Okay, so, I’ve been wanting to get my hands on a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso for a while now. It’s just such a classic, you know? And the Tribute Monoface model, that’s the one I really had my eye on. I decided to take the plunge and try my best to create a piece, just to see how hard it would be and the details of the craftmanship.
First, I went and did a deep dive online, looking at pictures and trying to understand the dimensions and I found that the stainless steel version I liked had a 40.1 x 24.4 mm case. And it’s pretty thin, only 7.56mm thick. Then I started sketching. I made a basic outline on some paper, trying to get the proportions right. It was tougher than I thought! A lot of erasing and starting over, for sure. The dial has a silvered finish and a golden-tan calfskin strap. I started to think about how to make the strap. I took out some leather straps I used to have, and cut them into the approximate size of the watch. After a few attempts, I finally got a shape that looked somewhat like it. As for the watch itself, I took out some scrap metal from my old projects, and used tools to shape it into a rectangular shape.
Then came the movement. I knew the real one had this fancy Calibre 822 manual winding movement. I obviously couldn’t replicate that, so I used a cheap quartz movement from an old watch. Then, I wanted to see if I could match the details like the hour and minute hands, the 108 components, and 19 jewels, but that was a real struggle. There is no way I could even get close, I realized. It seemed to be an impossible mission. So I gave up and just went with the simple quartz movement and added in some random jewels I had lying around, just to make it look a bit more complete. The case and dial, though, those were a bit easier to visualize.
For the case, I knew that the Reverso watches could sell for a lot, anywhere from $3,000 to $33,000. Some people compare them to Rolex watches. While Rolex is known for being reliable and precise, Jaeger-LeCoultre is more about complex designs and innovative movements. I mean, I love a good Rolex, but the Reverso is just so unique and really stands out in a different way. But I decided to use some stainless steel scraps I had lying around. I tried to polish it up to make it look nice and shiny. The silver dial was a bit tricky, I didn’t have anything silver, so I used some silver paint instead. I added hour markers and the hands. It wasn’t perfect, but it kinda resembled the dial of the real Tribute Monoface.
The last thing was the strap. The original one had a golden-tan calfskin strap, and I managed to find a similar color from my collection. It took a while to cut and stitch, but I eventually got a strap that fit the case. And there you have it, my attempt to make a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface. After many hours of work, I made a piece that looks somewhat like the watch I wanted. It was definitely a tough project, but it was also really rewarding.
Here’s what I learned:
- It’s really hard to make a watch. Even a simple one. Those watchmakers are seriously skilled.
- Details matter. All those tiny little details on the real watch, they add up to something really special.
- It’s fun to try new things. Even if you fail, you learn something. And it’s a great feeling to create something with your own hands. I guess that’s why people love handmade goods, it’s just satisfying.
- The more tools you have, the better. I realized that having the right tools is really important. I need to invest more in my tools if I want to do more projects like this.
Would I do it again? Maybe, but I’d probably need to practice a lot more first. For now, I’ll just keep dreaming about the real Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface. But hey, at least I got a little taste of what it’s like to be a watchmaker, even if it’s just for a day. It’s much harder than it looks!
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