Jamie Weiss
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Jaeger-LeCoultre introduces a novel take on a world timer in the form of a complicated Reverso for Watches and Wonders 2025.The newly developed, in-house Calibre 834 features a grande date on the main time-telling dial, and a world time disc on the reverse.Two variants are available: a stainless steel version with a blue dial and a limited-edition pink gold version with a chocolate brown dial.I’m a sucker for travel watches – whether they’re GMT watches, dual time watches, or world timers. Being able to track the time in multiple time zones and across the world is not only practical but inextricably glamorous. Of course, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is a prime example of a glamorous travel watch – with some Duoface references allowing you to display two different times across two different dials. However, “the watchmaker’s watchmaker” has outdone themselves in this regard with their latest Reverso release: a novel yet elegant take on the world timer formula that demonstrates the Maison’s mastery.You can immediately tell the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Geographic apart from other Reversos even without looking at its world time display: its main time-telling dial, which is resplendent in a beautiful lacquered sunray finish, has a grande date complication at 12 o’clock. While there are Reversos with day/month indicators at 12 in JLC’s current catalogue, a big date Reverso has been absent for a while, so on this complication alone, the Reverso Tribute Geographic stands out.This new Reverso Tribute Geographic is also very easily distinguishable from the original Reverso Geographique?ref. 270.2.58 from 1998. A limited edition of 500 pieces, it was cased in pink gold, had an external pusher and featured a silver guilloche dial with a day/night indicator on the obverse (or “recto”) and a visually complicated reverse (or “verso”) with a second dial and handset, two city subdials, a GMT indicator and another day/night indicator. It’s a stunning watch that displays more information than the new Reverso Tribute Geographic, but it is quite hard to read – and hard to find, too.Anyway, I digress: it’s when you flip its case over that the really interesting part of this watch is revealed. The Verso side is entirely dedicated to a world time disc, but unlike a typical world time disc – which has a city ring that moves around a dial with numerals staying fixed – JLC has done the opposite, with city indications laser-engraved onto the case and a beautifully hand-lacquered depiction of the globe from the North Pole, bisected by a rotating 24-hour disc on display through a sapphire ring.Sliding the watch head out of the cradle, you’ll find a knurled slider at the top of the case, which will advance the world time disc hour by hour, independent of the handset on the main dial. It’s a neat solution that’s a lot more intuitive than it sounds. The grande date display can also be advanced by a hidden pusher just below the crown, and unlike most big dates, it displays both numerals on the same plane, rather than stacking the date wheels and having one numeral appear lower than the other.Both these innovative complications, the world timer and grande date, are made possible by an all-new movement, the Calibre 834. It has a 42-hour hand-wound power reserve and helps the Reverso Tribute Geographic achieve a remarkable total thickness of just 11.14mm. That’s slightly on the thicker side for a Reverso, but in the grand scheme of things, fairly svelte – and it’s a complicated Reverso, don’t forget. In terms of case size, it measures 49.4mm tall and 29,9mm wide, which is again on the larger side for a Reverso but still very easily manageable.Two versions of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Geographic are available: a stainless steel model with a blue dial, and an 18k pink gold model with a chocolate brown dial, the latter of which is a limited edition. Both models come with two dial colour-matched strap options each: both get a Casa Fagliano calf leather strap, the steel model gets an additional bi-material strap, and the gold model gets an alligator leather strap.Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Geographic pricing and availabilityThe Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Geographic is available now, with the stainless steel model being a regular production model and the pink gold model a limited edition of 150 pieces. Price: US$21,200, A$34,200 (steel), US$34,900, A$56,500 (pink gold)BrandJaeger-LeCoultreModelReverso Tribute GeographicReferenceQ714845JQ714256JCase Dimensions29.9mm (D) x 11.4mm (T) x 49.4mm (LTL)Case MaterialStainless steel (Q714845J)18k pink gold ()Water Resistance30 metresCrystal(s)Sapphire crystal front and backDialBlue, sunray finished? (Q714845J)Chocolate brown lacquered, sunray finish (Q714256J)Lug Width20mmStrapBlue calf leather and blue bi-material straps, interchangeable folding buckle?(Q714845J)Golden calf leather and black alligator straps, interchangeable pin buckle (Q714256J)MovementCalibre 834, in-house, manually-woundPower Reserve42 hoursFunctionsHours, minutes, big date, world timerAvailabilityNow, Q714256J limited to 150 piecesPriceUS$21,200, A$34,200 (steel)US$34,900, A$56,500 (pink gold)
03.04.25