Jaeger-LeCoultre
Reverso Stories – Celebrating Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Enduring Icon
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Reverso Stories – Celebrating Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Enduring Icon
Polo, the equine pursuit, is often referred to as the ‘sport of kings’. A ball game that dates back to 600 BC, it was often played by the cavalry and royal guards. In the UK — and in fact, around the globe — royal families both partake in and spectate at important events and sponsorship is often handled by high-end luxury brands. In short, it’s a refined and exclusive sport for the most part, and so it’s fitting that a watch such as the Reverso is so closely associated with polo. In India, back in the early 1900s, polo was hugely popular and yet there was an issue with wearing a watch. The speed, swinging mallets and rocketing balls were all perfect for smashing the crystal of a watch to smithereens. What to do? Step forward Jaeger-LeCoultre, who devised a watch with a midcase that could flip around to protect the crystal, all without removing the watch from one’s wrist.
Alex Trochut is a Brooklyn-based artist whose work is inspired by the fusion of street culture, fashion and music. Having worked with such diverse partners as The Rolling Stones, Pepsi, Nike and Katy Perry, he has turned his creator’s eye onto Jaeger-LeCoutlre to devise a novel typeface inspired by the brand’s Art Deco watch, the Reverso. The full alphabet that Trochut has created will be on show at the Reverso Stories exhibition and has been adopted by the brand as a new in-house typeface. Those who commission a caseback engraving from JLC can choose this new type as the font for the inscription, and will appear in future projects.
The Reverso Stories watchmaking experience is open from Monday to Sunday from 11am to 8pm at The Piazza, Covent Garden, WC2E 8RF London. Entry is free of charge. Audio guides are available for the Reverso exhibition.