A Short History of Jaeger-LeCoultre
In 1833, Antoine LeCoultre opened a small shop in Sentier, Switzerland for the manufacture of time pieces. In 1847, he invented a Keyless watch winding system. (Edouard Heurer, founder of the now Tag Heuer company, designed a similar keyless winding system.) In 1851, LeCoultre was awarded a Gold Medal for his skills by the London Universal Exposition.
With his son, in 1866, LeCoultre established the first large works for the making of time pieces. By 1870, the works had over 500 employed under the single roof. Beginning in 1902 and continuing for 30 years, the LeCoultre works produced the movements for most of the watches made by Patek Philippe.
After some 30 years of collaboration, in 1937, LeCoultre and Jaeger, a Paris watchmaker, united and the brand became Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Since the year 2000, Jaeger has been wholly owned by the Swiss luxury group, Richemont.
The Reverso Watches
Polo players were constantly damaging their wrist watches because of the hectic play of the sport. Jaeger heard about this and designed a ""whack" proof watch. The Result was the 1931 Reverso, from the Latin for "turn around". A Reverso watch face could be swiveled inward and be fully protected. The plain steel back side of the watch was then exposed and not the more fragile front crystal side.
The idea of a flip-over watch was appealing and Reversos have been on the market during nearly all the 90 years since the first. Over the years, many models have been offered, including gold cased, and others with complications such as Sun/Moon, Reserve Dial, Date, and more. According to one source, just since 1991, there have been 18 different Reverso models introduced with complications.
The example described here is Model 290.8.60. Originally purchased in 2006.
Automatic Self-Winding movement # 960R. Rhodium plated, Fausses Cotes decoration, Straight-Line Lever Escapement, Monometallic balance, Shock Absorber, Self-Compensating Flat Balance Spring, Index Regulator. 31 Jewels.
Stainless Steel case 27 by 36 mm rectangular with Reeded Ends, rotates within its back plate, Fixed SS Bezel, scratch resistant Sapphire Crystal. Silver dial with Central Check pattern, Arabic Numerals on plain reserve, aperture for date at the 6 position, Steel Lozenge Luminous Hands, Red Arrow tip for the Seconds Hand.
Water Resistant to 5 ATM (50 meters for 10 minutes). Case Back stamped or Engraved " REVERSO" Jaeger-Le Coultre" "290.8.60 5 ATM 1000 Hours Control (Serial Number) Swiss Made". Face Marked: "Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Automatique Swiss Made". Winding Stem Crown bears Stilyzed "JL"
This example has a Stainless Steel link Bracelet with a two part lock.
Movement: 960-R. The movement "hacks" (stops) when in the Time Set position allowing for precise setting of the watch. The stem screws in to the case to ensure no accidental setting of the watch.
Some Reverso owners have engraved initials or other designs on the reverse side. Others have added a ceramic or porcelain scene on the back surface.
Precise Time Setting
This Reverso 960-R Movement has a Hacking function. The Seconds Hand will stop when the Crown is pulled out to the Time Setting position. The Hack function allows the watch to be set to a precise accurate source such as time.gov
When the watch is running, unscrew the crown and pull the stem to its fully out (setting) position. Set the watch time to a few minutes in the future. Keep the setting crown pulled out so the Seconds Hand does not move. Now look at the source time, such as time.gov. When the Source Time reaches the exact setting of the watch including the Seconds Hand position, immediately push the crown in to start the Seconds Hand moving at the exact time shown on the Source.
The accuracy of the watch can be determined by comparing the watch time and the Source Time say a month later. This is effective only if the Automatic Mechanism has not stopped during the month.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Website
The JL website has some historic information about the company in addition to displaying the current models. A Web search can be made for more information. Some watch interest websites have JL forums.
A few Comments about the Brand
Jaeger-leCoultre is considered by many to be one of the top luxury watch brands as that term is loosely defined. Jaeger watch prices span a wide range from modestly expensive to very expensive. Jaeger watches seem to hold their value well and are collected by admirers. Jaeger is known for its comprehensive testing requirements as indicated by the "1000 Hour Control" noted on the example watch. Upon request, the company will send a copy of the test steps and results for a specific watch.
About this website
This website is not related or connected to Jaeger-LeCoultre, or Richmont. Niether the watch nor the brand are endorsed or recommended. Any copyrighted material or images are shown here for educational and informational non-commercial purposes only. The opinions and comments here are those of the website owner and are for information only. Nothing on this website should be relied upon for any purpose.
© Richard Madison 2020