A shock, an idea: watchmaking facing the polo field
We often tend to mythologize great watches by attributing to them an abstract birth: an ingenious sketch, a cozy workshop, an inspiration falling from the sky. There Jaeger‑LeCoultre Reversoit is born from a very concrete, almost cinematographic scene: a polo match, the dust, the impacts, and the glass of a watch which does not resist.
In the early 1930s, polo was a gentlemen’s sport, but not delicate entertainment. On the field, mallets clash, horses charge, wrists take. Wristwatches, still relatively new in men’s use, are on display. The problem is not so much elegance as survival: a simple shock can break the glass, scratch the dial, ruin the object. It is in this context, a practical, almost brutal need, that a watchmaking solution will emerge and become one of the most recognizable silhouettes in history.
1931: Jaipur, the spark that overturns the dial
The most cited legend places the origin of the Reverso in Jaipur, India, then under British influence, where the polo shirt was part of the social decor of officers and notables. A Swiss businessman, César de Trey, a traveler and entrepreneur with a sure flair, attends a match. Players complain: their watches break, again and again. Watchmaking may produce refined timepieces, but it has not yet created the perfect tool for this specific sport.
De Trey returns to Europe with this request as a challenge. He surrounds himself with partners capable of transforming a mechanical constraint into a desired object: Jacques-David LeCoultre (for manufacturing) and Edmond Jaeger (for engineering and the spirit of innovation). In this ecosystem, the idea is not to build a “sports watch” in the modern sense, but a watch dressed capable of withstanding the harshness of the game. A watch that is both civilized and ready for shock.
The genius of the solution: a case that rotates, not thicker glass
Instead of thickening the ice, a logical but imperfect solution, the invention is conceptual: if the problem is the exposed dial, we must be able to protect it by making it disappear. The Reverso offers a rectangular case capable of sliding and rotating on itself. In one movement, the dial is turned against the wrist, while the back of the case (full and robust) absorbs the blows.
This movement is more than a sleight of hand: it is a micro-architecture. The case is not only returnable, it is guide by rails, designed to remain precise, solid, repeatable. The idea has something to appeal to the polo player, but also, very quickly, to the design lover. Because a watch that transforms is a watch that tells stories. And watchmaking loves mechanisms that have a reason for being.
Why “Reverso”?
The name is obvious: “Reverso” evokes reversal, the action of returning. A simple word, clearly linked to the function, which will paradoxically become poetic over time. It’s a name that sounds like a promise: that of a watch capable of having two faces.
The perfect alliance with Art Deco: when technique meets style
Another reason explains the iconic destiny of the Reverso: its birth coincides with the golden age of Art Deco. In 1931, geometric lines, architectural forms, strict proportions were in tune with the times, from architecture to everyday objects. A rectangular, structured case, highlighted with gadroons (these three characteristic horizontal lines), is perfect.
The Reverso is not just a response to a sport: it is a watch in tune with its times. Its graphic sobriety allows its technical concept to never appear gimmicky. On the contrary: the turning mechanism becomes an extension of the design, almost a cultural signature. This is the rare conjunction where function creates an immediately desirable form.
From the polo field to the wrist of aesthetes: the object is reinvented
Once outside the strict framework of polo, the Reverso takes off. Because turning over the case is not only useful for protection: it is also an opportunity for customization. Very early on, the solid background, the “hidden” side, becomes a space for expression: engraving of initials, coat of arms, intimate message. Sport gave the idea, but society gives it a second life.
And then there is the other, implicit promise: that of duality. A watch for the day and another facet for the night. A watch that can hide its dial like closing a notebook. As the decades pass, Jaeger-LeCoultre will play with this notion until it becomes a field of watchmaking creativity.
A watch that opens the door to “two dials”
The reversible case makes possible a fascinating idea: displaying another time reading, or another complication, on the reverse. This logic would later culminate with double-sided versions, mixing two aesthetics, two time zones, even two complete universes. The Reverso then becomes a narrative object: we return, we discover, we change pace.
What polo really brought: a founding constraint
To say that the Reverso was invented “for polo” is not just a slogan: it is structuring information. Polo imposes brief, repeated, unpredictable violence. The response had to be immediate, intuitive, and compatible with an elegant lifestyle. The swivel case checks all of these boxes.
But above all, this sporting origin gave the Reverso a rare legitimacy: that of an object born from real use, not from a simple trend. In watchmaking, the most enduring watches are often those that respond to a specific problem before becoming icons. The Reverso belongs to this family – like the diving watch or the aviation watch – but with a particularity: it has retained a formal, almost aristocratic soul.
- A clear function: protect the dial from shock.
- A simple gesture: slide, pivot, lock.
- A timeless design: Art Deco rectangle and gadroons.
- Emotional potential: engraving, double face, secret on the wrist.
Why the Reverso remains a legend in 2026
One might believe that a watch born in 1931 can only survive as a relic. However, the Reverso crosses fashions with remarkable confidence. Firstly because its design has become a classic, in the same way as a Dupont lighter or a well-cut double-breasted jacket. Then because its concept has not been replaced: no other watch has really managed to capture this combination of useful mechanics and graphic sophistication.
Finally, because the Reverso tells a story that can be read in a second. You just have to see her rock to understand that she comes from a world where we played polo, where we held on to our objects, and where elegance sometimes had to defend itself. It belongs to those rare creations where the technique does not crush the style, but reveals it.
The last reversal: a simple idea that became a symbol
Originally, it was about saving broken dials. And yet, the invention exceeded its initial intention. The Reverso has become a portable metaphor: that of the double, the hidden, of protection, of the contrast between active life and the intimate. A watch that can be turned over like turning a page, or like protecting a confidence.
This is perhaps the real secret of its success: it has never ceased to be faithful to its birth on a polo field, while offering each person a side of their own – a surface to engrave, a side to reveal, a fragment of history to carry.
