The House of Savoy Reverso

A steel Reverso whose case-back carries a red shield bearing a white cross beneath a royal crown — the basic arms of the House of Savoy, adopted as the state arms of the Kingdom of Italy itself from unification in 1861 until the monarchy’s abolition in 1946. The shield sits inside a circular black-and-gold border carrying a repeating decorative or pseudo-lettered motif, in a style consistent with the collar of an Italian royal order (the Order of the Crown of Italy and the Military and Civil Orders of Savoy all used a red-and-white Savoy cross at their centre); which specific order, if any, isn’t confirmed from the photograph alone. One of nine 1930s Reversos published together on page 78 of a Jaeger-LeCoultre heritage volume, “In Praise of Craftsmanship.”