The Non-Reverso Reversos: A Roundup of Watches That Rollover

There is beauty in being a little bored in the summer. It gives your imagination an opportunity to wander. And it gives you the capacity to take on new projects. Case in point: Recently, whilst hanging out with friends, enjoying a few libations, the subject of the Jaeger-LeCoultre came up. There wasn’t a single person at the table who didn’t want a Reverso in their collection.

Then the conversation turned to non-JLC reversible timepieces. And thus began a new quest: to collect as many examples as possible of watches that, in the words of Missy Elliott, “put my thang down, flip it and reverse it.”

Of course, this was an academic quest, but if you want to spend your summer days tracking down physical examples, we offer this list to educate and entertain.

Did you know that the 1931 Reverso was not the first reversible case design? Yup, Universal Genève introduced the Cabriolet in 1929. Then known as the “Ideo,” this rectangular wristwatch featured a screw at 6 o’clock that allowed the dial/movement module to pop out of the case frame, be turned over, and then snap back into place.

With their clean and Art Deco styling, it’s hard to fathom that the Cabriolet and the Reverso both started out as sports watches, but they did. (Fun Fact: A contemporary ad for the Ideo advertised it as “a shock-resistant, reversible, elegant sport watch.”)
 

With a watch this versatile, it’s no wonder that Universal Genève brought the model back as part of the brand’s rebirth this year. The Art Deco aesthetic lives on in the Cabriolet’s clean geometry and emphasis on surface and typography. The collection includes five new models split into two parts: four pieces in the Prêt-à-Porter collection, and a single, more expressive Cabriolet Capsule.

There are many ways to flip a watch face. The Universal Genève Cabriolet lifts and retracts like the roof of a drop-top Mercedes-Benz CLE. The JLC Reverso swivels like a door to a secret passageway disguised as a bookcase. The Cartier Tank Basculante (the early versions of which were also called the Tank Cabriolet or Reversible Basculante) was a sort of combination of the two.

In fact, Cartier worked with LeCoultre to develop the case. However, instead of rotating on a horizontal axis like the Reverso, the Basculante swings around on a vertical axis. To activate, the wearer must pull a tab at 12 o’clock.
 

Originally produced in 1932, the Tank Basculante is resurrected every now and then, with the most accessible versions produced in 1999. These versions were produced in higher quantities and often employed quartz movements. Making them a bit of a bargain on the secondary market. It was around this time that the name Tank Basculante became standardized.

The popularity of the Reverso led to what the cool kids today call “dupes,” or look-alikes that differ just enough to avoid copyright infringement. In the 1930s, the Hamilton Watch Company of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, paid LeCoultre 60 cents per watch to use the company’s patented Reverso case technology.

The website Vintage Hamilton obtained a tranche of documents from the watchmaker that stated that, “On or around April 27, 1938, Hamilton was granted permission to use their patent (patent #1,930,416) to make a reversible watch.”

These letters also revealed that Hamilton contracted with Schwab and Wuischpard (S&W) to produce revolving cases under the conditions LeCoultre presented. It should be noted that it did not matter to LeCoultre if the watches were made in solid gold or gold-filled.
 

The watches produced as a result of this deal were eventually called the “Otis,” after Otis Bryan, who was the Vice president and former chief pilot of TWA, and they were produced from 1938 until 1941. As part of the licensing agreement, the Otis was only available in the US, and only about 3,000 were ever made.

There was an urban legend that the Otis was discontinued due to copyright infringement, but in reality, American watchmaking shifted toward producing military-spec timepieces.

After WWII, rectangular watches fell out of favor, and the Reverso was discontinued between 1948 and 1972. Perhaps to fill the void, Yves Saint Laurent produced a series of timepieces using JLC’s swiveling case system.

At first, these timepieces were very luxe, with 18k gold cases and mechanical ETA 2512 movements; however, as time marched on, they were produced in stainless steel with Quartz calibres supplied by Citizen and sold on the Japanese market.
 

This flip is not a complete rip-off of the Reverso: for example, this collection features Yves Saint Laurent’s more modern design language, with stylized dials and even octagonal frames, rather than the Art Deco signatures of the Reverso.

Why was there no lawsuit? Cartier and YSL both produced reversible watches during this time, so it’s likely that both brands had licensing agreements.

The Omega Equinoxe is one of the rarest reversible watches. It was released in 1981 and discontinued the very same year.

Remember that the 1980s were a challenging time for watchmaking, and with the Equinoxe, Omega was accepting that quartz was here to stay. And if any high-end brand could make a case for quartz, it was Omega.
 

The name Equinoxe refers to the two times of the year when there is a “nearly” equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes. Omega references this transitional moment by having a watch that “flips” between digital and analog displays.

The Equinoxe was also one of the earliest examples of a two-faced watch, beating the JLC Reverso Duoface by over a decade. Only 3,000 were ever made. We wish you luck in finding one.

Ever loved a caliber so much that you wished you could wear your watch backward so that you could gaze upon the mechanism? Independent brand Chronoswiss is known for its innovative calibres, so it stands to reason that the Maison would come up with an equally inventive way to display them.
 

Designed in the 1990s, the Chronoswiss Cabrio, instead of flipping the case to protect the dial, features a two-sided exhibition case that swivels 180 degrees to show off its hand-finished Calibre ETA 2670 automatic movement with 25 jewels and a gold rotor. It can also be tipped forward halfway to serve as a mini desk clock.

Who says a watch case needs to be a rectangle to flip over?

If you are unfamiliar with Rotary watches, it is a Swiss brand founded in 1895. Rotary’s biggest market, however, is the United Kingdom, where the brand is known for producing dependable, affordable, but usually unremarkable timepieces.
 

The Revelation was created in 2006 and was meant to act as a dual time zone watch. However, instead of having two displays on a single dial, the watch is comprised of two watches in one case. To look up your desired time zone (or switch up the watch’s style), you rotate the case like a fidget spinner, revealing the other dial and hidden crowns.

Meanwhile, its two crowns, which allow the wearer to synchronize the two quartz movements, are hidden by the case and only visible mid-flip. While the Revelation is no longer in production, you can still find examples of the Revelation on the secondary market.

The Hamilton Otis may not have survived the 20^th century, but that didn’t stop the brand from experimenting with reversible watches.

In 2013, Hamilton introduced the Jazzmaster Face 2 Face – a round double-sided reversible watch series that allows the wearer to turn over the dial to reveal either a traditional time-telling chronograph or a reverse side displaying a skeletonized movement with tachymeter, pulsometer, and telemeter scales.
 

The most recent iteration (from 2023) is limited to just 999 pieces. The watch houses two dials that pivot horizontally. Not only does this oval-shaped form present two different functions – a skeletonized “boy racer” chronograph for heads and a quieter three-hander for tails – the Face 2 Face also allows for very different style statements. It also operates as a GMT.

The Versa from indie brand Vario is influenced by all the reversible watches that came before it. Its streamlined, rectangular silhouette pays tribute to the Art Deco ancestors. At the same time, it straddles both sports chic and cocktail party elegance.

With its two distinct dials, the Versa also serves as a GMT, but here’s where it stands out from its kinetic kin: you can set the time for destinations with half-hour differences (I’m looking at you, Newfoundland).
 

For anyone looking to start a reversible watch collection, the Versa is also available, albeit in limited production. And because this stainless-steel case uses two independent Ronda Slimtech 1062 1 Jewel Swiss quartz movements with a 6-year battery life, it’s also quite affordable, costing only $428.

(Front image © Christie's)