Batman is one of the most iconic superheroes of all time, partly because his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, is just as interesting as his caped counterpart. But being a billionaire playboy that takes the time out of his busy schedule to clean up his city’s criminal scum with his bare hands, requires a timepiece that is stylish yet resilient. While not as high tech as most of the billionaire’s other toys, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is actually the perfect watch for the dark knight.
Val Kilmer may have been the first to have worn it, but it was Christian Bale that made it Batman’s watch of choice by sporting three different versions of the watch for each instalment of Chris Nolan’s boxoffice busting Dark Knight trilogy.
The Reverso was originally invented for British polo players in India almost a century ago. During a trip to India in 1930/31, Swiss businessman and watch collector César de Trey was challenged by a British army officer to create a watch strong enough to resist a polo match, as most watch’s glass broke during the course of a game. After a brief discussion with Jacques-David LeCoultre, who appointed Jaeger S.A. to create the case, who then contracted René-Alfred Chauvot, the actual inventor of a unique slide and flip mechanism, the Reverso was born. An elegant watch with a face that could be flipped for protection, with a back offering a unique personalisation surface.
The original Reverso case was 38mm long, 24 mm large, and 6mm high, which is the same size of the Reverso Classique available today. The original design also only had an hours and minutes hand, with a small seconds counter being added only in 1934.
This simple flip mechanism means it’s perfect for risky ventures. Need to get into a fist fight with bad guys? Just flip the watch around. Need to entertain guests at a party? Just flip it back around to reveal a stylish watch all over again.
For the Batman trilogy finale, JLC actually created a special edition Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1931 that came with a unique Batman symbol engraved on the back.
