Reverso History: Cesar de Trey, Giorgio Corvo and Jaeger Lecoultre

The Reverso has long been a popular watch design. It was the watch my g-father, #JeanJacquesCartier, wore when riding horses as its clever mechanism protected the dial while galloping through the countryside. This year marks the Reverso’s 90th anniversary: the story goes that, around 1930, #CesardeTrey, a Swiss businessman in dentistry and then watches, was visiting India where British army officers had taken up polo. The combination of swinging mallets and fast horses was not exactly watch-friendly, so de Trey is said to have imagined a design whereby the fragile glass dial could be protected by flipping over the case. Not long after, industrial designer #ReneAlfredChauvot patented “a watch capable of sliding in its support and being completely turned over” and by the summer of 1931, de Trey had bought the rights to launch the ‘Reverso'. He partnered with #JacquesDavidLecoultre (at this stage #Jaeger and #Lecoultre were still separate firms).

As one of the world’s first sports watches, it didn’t take long for the Reverso to make a mark. I love some of the early adverts (3rd/4th images) but by the 1960s, the design had fallen into relative obscurity. It was revived the following decade when #GiorgioCorvo, an Italian watch dealer, happened upon a drawer full of the last 200 Reverso cases when visiting the JLC factory. He bought them, fitted the movements and sold out within a month. Not long after, JLC decided to revive the watch (in 1981, one of its engineers, #DanielWild, redesigned it) and today it’s an iconic design.

It’s an interesting history (at least I think so!) so I was intrigued to read about the #JLCSoundmaker exhibition announced by @renier.catherine in NYC’s meatpacking district recently. Unfortunately making it over the pond just wasn't possible but when I heard about a Paris #reversostoriesexhibition and workshop launching last week, I jumped at the chance to attend (5th/6th image). As someone fascinated by design history, I think it’s great JLC are sharing their past in such an open and hands-on way. There’s also a great new book ‘Reverso’ by @n_foulkes

Any other Reverso fans out there? This one is from 1933 (@antiquorum)