Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso Classique Ref. 280808

One of the first purpose-built sports watches has, over time, become a classical dress watch. Or rather, do-it-all watch.

If you have ever seen a “trench watch” from the WWI era, you may have spotted how the crystal and dial were sometimes protected with steel cage-like structures. While this offered protection from impact, it also obscured the dial. So when, in the 1930s, a group of Polo players asked jeweler César de Trey for a watch that could resist the rough sport, he designed an inventive solution and had it produced by Jaeger-LeCoultre.

The idea was to make the entire case rotatable, so a solid steel backplate would face outwards during Polo games. A true sports watch by design.

A design that has aged extremely well, although the classical shape has turned it more “dressy” than it used to be. A tasteful watch with historic significance and a great story behind it. On offer here is the quartz version in the “Classique” case size. A beautiful watch suited to both the male and the female wrist.