21 Jaeger-LeCoultre An elegant and chic, Reverso Luxe, manual wristwatch in yellow and white gold, with black dial, retailed by E. Gübelin.

Estimate: € 8.000 –⁠ 16.000

• Model Reverso Luxe
• Year Circa 1930s
• Case Material 18K yellow and white gold
• Case Number 2'695
• Bracelet Material Leather strap
• Movement Manual, 17 jewels
• Movement Number 12'639
• Dimension 22.5mm width x 33mm length
• Signed Dial and movement

Born in the golden decade of the 1930s, when geometry reigned supreme and Art Deco was not a style but a manifesto, this Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Luxe embodies the very spirit of modern elegance. Its rectangular case, executed in warm yellow gold with a contrasting white gold reverse, is not merely a housing for a movement: it is architecture for the wrist. The sharp gadroons at the top and bottom frame the dial like the cornice of a Parisian façade, crisp and beautifully preserved.
Turn the case and the magic reveals itself. The solid white gold back, signed “Patent” and numbered, is a reminder of the ingenious swivelling mechanism that made the Reverso an icon. Conceived originally to protect the dial during polo matches, it soon transcended sport to become one of the most sophisticated canvases in watchmaking. Few designs have aged with such dignity.
A deep black background on the dial sets the stage for elongated markers that radiate with quiet authority. The typography, “Reverso Luxe” and the signature of the prestigious retailer E. Gübelin, anchors the watch firmly in the world of discerning European clientele. In the 1930s, Gübelin was not simply a retailer; it was a tastemaker. Its name on the dial elevates the watch into a rarified category of double-signed treasures, objects curated for those who demanded the exceptional.
The proportions are exquisite, just perfectly judged, as only Jaeger-LeCoultre could manage during this creative zenith.
Today, such a Reverso in both white and yellow gold is far more than an elegant vintage wristwatch. It is a distilled expression of interwar sophistication, a reminder of a time when design, engineering and aesthetics aligned effortlessly. In this configuration, two-tone case, black dial, Gübelin signature, it speaks to the connoisseur who understands rarity.