270.2.68 Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tourbillon, Pink Gold

JLC of the later 80s and early 90s, or pre-Richemont acquisition rather, knew how to throw a party. Then CEO Henry-John Belmont, French designer Janek Deleskiewicz, and new recruit Günter Blümlein (of later Lange fame) wanted to take the Reverso and elevate it considerably. Using the model’s 60th anniversary as a bit of an excuse, the team then set about a decade long celebration of the Reverso from 1991 until 2000, which would see classic high complications feature in Reverso format, all in pink gold. It’s come to be known as the pink gold saga, and it encompasses some of the most impressive feats of watchmaking.

The trio wound up pushing further than, I think, even they could’ve imagined. So began a stream of six limited editions, each in pink gold, each with their own new movement designed to the Reverso case, and each produced in just 500 examples. Further, each complication was conceived by a dedicated watchmaker to design, develop, and test. First came the ’60ème’ with power reserve and date in 1991 by Daniel Wild, then this Tourbillon in 1993 by Sylvain Golay, a Minute Repeater in 1994 by Eric Coudray, Retrograde Chronograph in 1996 (which has since been reissued as of last year) by Manuel Guerin, Géographique ‘World Time’ Duoface in 1998 by Philippe Vandel, and Perpetual Calendar in 2000 by Rachel Torresani.

This was JLC showing off, the only maison rivaling Blancpain’s masterpieces. Being able to simply flip the case and wear the mechanical complication alone is a significant bonus, though the dual-style hand guilloché silver dial is beautiful. The pink gold saga is increasingly becoming understood as one of the greatest exercises in bespoke movement design that any one brand has undertaken in such a short timespan. Anything Blümlein touched turned to gold, we are all lucky that his attention was turned to the Reverso. Patek Philippe’s harbinger of the modern era was the 3940, the start of mastering serially produced complication. Well, this was JLC’s harbinger of the modern era. Except the promises it made were soon after altered in the Richemont restructuring. The Blümlein era Reversos stand alone as testament to JLC’s unrivaled movement engineering ability: a decade-long celebration of all that is great about La Grande Maison’s traditional yet inventive watchmaking attitude.

This example looks mega. The case is lightly worn but full with deep engravings. It comes with its pink gold deployant clasp and an Extract of Archive from a well-regarded collector. It is available only via direct communication on Instagram, this is not a retailer just a collector letting a beautiful example go.