By Rebecca Doulton
Jaeger-LeCoultre watches has engraved London’s emblematic clock tower on the back of its most iconic watch design to celebrate the opening of its flagship boutique on Old Bond Street. London’s Big Ben and Jaeger-LeCoultre come together in this Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Special Edition of just 26 pieces, predestined to become a collector’s item as soon as it goes on sale this summer at the new Jaeger-LeCoultre London boutique.
The Grande Reverso Ultra Thin 1931 collection, which we have already seen in its Rouge and Chocolate renditions, completes the trilogy with this deep green lacquered dial - a colour that evokes Britain’s green countryside, Wimbledon and even the polo fields that inspired the creation of the Reverso watch in 1931. A petition by officers stationed in India to find a way to protect the glass and dial of their watches during a polo match led to an ingenious solution and a winning design. In 1931, Jaeger-LeCoultre filed a patent for its reversible watch with a swivel-based case that could be flipped over to protect the glass, and in doing so created the Reverso.
View the Grand Reverso Ultra Thin with a chocolate dial here
The elegant and clean design ethos, which captures the Art Deco period in full swing, is fully respected, and the reverse of this Jaeger-LeCoultre watch features an engraving of the Palace of Westminster and its clock tower, drawn by design and artistic director, Janek Deleskiewicz.
The movement of London’s Big Ben was entrusted to clockmaker John Dent and completed by his stepson in 1854. Gargantuan in comparison to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s ultra-thin calibre 822, at just 2.94mm thick, both movements have gained a reputation for exceptional reliability. It would not come as a surprise if the founder of Jaeger-LeCoultre watches, Antoine LeCoultre - who was awarded a gold medal for his contribution to the development of watchmaking at the 1851 Universal Exhibition - had met with John Dent during his sojourn to London.
Zahra Kassim-Lakha, director of UK marketing and global strategy is “proud that British mania continues to thrive at Jaeger-LeCoultre. This Grande Reverso Ultra Thin 1931 Special Edition is exclusive to the Maison’s elegant new flagship at 13 Old Bond Street. I invite collectors and lovers of design to discover this timepiece this summer. With Big Ben and Reverso, it is nothing short of two icons in one.”
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