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The Encyclopedia of Horology

France · French patent No. 712,868 filed 4 March 1931 and granted 14 October 1931, with supplementary filings the same year

Reverso Reversible Case

Verified

One of the most recognisable Art Deco watch case designs and among the few mechanical case-architecture patents whose reversible function remains commercially produced essentially unchanged nearly a century later.

Chauvot, a French engineer, patented a watch case designed to slide within a metal carrier and pivot completely, so the case back could be turned to face outward, protecting the crystal and dial from impact.

The rights were acquired before publication by César de Trey, who together with Jacques-David LeCoultre formed a marketing company (Spécialités Horlogères, later reorganised as the company selling Jaeger-LeCoultre products) to commercialise the design as the Reverso, launched in 1931 and marketed initially toward polo players and others needing a rugged watch.

A small number of early Reverso cases were also supplied to other retailers/houses (reported to include Cartier, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin) before Jaeger-LeCoultre's own company acquired and consolidated the patent rights.

Background

The Reverso was created in 1931 as a watch capable of surviving the hard knocks of a polo game. It originated when a group of polo players asked César de Trey, a watch dealer, to create a timepiece that could withstand the rigours of their sport. César de Trey followed up on the request with a letter to his colleague and watch manufacturer, Jacques-David LeCoultre.

René-Alfred Chauvot, a French engineer with LeCoultre, was tasked with developing this new watchcase. Chauvot designed a reversible case that could protect the fragile dial and glass of the watch. The final design allows for the case to be swivelled in its carrier to protect the watch glass.

Written from the encyclopedia entries listed under Sources; each statement was checked against the cited text.

Later history

  • The design of the case is considered a classic of Art Deco.

How to verify this yourself

The French patent (No. 712,868) can be looked up via INPI's historical patent record and is also referenced in auction-house catalogue notes for period Reverso examples; researchers should treat auction and collector citations of the number as corroborating rather than as a substitute for the original INPI record.

Manufacturers known to have used it

  • Jaeger-LeCoultre

Diagram

date ring, thirty-one positionsdate aperturedriving wheel and jumper
Schematic: calendar work under the dial. An outline schematic drawn to show the arrangement of the parts discussed here. It is not a dimensioned working drawing and does not depict a particular maker's calibre.

Sources & references

  1. Jaeger-LeCoultre, Wikipedia (English), retrieved 2026-10-28 (text CC BY-SA 4.0)
  2. Institut National de la Propriété Industrielle (INPI), historical patent record (French patent No. 712,868, existence and filing/grant dates as reported in auction and company literature)
  3. Jaeger-LeCoultre, published Reverso history

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.