Source: https://myreversostory.com/stories/mitch-my-engraving Summary: A pattern Mitch thought was his alone nearly went to someone else — until the manufacture realized the second request was from the same client. Today it… Updated: 2026-10-25 Publisher: My Reverso Story (https://myreversostory.com), an independent collector archive, not affiliated with Jaeger-LeCoultre. Mitch & Linda Katz # My Engraving A pattern Mitch thought was his alone nearly went to someone else — until the manufacture realized the second request was from the same client. Today it appears, with quiet variations, on four different Reversos. Experience ## My Engraving A pattern promised to one client alone, a second request the manufacture stopped — and the discovery that both had come from the same man. Reverso Tribute Small Seconds, burgundy By the time I saw the burgundy Reverso Tribute Small Seconds, I already owned several Reversos. That didn’t seem to matter. Jaeger-LeCoultre had made other red Reversos before, but the brighter reds had never appealed to me. The burgundy was deeper and warmer, paired with a matching leather strap and a stainless-steel case. I didn’t own a steel Reverso and that was enough justification for me. I knew almost immediately that I wanted it. And I also knew what belonged on the reverse: the same fleur-de-lis pattern that had begun years earlier with my Chocolate Reverso. By now, that engraving had become something of a signature. There was only one problem, as there always is with me. The manufacture had promised that the design belonged to one client and would not be reproduced for anyone else. Someone in the engraving department saw another request for the same pattern and stopped the process. Stephanie, the JLC boutique manger, had to explain: It was the same client: me. Only after the manufacture was satisfied that I was, in fact, asking for my own engraving again did they agree to proceed. Today, that pattern appears on four of my Reversos. At first glance, the engravings look the same, but they aren’t. Different metals respond differently beneath an engraver’s hand, as each interpret the same lines in subtly different ways. Look closely and each has its own small variations, which makes it more meaningful. What began as an image discovered almost accidentally has followed me through years of collecting and across several very different Reversos. Some collectors recognize a watch by its reference number, I can turn mine over and recognize something else, a little piece of myself. ### About [Mitch & Linda Katz](https://myreversostory.com/collectors/mitch-linda-katz) For Mitch Katz and his wife Linda, watches have never been simply objects to collect. They have become part of a life together, connected to friendships, travels, accidents, laughter, personal milestones, and the people they have met along the way. That same belief, that the real value of a watch lies in the stories surrounding it, also led Mitch to write *Time on My Hands: A Collector’s Journey in the World of Watches*, his memoir about the watches, people, and experiences that shaped his collecting life. He has since carried his love of horology into fiction with *Time Eternal*, the first in a series of mysteries set within the world of watches, with three further novels in development. Together, these ten watches tell something larger than the story of a collection: the story of Mitch and Linda, and of how, over time, watches became part of the memories they share. [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/uniquelyprototype/)[Time on My Hands (book)](https://www.amazon.com/Time-My-Hands-Collectors-Journey/dp/1964014530)[Time Eternal (book)](https://www.amazon.com/Time-Eternal-Mitch-Katz/dp/1964014638) More From This Collection [**The Watch I Designed, and the One I Bought**Grande Reverso 1931 Seconde Centrale](https://myreversostory.com/stories/mitch-designed-watch)[**The Imperfect Engraving**The Chocolate Reverso](https://myreversostory.com/stories/mitch-chocolate-engraving)[**Number One of Five**Grande Reverso 101 Art Déco](https://myreversostory.com/stories/mitch-101)[**The Watch Widow**Reverso Duoface](https://myreversostory.com/stories/mitch-linda-duoface)[**Reverso Tribute family**Models · Tribute Small Seconds among them](https://myreversostory.com/models#m-tribute-2016)[**The lacquered colour dials**Models · burgundy and red in the 1930s](https://myreversostory.com/models#m-colour-dials) Share Your Story ## Every Reverso has a second side. If your watch carries an engraving, a memory, or a story worth telling, we'd like to hear it. [Get In Touch](https://myreversostory.com/#submit)