Source: https://myreversostory.com/stories/sm-dragon Summary: A blank Reverso found at a small auction in eastern France and carried to Hong Kong as a godfather’s surprise gift. Then a self-taught engraver, who is also… Updated: 2026-10-25 Publisher: My Reverso Story (https://myreversostory.com), an independent collector archive, not affiliated with Jaeger-LeCoultre. SM # The Dragon A blank Reverso found at a small auction in eastern France and carried to Hong Kong as a godfather’s surprise gift. Then a self-taught engraver, who is also an actor and model, cut a dragon into it in the shape of the number eight. Experience ## The Dragon A blank Reverso from a small auction in France, a godfather’s surprise in Hong Kong, and a dragon drawn in the shape of the number eight. Reverso, hand-wound, time only · Early 2000s The story of this Reverso begins at a small auction in eastern France. My godfather is always scouring local auctions for good deals, and at one he regularly attends, he came across an early-2000s Reverso. He knew the man behind the auction, which helped him pick it up for a very good price—especially for such a classic Reverso. It was simple: time only, hand-wound, with that wonderful blank caseback that gives you a completely empty canvas. When my godfather came to visit me in Hong Kong, he surprised me with the watch as a gift. It meant a lot because suddenly I had something of his that I could carry with me wherever I went. Someone once told me that watches are memory keepers, and this one immediately became exactly that. There was also something quite funny about the whole thing because we already had our own little watch-gifting tradition. My godfather is an avid Swatch collector, and I often give him Swatches. Apparently, if you give someone enough Swatches, eventually you get a Jaeger-LeCoultre in return. I would say that’s a pretty good deal. The back was completely blank when he gave it to me, but almost immediately I knew I wanted to do something with it to mark the occasion. Not long afterward, I was having drinks with some close friends and mentioned that I wanted to have the Reverso engraved. Peter suggested that I meet his friend Carlos Koo, who, he explained, was an actor and model who also happened to engrave. I was confused: a model and actor who engraves watches? We arranged to meet at one of my regular watering holes in Hong Kong, ThinkWine, where Carlos brought along examples of his work. My skepticism disappeared very quickly. His portfolio was extraordinary: sea-inspired dog tags, watches with designs inspired by the sky, and even an entire motorcycle. My brain just about exploded. My original idea for the Reverso had actually been quite different. I like repetitive patterns and sacred geometry, so I thought we might create some sort of pattern across the caseback. Carlos and I began bouncing ideas back and forth, but then I remembered another Reverso I had seen that year featuring a dragon against black lacquer. Since 2024 was the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese zodiac, the idea suddenly felt right. More importantly, I knew Carlos could take it somewhere completely different and make it ours. We started researching forms and patterns together, including the traditional cloud formations that eventually became part of the engraving. The process was deliberately straightforward and iterative. I would explain an idea and Carlos would make a relatively simple sketch so that we could see whether it worked before going too far. Then we would adjust it and try again. We went through several ideas for the dragon before another element brought everything together: the number eight. Eight is an auspicious number in Chinese culture, and I liked the idea of incorporating its form into the dragon itself. It also happened to work beautifully with the proportions of the Reverso. Instead of trying to squeeze a dragon awkwardly into a rectangular caseback, the flowing shape of the eight allowed the body to move naturally through the available space and fill the canvas in a much more refined way. Once we had the design, Carlos did what Carlos does best. Over the course of a few weeks, working on it between shoots, he engraved the entire design by hand. The finished dragon is complemented by small areas of gold inlay and black ink, which give the engraving additional contrast and depth. What makes Carlos’s work even more remarkable to me is that he is entirely self-taught. When you look at him working, though, you don’t think about that. You see passion, craft and precision—just extraordinary concentration with every pass of the chisel. By the time he finished, I no longer really thought of it as simply an engraved watch. The Reverso itself came to me through the love and generosity of my godfather, while the caseback came from the friendship, imagination and craftsmanship that developed between Carlos and me. Those two stories now live together in the same object. Because of that, I treat it as a work of art and tend to bring it out for special occasions. There was another chapter I hadn’t expected. When Carlos later had an exhibition of his work, I was surprised by how prominently our dragon appeared. Elements of the design had been reproduced on much larger canvases, taking this little engraving we had worked on together and turning it into something people could encounter on a completely different scale. I went to the exhibition wearing the Reverso, but I didn’t tell anyone what was on my wrist. I was perfectly happy standing there and watching people admire the larger artwork, knowing that somewhere beneath my sleeve I had the original. There was something very satisfying about that. I didn’t need anyone to know that I had helped develop the design or that the original was sitting on my wrist. Seeing other people respond to something we had created was enough. I think that is ultimately what great design can do. It begins as an idea between a few people, but once it is made, it no longer belongs only to them. Other people can see it, respond to it and find their own enjoyment in it. For me, though, the meaning will always begin with my godfather arriving in Hong Kong with a surprise gift. What started as a simple, blank Reverso became something that carries his memory, my friendship with Carlos, and a piece of art that we created together. And considering that my side of the deal mostly involved giving my godfather Swatches, I still think I came out ahead. Engraving and artwork by Carlos Koo (@koocarlos), with special thanks to Peter Elliot Glomb (@peterelliotglomb) and ThinkWine Hong Kong (@thinkwine.hongkong). ### About [SM](https://myreversostory.com/collectors/sm) SM is a collector in Hong Kong who shares this story under initials. The Reverso was a surprise gift from a godfather; the dragon on its back was designed over drinks and sketches with the engraver Carlos Koo. More From This Collection [**The Detail Is in the Dragon**Pièces uniques · another engraved dragon, Brazil](https://myreversostory.com/pieces-uniques/detail-is-in-the-dragon-reverso)[**Personalising the back of a Reverso**Engraving · what collectors did, and how long it took](https://myreversostory.com/engraving) 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)