The Call Before the Appointment

I had always been fascinated by the complicated Reversos that Jaeger-LeCoultre created beginning with the sixtieth anniversary of the Reverso in 1991. Over the following years, six extraordinary complicated models appeared, establishing an entirely new chapter in the history of a watch that had originally been created for a very different purpose. At one point, I had the perfectly reasonable collector’s idea that I should own all six. Of course, the problem with collecting watches is that there are always more watches you want than watches you will ever be able to own. Eventually, you have to make choices.

So when Jaeger-LeCoultre returned to the idea of the complicated Reverso and introduced a chronograph in steel, I was immediately interested. I love gold watches, and a Reverso certainly looks beautiful in gold, but I have always felt that steel has a particular connection to the character of the Reverso. There is something about the material that suits the origins and architecture of the watch, and the idea of combining a steel Reverso with a chronograph appealed to me enormously.

I remember the morning the watch was announced because Deni and I were in New York and already had an appointment at the Jaeger-LeCoultre boutique later that day. At around nine in the morning, my phone rang. It was Sheila: “Edi, are you interested in a Reverso chronograph?” Apparently, the new watches had just been announced in Switzerland and her phone was already ringing continuously with people asking for one. We weren’t due at the boutique until around eleven, but she wanted to know whether I was interested before we arrived so that she could make sure she had put our name down for one before that year’s allocations were spoken for in less than two hours. “Yes. I’m interested. Put me down and we’ll see you at eleven.” A couple of hours later, Deni, Brion, and I were at the boutique looking at the new Reverso Tribute Chronograph. The front had this wonderful blue-green, almost petrol-colored dial that was difficult to describe precisely, which was part of what made it interesting. Then you flipped the case and the personality of the watch changed completely. The chronograph mechanism was exposed on the reverse, turning what looked from the front like a relatively restrained Reverso into something much more mechanical and complicated.

There were precious-metal versions as well, including some extraordinarily beautiful executions, but the steel was the one that spoke to me. It was the combination I wanted: a complicated Reverso, a chronograph, a steel case and that unusual dial. There was also the question of price. By that point, watch prices across the industry had risen dramatically, and suddenly many pieces that had once seemed reasonably attainable had moved into very different territory. Here was a beautifully finished, complicated Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso chronograph in steel in the low 20s. Within the context of what was happening in the watch world at the time, it felt like an enormous amount of watch for the money. We ordered it, and I have never regretted the decision.

What I didn’t expect was that the watch would eventually find another admirer in our house. Brion loves it. As he has grown up around our watches, the chronograph has become one of the complications that fascinates him most. There is something immediate about it for a child: press a button and something happens. A hand starts moving. Press it again and it stops. Press another and everything returns to zero. But this chronograph has another trick: it flips. Brion loves turning the Reverso over and discovering the mechanism on the other side, and watching his fascination with it has given me another reason to enjoy a watch I already loved.