The almost 100-year-old Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso has been adapted in just about every way you can imagine, from its original three-hand design to a tourbillon to a minute repeater. (Well, ok, there hasn’t been a diver, but let’s not be ridiculous.) What was originally designed for polo players — the reversible case allowed players to protect the watch while wildly swinging mallets atop horses — may not seem suited for ultra-high complications like a minute repeater, but as with many of history’s sports watches (like the Cartier Santos), the Reverso is now considered much more of a dress watch than it is a sports watch. The Reverso now serves as the iconic backbone of JLC’s catalog, and the latest iteration is the Jaeger-LeCoultre Tribute Chronograph in Pink Gold, an impressively svelte inclusion of a sporty complication that has one of the best dials time-only I’ve seen in a long time.

If you’ve been living under a horological rock for the last 100 years, the concept of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is that the case can be flipped over. As mentioned, the watch originally turned over to reveal a solid caseback that could catch a wayward polo ball without shattering the crystal (who knows if the watch would’ve still worked). What we’ve seen in the past few decades, though, is the repurposing of that solid caseback as a display for countless complications from complete calendars to tourbillons. While the first Reverso with a chronograph was debuted in 1996 (with some unfortunate versions since) the complication was given an overhaul in 2023, with a new movement that keeps things as compact as possible.

The Reverso Tribute Chronograph’s case is thick by Reverso standards, but not by chronograph standards. While the most recent time-only Reverso measures just 7.56mm thick, the Reverso Tribute Chronograph clocks in at 11.14mm. That’s a good bit thinner than most chronos, and while this is a hand-wound watch, it does flip over on the wrist, which I’d say balances out the comparison to an automatic watch. On the wrist, the 29.9mm case width and 49.4mm lug-to-lug will be rather larger for those who may be used to the classic Reverso proportions, but still very manageable by non-Reverso standards.

The 18k rose gold case’s design, of course, is straight from the iconic Art Deco original, with the round sides of the rectangular flipping portion, triple grooves at the top and bottom, and those great lugs. The case sits flat, as you might expect, and the signature sloped, tubular lugs hug the wrist a bit. The 22mm strap strikes that perfect balance, where it’s rigid enough to feel secure and keep the watch from flopping around, but pliant enough that it curves easily around the wrist and feels comfortable. Unfortunately, there’s a pin buckle closure, which will lead the strap to wear faster and is, frankly, a bit of a shock on a high five-figure watch. The style of the strap had me torn at first, but eventually, I warmed to it. Its sportier look is slightly at odds with the elegant time-only dial, but I realized it perfectly captured that elegance and the more casual and practical chronograph side.

The case is undeniably beautiful, and the starburst motif engraved on the inside of the caseback proper is a lovely easter egg, but the case isn’t flawless. The size (for a Reverso) will put some off, but there are other issues as well. To flip any Reverso, you slide it to the right, flip it, then slide it back to the left. Enough practice can make this a fluid motion, but it’s best to start out slow until you’ve got it down. With this precious metal, high polish case, in addition to being a magnet for fingerprints and dust, this flipping process also is prone to causing scratches. Even on the interior, brushed sides, that’s not what you want, though perhaps it’s inevitable. Further, the action I experienced with the chronograph pushers was not what I’d expect at this price point. The start/stop actuation itself was plenty snappy, but the reset pusher does not feel stable and is a bit mushy. Further muddying the waters, there are two tactile points during the depression of the reset pusher. The first “click” begins to interface the column wheel but does not reset the chronograph; You need to continue pushing through more mushiness to reset it. Not just at this price point, but from any JLC, I expect every facet to be fine-tuned, including pusher tactility.

Let me regale with my adoration of this time-only dial. Stunning and dynamic, the polished ridges with frosted grooves dazzle in the light, ranging from a pink gold mirror to black and pink stripes, never losing legibility. Even in low light, the dial remains legible, despite its lack of lume. The applied indices and dauphine hands are high-polished, and the rectangular dial is traced by a chemin de fer — commonly referred to as a railway minute track. The dial also creates a feeling of continuity with the grooved case, and in that sense reinforces the Art Deco aesthetic. If I had my way, this would be an option for every single time-only Reverso dial.

 

The chronograph dial is beautiful, but doesn’t hold a candle to the time-only. What you do get, though, is a reminder of the exceptional finishing that JLC is delivering with the Reverso Tribute Chronograph. A favorite element from this side is how the hour markers float above the movement, anchored to the chapter flange. The skeletonized dial reveals the movement, (more on that below) and all its lovely detailing. Also well done is how the chronograph ring is flush with the movement, instead of floating above, and the retrograde 30-minute chronograph counter at 6 o’clock. From a practical perspective, though, the chronograph display isn’t very legible. There’s just so much going on here that the small, blued chronograph seconds hand gets lost, even when in motion.

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph in pink gold is powered by the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 860, which was introduced with the 2023 revamp of the model. This sees the chronograph mechanism fully integrated into the movement, which allows for that sub-12mm case thickness. JLC did make an excellent choice with this new iteration, matching the movement to the case; in the 2023 pink gold case, the movement was still silver, and so clashed with the case. A column wheel, horizontal clutch mechanism is on full display at 7 o’clock — it’s so engaging that I had to stop myself from clicking the pushers for fear of doing damage. Vertical Côtes de Genève bridges serve as a counterpoint to the horizontal pattern on the opposite dial, and every edge gets a polished bevel. The Calibre 860 increases the power reserve from previous generations’ 40 hours to 52 hours, with a rate of 28,800 vph, which you can observe in action with the exposed balance wheel at 5 o’clock.

The new JLC Reverso Tribute Chronograph in pink gold is the third chrono in the Tribute collection, the second in pink gold, and the first limited edition. That’s all perfectly irrelevant. Until JLC sees fit to use the time-only dial on other watches, this may be the prettiest Reverso on the market. To be sure, for the brief moments I had a chance to wear this out of the studio, the chronograph never saw the light of day. Perhaps that suggests the chronograph is superfluous, but I’d argue it’s more a testament to the beauty of the time-only dial than it is an indictment of the chronograph dial.  The Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Chronograph Watch in Pink Gold Reference Q389256J is priced at $66,000 USD and is limited to 250 pieces. For more information, please visit the Jaeger-LeCoultre website.