Imagen: Jaeger-LeCoultre, web oficial
The storyWhy this reference matters
The Reverso came out of a bet lost on a polo field. In 1930 the Swiss dealer César de Trey visited India, where British officers challenged him to build a watch that could survive a match. Back in Europe he teamed up with Jacques-David LeCoultre and handed the problem to the French engineer René-Alfred Chauvot, who on 4 March 1931 patented a case that slides on its carrier and turns right over. The name, registered that same year, is Latin: "I turn myself round".
It came very close to disappearing altogether. Production stopped around 1948 and the Reverso fell out of the catalogues for decades, until in 1972 an Italian distributor called Giorgio Corvo found some two hundred forgotten steel cases in a warehouse. His watchmakers fitted them with the house calibre 840, and that was enough to persuade Jaeger-LeCoultre to start building them again. The Soixantième followed in 1991 for the sixtieth anniversary, and in 1994 the Duoface: for the first time the back was no longer a blank cover but a second dial.
The Reverso Tribute Moon, launched in 2017, takes the idea one step further. On the front, a grained silvered dial with blue hands and markers and a counter at six that combines a moonphase with a retrograde-hand calendar. On the back, a blue dial with clous de Paris guilloché and a second time zone with a 24-hour day/night indicator, set by a discreet pusher built into the top edge of the case. All of it is driven by the calibre 853A: hand-wound, 223 components, 42 hours.
SpecificationsThe numbers, in one table
| Brand | Jaeger-LeCoultre |
|---|---|
| Family | Reverso |
| Reference | Q3958420 |
| Years made | desde 2017 |
| Calibre | Jaeger-LeCoultre 853A |
| Movement | Cuerda manual |
| Frequency | 3 Hz (21.600 alt/h) |
| Power reserve | 42 horas |
| Jewels | 19 |
| Complications | Fase lunar · Calendario retrogrado · Segundo huso horario · Indicador dia/noche |
| Thickness | 10.9 mm |
| Case | Acero inoxidable |
| Crystal | Zafiro en ambas caras |
| Water resistance | 30 m (3 bar) |
IdentificationHow to tell it apart
Mind the name: Q3958420 is the Reverso Tribute Moon, not the Reverso Classic Large Duoface. They get muddled because both are rectangular, in steel, with two dials. The Classic Large Duoface with small seconds is reference Q3848420 and runs the calibre 854A/2; the Tribute Moon runs the 853A and adds the moonphase and calendar to the front dial. No moon at six, not this watch.
The case measures 49.4 by 29.9 mm and about 10.9 mm tall, rated to 3 bar: one of the largest in the Tribute family, so on the wrist it behaves like a serious watch rather than a piece of jewellery. The gadroons — those three parallel lines top and bottom of the case — are the art deco signature from 1931, and they should look crisp and evenly grained.
The 853A is hand-wound, 21,600 vibrations per hour, 19 jewels, a single barrel, 5.15 mm tall. The same machine drives both dials: if the time on the front and the time on the back do not advance together minute by minute, something is wrong, because the second zone is corrected only in whole-hour jumps.
CollectingWhat collectors check
The Reverso case is flat, brushed and full of edges: any generic polish rounds the corners and blurs the gadroons. That damage does not come back. Before buying, look at the watch in profile under a hard light and check that the straight lines are still straight and that the three ribs top and bottom are equally defined.
What is specific to a Reverso is the flipping mechanism. Take the watch and turn the case slowly: it should slide and lock firmly, with no side play and no rattle. A tired cradle or pivots with slop give away drops or years of hard wear, and putting that right is no small job. Check both crystals too, because the one on the rear dial gets forgotten and picks up chips from a belt buckle.
Being a double dial with a moonphase, setting it is something of a ceremony and servicing costs more than a three-hander. Ask when it was last serviced, check that the moon disc sits centred in its aperture and that the retrograde calendar hand jumps cleanly from 31 to 1. A complete set with the original Jaeger-LeCoultre alligator strap and folding clasp adds real value.
Common questionsWhat people ask us about this reference
Is reference Q3958420 a Reverso Classic Large Duoface?
No. Q3958420 is the Reverso Tribute Moon, with a moonphase and calendar on the front dial and the calibre 853A. The Reverso Classic Large Duoface with small seconds is reference Q3848420 and runs the calibre 854A/2.
How big is the Reverso Tribute Moon?
The steel case measures 49.4 by 29.9 mm and about 10.9 mm tall, rated to 3 bar. It is the large format in the Tribute family, sized for a man's wrist.
How do you set the second time zone on a Reverso Duoface?
With a pusher built into the top edge of the case, which jumps the rear dial an hour at a time without touching the minutes. The minutes are shared by both faces because a single calibre drives them.
How much power reserve does the Reverso Tribute Moon have?
42 hours. The 853A is hand-wound with a single barrel, so wind it at the same time every day if you want the moon and the calendar to stay where they belong.
Keep readingWhere to go from here
Close relativesThe ones it gets confused with
See Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso at auction now → What is up for sale on Catawiki today. Read the page above before you bid: half the mistakes come from not checking the reference.Confidence: media — this page was checked against the sources below. If a detail looks wrong to you, write to us and we will fix it.