Over its almost two-century long history, Jaeger-LeCoultre is responsible for iconic creations that have been constantly renovating the luxury watchmaking landscape, such as the emblematic Master Hybris Artistica Calibre 184.

On the polo fields of British India, an innovative idea was conceived: a watch rugged enough to be worn during a match, yet elegant enough to survive in high society salons. From this intersection of sport and style, the Reverso came into being.

And now, Jaeger-LeCoultre revisits that legacy in 1931 Polo Club, a conceptual homage that brings the origin story into the present. In this article, we trace how the Maison has taken what began as a solution for polo players and turned it into a rich mythos; a story of elegance, innovation, and reinvention.

The inception of 1931 Polo Club from Jaeger-LeCoultre

The concept of 1931 Polo Club stems from Jaeger-LeCoultre’s desire to celebrate the very moment when the Reverso was born on polo grounds, in the early 1930s. The ‘1931’ in the name refers to the era when wristwatches were challenging the dominance of pocket timepieces, and art deco was flourishing.

The ‘Polo Club’ element calls back to the sport that inspired the Reverso’s pivoting case; the need for a watch that could endure the jostle of a polo match without shattering its crystal. Thus, 1931 Polo Club is not a single watch but an overarching narrative framework, a living origin story. It is a mood, a signature, a lens through which new Reverso creations are read and contextualized.

At the Watches and Wonders 2025 fair, Jaeger-LeCoultre made the 1931 Polo Club more than a thematic backdrop: it became an immersive installation, evoking grand stables and aristocratic polo fields, replete with references to the luxury and sport of the era. Through this, the Maison invites visitors to step back into the milieu in which Reverso first emerged.

A tale of elegance and constant innovation

If the Reverso’s birth was about engineering elegance into resilience, then 1931 Polo Club serves as the storyteller of that journey. As a watchmaking brand, Jaeger-LeCoultre positions this narrative around themes of the tension between elegance and innovation, form and function, classicism and evolution. The 1931 Polo Club also underscores how Jaeger-LeCoultre sees itself: not just as a maker of watches, but as a custodian of legacy and narrative.

From its earliest days, the Reverso was disruptive. The Reverso introduced a rectangular case, bold colored dials, and a swiveling mechanism to protect the crystal. Those features were not mere stylistic flourishes; they were deliberate, daring technical statements. Over the ensuing decades, Jaeger-LeCoultre has layered complications, decorative techniques, shifting materials, and design updates – all while preserving the Reverso’s essential spirit.

The 1931 Polo Club reinforces that lineage, with new watches released in the Reverso line framed as chapters in the ongoing story. Each brings a fresh touch, whether in enamel, movement architecture, or aesthetic reinterpretation. The Maison is yet again using the 1931 Polo Club theme to connect modern innovation with heritage, giving context and emotional depth to new models.

Reimagining the iconic Reverso collection

At the heart of 1931 Polo Club lies a mission: reinterpret the Reverso without eroding its identity. Each new model becomes a lens through which the origin story is revisited, refreshed, and reasserted. In 2025, Jaeger-LeCoultre introduced nine new models to the Reverso collection under the 1931 Polo Club umbrella. Among these are:

• Reverso Tribute Minute Repeater, in which the Maison pushes its artisan mastery by marrying the timepiece with a musical complication (Calibre 953) rich in patented innovations.
• Variants of Reverso One Precious Flowers and Reverso One Precious Colours, where guilloché, champlevé enamel and gem setting revive the decorative elegance of the 1930s.
• Reverso Tribute Geographic, combining a world-time complication with a patented Grande Date display, bridging contemporary utility and classic form.
• Reverso Tribute Duoface Small Seconds and Monoface Small Seconds, which retrieve aesthetic codes such as colored dials and vintage cues from early Reversos while refining proportions.

Through all these reinterpretations, some foundational parameters remain: the rectangular case, the swiveling mechanism, and an aesthetic dialect that evokes art deco geometry and timeless refinement. The innovation lies not in discarding history, but in layering new technical, material, and decorative expressions upon it. 1931 Polo Club thus becomes both anchor and launchpad – rooting the collection in its origin with a compelling, coherent frame to evolve in.

Are you seeking luxurious timepieces in Santorini? Jaeger-LeCoultre, as well as several other luxury watchmaking brands, are available at the Excelsior Fine Watches and Jewellery Boutique, at the very heart of Santorini. Contact us today and immerse yourself in a world of elegance.