Who would have imagined that Jaeger-LeCoultre – peacefully ensconced since 1833 in the rolling landscapes of Vallée de Joux, lost in the Swiss Jura – would make the first watch designed with a specific sport in mind. No-one! And yet that is precisely what happened in 1931, in the full flush of the Art Deco movement, when La Grande Maison presented a future icon: the aptly named Reverso whose case swivels to protect the dial. From? An unfortunate encounter with a polo mallet during matches played by off-duty British officers stationed in the Indian provinces. Designed for a generation of gentlemen who valued elegance as much as sporting prowess, the Reverso went on to become a watch for travellers with the introduction, in 1994, of the Duoface complication.
Taking advantage of the reversible case, the Duoface presents two separate dials, each with a distinct (and often minimalist) aesthetic. Indications are powered by a single movement – which in 1994 was the in-house 854A/2 manual-winding calibre – to show two time zones. Evolutions followed, together with variations in movements. While continuing to display home and local times, these later iterations added functions such as small seconds, moon phases or a pointer-style date. More recent versions, sans dual time, have introduced, for example, a chronograph, visible on the reverse dial, or a tourbillon. With the front dial on show, the Reverso has all the appearance of an “ordinary” watch. The tourbillon is revealed at the wearer’s discretion, simply by pivoting the case.
On a model introduced in 2024, the tourbillon is visible on both sides. Each dial also has hour and minute hands, with a subtle distinction: on one side, central hands show local time while on the other, hours and minutes sweep a subdial and give the time in a second time zone, complemented by a day/night indication. And so the Duoface renews with dual time. Thanks to the inventiveness of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s designers and the unique expertise of La Grande Maison’s master watchmakers, the Duoface complication offers seemingly endless possibilities with not one but two creative terrains – something the Reverso’s many admirers can only applaud.
This evergreen watch, a symbol of the Art Deco period, will celebrate its one hundredth anniversary in 2031 - which is really just around the corner. Speculation is rife as to the models Jaeger-LeCoultre will unveil for the occasion but we can rest assured they will include some magnificent Duofaces.
