Important Collector's Wristwatches, P...

New York, Dec 01, 2004

LOT 312

Jaeger-LeCoultre, "Reverso Tourbillon", No. 226/500, Ref. 270. 2.68. Produced in a limited edition of 500 examples in 1993. Very fine and rare, rectangular, 18K pink gold gentleman's reversible wristwatch with visible one-minute tourbillon regulator, 40-hour power reserve and an 18K pink gold Jaeger-LeCoultre deployant clasp. Accompanied by a fitted box and certificate.

USD 18,000 - 23,000

EUR 14,000 - 18,000

Sold: USD 29,900

C. Five-body, solid, polished, reeded bezel, transparent case back, sapphire crystals. D. "Guilloché" silver with painted Arabic numerals on a plain reserve, subsidiary seconds dial. On the back, the tourbillon under a polished steel bridge and the up-and-down indicator. Blued steel "épée" hands. M. Cal. 828, copper-colored, "fausses côtes" decoration, 27 jewels, lateral lever escapement with one-minute tourbillon regulator with three equidistant polished steel arms, monometallic balance, shock-absorber, self-compensating Breguet balance-spring.Dial, case and movement signed.Dim. 26 x 42 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 2

Very good
Dial: 1 - 01

Notes

Reverso Limited Edition Watches The history of the ?Reverso? begins 1930 in India, when Cesar de Trey, a Swiss traveler, imagined a watch that could be turned over to protect its dial and crystal from dust. Back in Switzerland, he presented his idea to the LeCoultre company in Le Sentier. It was decided that the watch case would be developed by the Jaeger company in France. French designer and engineer Rene-Alfred Chauvet prepare d the drawings for the production of the case. Chauvet applied for Patent No. 712868 at the French Ministry of Trade and Industry on March 4, 1931, and finally a patent was granted for the new design of a rectangular watchcase that could be swiveled so that the solid case back protected the delicate mineral crystal from breakage. The new ?Reverso? watch was destined to be delivered to stores for the 1931 Christmas season, and LeCoultre envisioned a production of 5,000 timepieces altogether. It became one of the company?s most famous models and over 70 years later its case has been carefully optimized, but its character remains unchanged. Embodying the style of the Art Deco period, the clean lines and the high quality of the ?Reverso? watches have made it Jaeger-LeCoultre?s leading model. The company has extended the line to offer a greater variety of one of the most characteristic and famous timepieces in the history of the wristwatch. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the ?Reverso?, in 1991 Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced a limited edition model of 500 examples only in 18K pink gold in a larger, ?Grand Taille?, case, that became the first of six limited models released in the following years. Each edition featured a special complication or technical innovation, which had never before been realized in a ?Reverso?, offering maximum functionality in a minimum of space: 1991 - 60th Anniversary with the movement plate and bridges made of 14K pink gold; 1993 - Tourbillon with a cage made of 70 parts, yet weighing less than 500 grams; 1994 - Repetition Minutes with 306 individual parts in a rectangular movement; 1996 - Chronograph with column wheel and 60-second and retrograde 30-minute register; 1998 - Geographique with two solid silver dials and its complex triple time zone indication; - 2000 Quantieme Perpetuel with retrograde month and moon age indication.