Jaeger-LeCoultre launches limited edition Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 watch

For more than a century, watches have been the norm in the watchmaking industry, but few watches are as durable as Jaeger-LeCoultre. The Reverso series has been in continuous production since 1931. To celebrate its 90th anniversary this year, the brand has designed a variety of styles, updates and special editions. However, these crown jewels are undoubtedly the new Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185. Brings together a dream team with many of the world’s first high-end complications, including the first four-sided watch ever, and perhaps the most comprehensive mechanical indicator moon cycle designed into a truly wearable package, a new limited edition Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 is likely to become an atomic bomb in the current arms race of high-level watches.

Although many designs containing 11 complex functions tend to swell to oversize, the white gold case of Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 is still relatively compact and wear-resistant. This watch measures 51.2 mm x 31 mm and has a total thickness of 15.15 mm. For Reverso, it is on the larger side, but it should be far from a clumsy display on the wrist. The overall case is designed as a classic Reverso, with Art Deco-style streamlined grooves at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock, highlighting the rotating center case against the outer frame.

Jaeger-LeCoultre claims that the Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 is the world’s first four-sided watch. This arrangement allows 11 complex functions to be visually dispersed, so that each dial has a unique and clear layout. The main dial adopts a semi-hollow arrangement, integrating Reverso’s traditional blue sword-shaped hands and chemin de fer minute track into a series of Parisian decorative patterns on the bridge. This familiar dial layout also integrates a perpetual calendar display, which fully displays the sunburst moon, day, and a large date wheel at 5 o’clock. Naturally, the oversized flying tourbillon at 7 o’clock dominates here with its blue screws and propeller-style seconds indicator. Although this bold and complex element occupies a central position on the main dial, the dial also adds a small day/night indicator and leap year indicator at 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock.

The second dial of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 occupies the second dial slot of the traditional Reverso on the other side of the rotating middle shell, making things easier visually. The chronograph function is handled by a jumping hour display, next to it is a miniature red arrow minute hand, leaving most of the visual space for the complicated mechanism of the minute repeater. Activated by the lever on the side of the main crown, this timekeeping function is the first of its kind. It can achieve a completely seamless transition between the hour, quarter and minute timekeeping. Due to the use of a rotating rack and cam system, the traditional minute repeater will temporarily pause when switching between hour, minute and partial. The new advancement debuting in Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 completely eliminates these gaps. However, Jaeger-LeCoultre is obviously vague about the mechanical details surrounding this breakthrough.

Since the third dial of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 is located in the bracket part of the case, under the iconic rotating case assembly of Reverso, it is natural to assume that the watch uses two independent movements. However, this is only partially correct. Although a gear train is embedded in the case holder to handle the functions of the third and fourth dials, it is directly connected to the main movement through an extended connecting pin at midnight every day to correct the display on each dial. Except for the once-a-day calibration, the gear train remains inert and has no power source or adjustment of its own. This is an undeniably complex system, but it allows the case holder to remain extremely thin, so as not to damage the lines of the traditional Reverso case. The third dial uses multiple patented mechanisms to create one of the most comprehensive moon phase displays in the history of a mechanical watch. The traditional moon phase complication tracks the rendezvous cycle every month, or the progress from full moon to new moon and back every month, while Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 adds two additional moon trackers for the dragon cycle and the abnormal cycle of the moon. .

The largest display at 12 o’clock shows the classic rendezvous cycle of the northern hemisphere, and its laser-etched moon disk is covered by a moving blue hand-painted disk and decorated with exquisite gold dust. The other two sub-dials are more esoteric. The 8 o’clock position is an indicator of the dragon cycle. The dragon cycle tracks the path of the moon when it interacts with the path of the earth orbiting the sun, which means that the display can be used to track the occurrence of solar and lunar eclipses. Finally, the 4 o’clock subdial is mainly rendered in the micro-enamel of the earth, surrounded by the moon in an elliptical orbit. This tracks the anomalous period. It measures the distance between the Earth and the Moon at different points in their orbit. This interaction can affect the apparent size of the moon in the sky by up to 14%, and it also plays an important role in the ocean tidal cycle. Jaeger-LeCoultre has applied for a patent for the indicator of the dragon and anomalous lunar cycle, making it the only watch that includes this set of astronomical complications. In addition to the complexity of this set of moon phase complications, this comprehensive astronomy kit is also very accurate. Jaeger-LeCoultre claims that the moon phase display only needs to be adjusted once every 1,111 years.

Finally, the real caseback of Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 was handed over to the fourth dial. Here, there is only one complication, a traditional southern hemisphere rose gold moon phase display, but the rest of the bottom cover is decorated with a star map of the southern hemisphere. Intricate blue lacquer and hand-carved, it may lack the technical sophistication of the other three, but still presents a visual wonder. high quality watch

The Calibre 185 manual winding movement inside Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 is an extremely complex project. This movement is equipped with 97 jewels and countless components, provides 11 complications on its four displays, and provides a fairly average power reserve of 50 hours at a beat rate of 28,800 beats per hour. Since people who can afford such a watch may own and rotate a large number of timepieces, this raises the question of what will happen when the 50-hour reserve time is over. For many highly complex watches, resetting all functions after a period of sleep can be an extremely complex task, but Jaeger-LeCoultre plans to achieve this goal with Calibre 185. The watch is housed in a custom display box, which includes automatic winding and setting mechanisms for Calibre 185 functions. In order to reset the watch after a period of non-use, the wearer operates the two crowns on the side of the display box and first selects how many days have passed since the watch was last worn. After input, the crown can be pulled out to the second position and wound like a normal crown, automatically winding the movement and correctly setting each of the 11 complications. Jaeger-LeCoultre completes Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185’s commitment to abrasion resistance with a traditional midnight blue alligator strap. First select how many days have passed since the last time you wore the watch. After input, the crown can be pulled out to the second position and wound like a normal crown, automatically winding the movement and correctly setting each of the 11 complications. Jaeger-LeCoultre completes Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185’s commitment to abrasion resistance with a traditional midnight blue alligator strap. First select how many days have passed since the last time you wore the watch. After input, the crown can be pulled out to the second position and wound like a normal crown, automatically winding the movement and correctly setting each of the 11 complications. Jaeger-LeCoultre completes Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185’s commitment to abrasion resistance with a traditional midnight blue alligator strap.

In addition to the absolute complexity of its movement, four dials and patented new complications, the limited edition Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 stands out in the field of ultra-high-end luxury watches for its practicality. Although the display and functions are dazzling, this is a well-proportioned watch that is clear and easy to read and relatively easy to set up. This watch may surpass the wearable modern art display common in this market segment and become a truly viable watch in the real world.