a ring decorated with varyingly wavy lines.

The Rendez-Vous Sonatina Large comes in two different versions. The first has a silver dial and pink gold case topped with a jewelled bezel; the second has a blue-violet crystal and guilloché pattern on the face, along with a white gold case, while the bezel, lugs and case are set with diamonds.

Price on request.

By Sharmila Bertin

THE VALLEE DE JOUX COMES TO VENICE.

Jaeger-LeCoultre has put all its mechanical and artistic expertise into supporting an Italian architectural gem.

The Vallée de Joux watchmaker has a close bond to the fabulous Venetian city. It has sponsored the annual Venice Film Festival that began in 1932 for a decade and Jaeger-LeCoultre is a patron of the Scuola Grande di San Rocco whose renovation it is funding. The 16^th century building played host to a congregation of wealthy people to protect the most destitute and combat illness such as the plague. It is now under renovation so to support the restoration of this architectural masterpiece home to an amazing collection of work by Tintoretto (1518-1594) among others, the watch brand has put its incredible artistic expertise into a unique piece: the Reverso Grande Taille Scuola Grande di San Rocco.

Built between 1545 and 1550, the marble staircase taking pride of place in the Scuola di San Rocco (patron saint of pilgrims and protector of man and beast against illness) inspired the stunning miniature artwork on this Reverso. The stone construction is depicted in enamel playing on incredible contrasts and nuances. The artist has used few colours and put all his talent into faithfully reproducing the marble right down to its texture on a small “canvas”. It took over 3 weeks of work, 30-odd drying and 15 firing sessions to bring to life this miniature painting using enamel, a traditional decorative art that Jaeger-LeCoultre is an expert in.

A photo of the Reverso Grande Taille Scuola Grande di San Rocco posted on the watchmaker’s Facebook page in early September raised 15,000 EUR for the building’s renovation. Every time the image got a “Like” for that week, Jaeger-LeCoultre made a donation.

This miniature painting appears on the back of a Reverso Grande Taille yellow gold 42.2x26mm case. The hours and minutes on the dial are fuelled by a manual wind JLC822 mechanical calibre.

Unique piece

By Sharmila Bertin

Introducing the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso à Eclipse Tribute to Vincent van Gogh

Jaeger-LeCoultre has put all its artisan and artistic expertise into the Reverso à Eclipse Tribute to Vincent van Gogh to celebrate the work of the fascinating post-Impressionist painter in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

There are just 4 of this majestic piece available whose dial depicts the famous “Self-Portrait” painted in Paris between 1887 and 1888. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) is portrayed in blue pea jacket with his easel, palette and brush in hand. This enamel miniature can be concealed or revealed when you want. Just turn the small notched wheel at 1 on the platinum case (46.5×29.25mm) and two silver shutters bearing the hour numerals will open to reveal the picture.

The manual wind JLC 849 calibre fuels the 35-hour power reserve and hours and minutes tracked by two black hands on the dial.

Price: 82,700 EUR

By Sharmila Bertin

Introducing the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso in tribute to René Magritte

“To be surrealist is to banish the notion of “déjà vu” and seek out the not yet seen.” The words of Belgian artist René Magritte (1898-1967) are true of his work, especially his famous oil on canvas “The Treachery of Images” (1929). A novice eye would see a pipe, despite the inscription saying “This is not a pipe”, whilst a creative eye would grasp Magritte’s play on the gap between the item and its depiction.

In tribute to the fabulous artist who died almost 50 years ago, Jaeger-LeCoultre has joined forces with Belgium’s famous De Greef jewellers to unveil a limited edition: Reverso in tribute to René Magritte, 15 available.

Flip the watch over to see a black dial with two spear-shape hands fuelled by the manual wind JLC822 calibre whilst the front of the rectangular steel case has a faithful miniature reproduction of “The Treachery of Images.”

Price: 12,450 €

By Sharmila Bertin

The iconic Reverso by Jaeger-LeCoultre may be 85 years old but it doesn’t look it. To celebrate its anniversary, it’s reliving its youth with more streamlined lugs on the rectangular steel case. The Reverso Classic collection has been designed to have something for everyone with three different sizes: Small (34x21mm), Medium (40×24.4mm) and Large (45.6×27.4mm). The time functions are brought to life by two types of movement: quartz for the small model and self-winding mechanical for the other two (965 calibre, 38-hour power reserve). Engine-turned honeycomb lies in the centre of the silver dial surrounded by a black minute track beneath blue baton-shape hands. The decal Arabic numerals display the hours on a vertically brushed surface. Flip it over and the back can be customised with initials, a romantic message or even a picture. Price: 4,300 CHF (Small) – 8,050 CHF (Medium) – 8,500 CHF (Large). Sharmila Bertin

Have you heard of jumping seconds? Maybe not from a technical point of view but you’ve surely seen them in action. A central seconds hand jumps forward every second instead of gliding around the dial. This unique feature, typical of quartz watches, is a feat of mechanical watchmaking and has been around since the 18^th century when watchmakers were looking for a way to measure short time. The chronograph was in its infancy. It was called “beating the second”. Breguet called it “jump seconds”. Jaeger-LeCoultre had the bright idea to bring the function back into fashion with a new name: the true second. Unveiled last year as a limited edition update of a 1958 model, the Geophysic® has now spawned its own collection. The True Second model houses the function fuelled by its self-winding movement in an elegant steel or rose gold case (39.6 mm). Price: 8,650 CHF (steel) – 17,300 CHF (rose gold). Dan Diaconu

The Vallée de Joux watch brand shows how multi-talented it is – a.k.a. Métiers Rares® – on the dial and heart of its iconic Master Ultra Thin. Four different types of handmade skill adorn four timepieces each limited to 100 pieces: skeletonised manual wind 849ASQ calibre, engraved mother-of-pearl or enamelling on the hour rim, gem-set bezel surrounding the 38mm white or rose gold. The movement bringing the leaf-shape hour and minute hands has been delicately openworked and sculpted to create a real mechanical spectacle that you can see both front and back; it also provides a 33-hour power reserve. Depending on the model, the hour rim features a mother-of-pearl strip carved out with a wavy pattern or a layer of enamel under the indices: intense, almost Klein, blue paired with white gold or red-tinged brown cradled by warm rose gold. Price: 57,500 CHF (enamel on rose gold) – 73,500 CHF (mother-of-pearl on diamond white gold)

The moon has fascinated Man since the dawn of time. It affects our mood, influences the nature around us, controls the tide and lights up the night sky with its silvery sparkle when the sun goes down. Aside from its poetic image and power over nature, the moon and its many phases primarily help us tell the time. A white mother-of-pearl moon shines from the lower half of the Rendez-Vous’ dial. A guilloché and midnight blue lacquered sky glides over the moon depending on its phase. Chiselled mother-of-pearl adorns the diamond-rimmed crescent bearing the hour numerals at the top of the dial under a bright star which subtly tells the wearer what time it is. The floral hour and minute hands and moon cycle are brought to life by the self-winding 935 calibre in the diamond-set white gold 36 or 39mm case. Price: 43,300 CHF (Ø36) – 52,500 CHF (Ø39)

Once you’ve understood the components mentioned in this watch’s name, you’ll know what it’s all about. Duomètre: Jaeger-LeCoultre developed a concept called Dual-Wing. It involves separating the two mechanisms (one operating the time functions and the other the complications) to provide optimum precision. Each system is powered by a different cylinder. The concept allows you to reset the small seconds at 6 o’ clock after setting the watch’s time. Sphérotourbillon: made up of 105 components, the oscillating weight spins on two axes, one in its titanium cage and the other at a 20° angle. Moon: the moon phase at 3 o’ clock is designed to be accurate for 3,887 years whilst a traditional model would lose a day every 2 and a half years. The exceptional movement is housed in a 42mm platinum case with an opening on the side so you see the Sphérotourbillon in action. Price: 236’000 € HT