Designed by René-Alfred Chauvot, the Reverso was conceived with the express purpose of being able to withstand the harsh beating a watch would endure during a game of polo by virtue of its eponymous reversible function. This was put to JLC by entrepreneur César de Trey as a challenge for the brand in 1930. Born the year following in 1931, the Reverso was a sports watch, due to its particular use case. Thanks to its now-classical aesthetic and graceful design, the Reverso has evolved into a modern dress watch. However, in the 1930s, the Reverso needed to be more durable than other available watches; hence its ingenious reversible case was born. This protected the dial from a direct hit and gave the Reverso its name. Over 90 years later and the Reverso’s design lives on as one of the most recognizable in watchmaking. Launched as the Grande Reverso Ultra-Thin Duoface ref. 278.8.54 that we have here was available as one of the larger Reverso variants. Indeed, it features a 27.4mm wide and 46.8mm tall stainless steel case which gives meaning to its “Grande” designation. In keeping with the Reverso’s original versions, the ref. 278.8.54 is powered by a manual-wind movement, the cal. 854/1, and features a monochromatic white dial with black gold dial furniture. Additionally, it also features a black dial on the reverse side of its case that houses an AM/PM indicator and a 12-hour dial to act as a second time zone. Offering fantastic wearability on account of its twin-dial design, this Reverso will certainly be an easily fit for any collection.

Requiring no introduction, the Reverso has been at the forefront of the horology industry since its launch. An icon within watchmaking, collectors have been eager to add it to their collection in some form or another for almost an entire century for very good reason.