Jaeger-LeCoultre

This is the smallest ladies Reverso in the current JLC lineup. We picked this one because my partner has small wrists; I think it’s around 15cm in circumference.  Here you can see the watch next to my 42mm Seiko.

Let’s start with the front dial first. I call this the ‘humble’ dial because unlike watches like Rolex or Panerai, this doesn’t attract so much attention*. It doesn’t draw your eyes to the watch from a distance and yell “Hey look at me, I’m a Rolex!”

This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on whether or not you like everyone to notice you have a nice watch. Fortunately I and my partner both prefer to have something that is less conspicuous.

By the way, note that I put an asterisk on my sentence there. Well I think when you wear this watch, to average Jane and Joe from a distance of a metre or two, it looks like you are just ‘wearing a watch’ (not wearing a Rolex, if you know what I mean).  But when you are actually close to it and you are able to see the details of the watch, then you will know that it is one damn fine watch.

The front dial of the Reverso Duetto has a guilloche finish in the centre, this differentiate itself from the one-dialed Lady Reverso, which has a plain finish on the dial. Refer to the next two pictures below to see the difference between Lady Reverso and Reverso Duetto. (credit to EWC for picture of the Lady Reverso)

Note that the choice of Arabic font is also different, and the “Jaeger-LeCoultre” logo is embossed out. There is more dimension on the front dial compared to Lady Reverso which looks flat. But don’t get me wrong, in real life the Lady Reverso still look very nice on the wrist. But the Duetto ups the standard with nicer, more detailed finish on its dial.

Now moving on to the second dial at the back. This is the sparkly dial, which I think has a very unique look even among other JLC watches themselves.

If the front side is more casual looking side, this side is definitely more on the dressy and elegant side. It has two rows of diamonds on the top and bottom of the case, which I think are just in the right amount, not too little and not too much they make the watch looks tacky. The role of the diamonds here I think is to “support” the look of the main dial, instead of to show off the diamonds themselves.

Notice that the pattern (I don’t think it’s still a guilloche pattern?) is different to the one found at the front side. The pattern surrounds the centre, round mother-of-pearl section with embossed 12 and 6 o’clock markers. The 12 and 6 o’clock markers look like they are made with glitters but not as glittery as glitter if I make any sense at all, lol..

The round dial has a gold lining and the hands are in gold colour (I’m saying gold colour because I’m not sure if they’re made of gold, or gold plated, or just painted in gold colour – maybe someone can find out from Jaeger about this)

We admit that many WIS scoff at ladies watches because to many of them, most of the watches are just simple Quartz watches decorated with diamonds outside – meaning all style but no soul inside. But this is a watch that no WIS men will scoff at because it has a very respectable movement housed inside that tiny case.

This little watch is powered by hand-wound Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 844, a movement that powers both the front and back dial of the watch. They are both showing the same time, not dual time zone. Its sister the Reverso Duetto Duo, is powered by Caliber 854, which shows dual time zone. It is however a slightly larger watch though.

Back to the movement of this watch, it still manages to feature 40 hours power reserve. This is pretty impressive movement from JLC, I reckon. In a size that most people would associate it with “Quartz sized watch”, JLC is still able to fit in a manual movement that powers two dials at once, with respectable power reserve too. I think thjs is something that every other watch company would envy.

When it comes to winding, it doesn’t take long to fully wind the watch. If you use your two fingers to pinch the crown and wind the watch, it will take approximately 30 twists to fully wind the movement. When it is close to full-wound, it will feel a tad heavier and then it will lock itself once it’s fully wound.

If your partner prefers Quartz watches, don’t hesitate to bring her to the shop and let her try this piece on her wrist and let her appreciate and wind the watch herself. It’s much easier to convince her to own a mechanical watch with a watch like this.

Accuracy wise, I didn’t really measure it to be honest. There is no second hand and the watch is so small, so it’s almost impossible to do an accurate measurement. But I doubt JLC would risk its reputation by releasing movements that are not within respectable specs. But I did hear from my AD that JLC watches are one of the most accurate ones among other high-end brands.

FINAL WORDS

The watch is not exactly the cheapest one out there, but I personally think it’s worth every dollar you spend on it. I even dare to say that it is very close to perfection for a ladies watch regardless of price and brand. Yes, there are  other high end watches with more complicated movements, or more jewelries, or more gold inside, but if you look at it as a whole, I personally can’t think of any ladies watch that is as complete as this Duetto (and Duetto Duo too).

I can say that because to us, it has so many boxes ticked:

- If you want a watch with a respectable brand, JLC is one.

- If you want a watch with rich history, Reverso line has its own classic history dated all the way back from many years ago.

- If you want a watch with good movement inside, this one also has a very good movement.

- If you want a timeless design, both dials of this watch can't be outdated.

- If you want diamonds, it has them.

- If you want something not so eye-catchy but sometimes you still want to have a bit of sparkle too, no problem. You can wear the front, understated side during the day for casual walkaround, and then if you need to attend dinner at fancy restaurant at night, all you need to do is flip the watch, and it will show the sparkly and very elegant look that matches your evening dress (well your partner's, not yours)

- If you prefer a watch with precious metal, it also come in gold, pink gold, and two-tone, but I personally much prefer the all-stainless look.

- It is also not priced ridiculously high, considering what you are getting, I think it's a very good deal you get.

- And most importantly, the watch makes her all warm and smiley every time she looks at it - this alone can't be measured in dollar value.

We love this watch so much, it's the kind of watch that we would gladly buy again if we lost it (touch wood it'll never happen). So if you are looking for a nice watch for your significant other, make sure you at least let her try this one on first before deciding on which watch to get. This one is perfect if she has smaller wrists. If she has larger wrists, she can also try the Duetto Duo (it's not really large anyway), or wait for the new Duetto Duo which is even a tad larger according to JLC.

Hopefully you enjoyed my short review of the watch, and I'll end the review with some wrist shots of the watch, thanks!!