Hey, guys! Welcome to another Zoom episode. Today, we're going to be talking about the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, which is a pretty
well known watch and, arguably, Jaeger's most popular model. The reference we have here today is the 3858520.
We hope that, after you've watched this video, you'll know a little bit more about the Reverso
and why it's considered one of the all-time classics. By the way, if you want to learn more about watches in
general, make sure to subscribe to our channel, where you can find all the other Zoom episodes, our in-depth watch talks
and reviews, as well as event recaps and how-to videos. But now, let's talk about the watch I have in my hands
today, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso. So, before we get into the details, let's talk a bit about the history of the watch.
As the story goes, during the winter of 1930-1931, a Swiss businessman and
watch collector, César de Trey, was traveling through India. During his travels, he attended a polo match between
British army officers. One of these officers had a broken watch. He challenged de Trey to create a watch for
him strong enough to withstand any impact during a polo match.
De Trey brought this idea up with his friend, Jacques David LeCoultre, who was the owner of the LeCoultre company, which eventually
created the movement for said timepiece. LeCoultre, however, didn't make cases,
so he commissioned a company called Jaeger S.A. to create a reversible case.
Jaeger then asked French designer Rene-Alfred Chavout, the inventor of the reversible case, to come up with
the design. So, on March 4, 1931, at the NPI
(the National Industrial Property Institute) in Paris, Rene-Alfred Chavout officially registered
the invention of this wristwatch, which can slide on its base and flip over on itself. And now let's
look at the watch. As I said before, this is the reference 3858520,
which is the large version of the Reverso that has a subdial at 6 o'clock.
We have a stainless steel case with a water resistance of three bar, or 30 meters (98 ft). It measures
45.6 mm from top to bottom
and 27.4 mm from side to other side. This is a pretty simple
time-only watch, so as far functions are concerned: You have the time and then you have the small seconds
at 6 o'clock. The watch is pretty simple and pretty thin, as you can
see. It's only 8.5 mm thick, so it sits very comfortably on the wrist – and this is the
larger version. Jaeger-LeCoultre also offers a small or "mini" version in addition to this Reverso.
As far as the movement is concerned, this is the caliber 822-2, Jaeger's manually wound
movement with 108 components, 21,600 vibrations per hour, 19
joules, and only 2.94 mm thick. The dial on the watch is silver-gray,
with guilloché decoration in the middle and vertical brushing all around it, as well as transferred black numerals.
There are tempered blue baton hands. The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso comes on a
leather strap with a Jaeger-LeCoultre buckle. It has a lug width of 20 mm and
measures 18 mm at the buckle end. The most interesting fact about the Reverso is
the case, which you can flip over to protect the crystal. All you need to do
is push the case to the side, flip it over, and close it. When you're
done, you can flip it over again
and push it back into place. So, the Reverso is arguably one of the most beautiful rectangular watches out
there. Its reversible case system has often been imitated but never been equaled. It's also one of
the most unique models. By the way, if you want to compare it to another popular watch (although this one has a square
case), make sure to check out our Zoom episode on the TAG Heuer Monaco Calibre 11. All right, so what do
you think? Do you like the Reverso? Would you wear it? Do you maybe own one already? Let us know in the comments below.
And if you like the video, make sure to subscribe to our channel. Thank you for watching, and have a nice day! Enjoy your
watches! Bye bye.