Power + paradigm = A modern icon

Design is a storyteller that expresses the ideals, standards, passions, pursuits, innovations, and resulting styles of each moment in time. While design often reveals our dark side and periods of conspicuous excess, the most considered designs become icons. The streamlined Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is an example of such a design, managing to find relevance for generations to follow.

The innovative Reverso, a symbol of reverence for pure form, luxurious materials, and attention to detail, was created as a sports watch for polo players in 1931. However, its sophistication and refinement made it an instant practical fit on and off the field. Breaking with convention at the time, its rectangular case with its trademark mechanism and Art Deco styling made it one of the most recognisable models in fine watchmaking. Governed by the golden ratio, French engineer René-Alfred Chauvot designed the Reverso with a reversible case that could withstand the potential impact from a stray ball.

As an architect, I’m conflicted over the golden ratio. While it provides a method of investigation and approach to design, there is a madness to it that has created a very narrow definition of beauty and, even worse, power over paradigm, often leading to discrimination against people who don’t conform. Just look at Leonardo da Vinci’s illustration of the perfect “white man”. But I’d like to suggest that, nine decades on, this two-sided watch can be representative of power with paradigm: an expression of full human potential, non-duality, and cooperation, something that transcends rigid binaries.

While the protective solid case back was the only option for the first 60 years of production, in le style moderne it was used as a canvas for personalisation through engraving, enamelling, and gem setting. The Reverso has evolved to include models with exhibition case backs, the Duoface, chronographs, tourbillons, and minute repeaters, to name a few. For 2023, the Reverso Tribute Small Seconds comes with a redesigned ultra-thin case (just 7.56mm) with sunray-brushed dials in four variations. The featured 18kt pink-gold reference has a burgundy lacquer dial, achieved through a complex process of up to 20 hand-applied layers of translucent lacquer. Dauphine hands read the time off applied indexes.

• From the June edition of Wanted, 2023.