The Reverso was born in 1931, not to solve some elaborate watchmaking challenge, but a remarkably practical one: how could polo players protect the fragile crystal of their watches during a match?

The answer was a case that could be flipped over.

Nearly a century later, a construction originally conceived out of necessity has become one of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s most recognisable design signatures. The Reverso Tribute Small Seconds Ref. 214.8.62 offers a particularly pure reinterpretation of the aesthetic that defined the early Reverso.

The rectangular stainless-steel case is largely free of ornamentation, with three horizontal gadroons providing the watch with its characteristic Art Deco geometry. The deep blue dial does away with numerals altogether, leaving only applied baton hour markers, sharply defined Dauphine hands, and a small-seconds register at six o’clock. Every element follows the elongated proportions of the rectangular case, making the watch feel as much like a piece of 1930s industrial design as a wristwatch.

Flip the case over and the dial disappears entirely, revealing a solid metal caseback.

Originally, this was designed to protect the watch from the impacts of a polo match. Today, it has become perhaps the most romantic aspect of the Reverso: it does not even need to show its dial to be instantly recognisable as a Reverso.