Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso is very much an icon of watchmaking. Even though it was conceptualised for recreation’s sake, it was born of necessity for polo players and shaped by restraint. Its Art Deco form was conceived with purpose: a swiveling case designed to protect its clean and simple dial. When Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced the Duoface calibre to the Reverso in the 1990s, the double-sided watch became a study in duality. Within that disciplined Art-Deco exterior lay an enduring openness to transformation, and the Reverso Hybris Artistica Calibre 179 embraces this tension with poetic intent. Hybris, which means excess in Greek, finds expression in elevation instead of contradiction. For a watchmaking tour de force such as Jaeger-LeCoultre, La Grande Maison’s mechanical might and artistic abundance are layered into the Reverso, historically defined by understatement. In doing so, Jaeger-LeCoultre flips the stage where maximalism is pushed to its most expressive and creative limits.
At its very heart lies one of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s most mesmerising mechanical signatures, the Gyrotourbillon. The mechanical ingenuity is brought to life by 123 components designed to counter the effects of gravity even though it is a feat of visual theatre as much as it is of chronometric ambition. Its three-axis construction, visible on the front and rear and appearing to levitate within the watch, performs a hypnotic ballet as it rotates three-dimensionally. Instead of mounting it on a traditional bridge, a ring of ball bearings amplifies the sensation of weightlessness.
Beyond the kinetic art on display, Calibre 179 brings to life two dials each with distinct personalities, shaped by the Métiers Rares™ atelier. A mix of technology and tradition seen in the laser skeletonisation, hand chamfering and hand-applied lacquer techniques underscores Jaeger-LeCoultre’s unquenchable thirst for innovation and creativity with an eye on tradition. On the main dial, a palette of mix of blacks and greys contrast richly against the 18K pink gold case, bridges and decorative plates. Geometric lattice patterns that subtly recall the Art Deco discipline surround the central timekeeping elements. A total of 200 patterns are each precisely hollowed out by laser before being painstakingly hand-applied with lacquer between the ultra-fine ribs. The final lacquered surface is then hand polished to achieve a glossy finish that is perfectly flushed with the ribs. On the predominantly openworked rear dial lies a black lacquered ring and its supporting bridges that frames the watch hands and hour indices. The airy aesthetic is further exemplified by meticulous hand chamfering to the various components.
At the heart of the Reverso Hybris Artistica Calibre 179 lies one of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s most mesmerising mechanical signatures: the Gyrotourbillon. Far from a conventional tourbillon, this three-axis construction appears to float within the Reverso’s swivelling case, performing a hypnotic ballet as it rotates freely in space. Designed to counter the effects of gravity in multiple positions, the Gyrotourbillon is as much a feat of visual theatre as it is of chronometric ambition. Its spherical carriage, held aloft by a peripheral ring rather than a traditional bridge, amplifies the sensation of weightlessness while offering an unobstructed view of its intricate choreography. Here, the Gyrotourbillon becomes a sculptural centrepiece—an embodiment of hybris in its purest form—where technical excess is not hidden, but celebrated as kinetic art.
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