Book Jaeger-LeCoultre: Reverso

Book Jaeger-LeCoultre: Reverso by Assouline

Description

This richly illustrated volume traces the history of one of the world’s most recognizable wristwatches through archival images and original photographs, as well as evocative text from the author, historian, journalist and watch specialist. watchmaker Nicholas Foulkes.

Born in 1931, at the height of the Art Deco period, the Reverso was created to meet the challenge of designing a wristwatch capable of withstanding the rigors of polo matches. He captured the essence of the era a time when the spirit of modernity changed everything from social mores to architecture, music, sports and all areas of design. Embodying this spirit with its sleek form and unique reversible case, the Reverso has remained an eternal expression of modernity for 90 years, constantly reinventing itself without ever compromising its identity. Its blank metal reverse, which began as a purely functional solution, has become a canvas for creative expression, decorated with enamel, engravings or precious stones.

In addition to tracing the history of the watch and its evolution over the past nine decades – with more than 50 calibers and several hundred dials – the book explores the social milieu and cultural changes that served as a backdrop to the creation of the Reverso and, later, its continued reinvention. It shares the stories of more than a dozen Reverso owners who have personalized their watches in deeply meaningful ways. And it also tells the fascinating story of the founders of Jaeger-LeCoultre, their inventions which profoundly marked the history of watchmaking and the development of the House as an integrated Manufacture with 180 skills brought together under one roof.

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