Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Complication à Triptyque Q2326421

How does one of the most famed watch brands of the 20th century celebrate an anniversary? If it’s Jaeger-LeCoultre, honoring the 75th anniversary of the Reverso in 2006, they pull out all the stops by creating one of the most complicated Reversos ever made. 

The Grande Complication à Triptyque ref. Q2326421 encompasses diverse components such as a one-minute tourbillon, power reserve indication, and 24-hour sidereal time, as well as a moonphase, perpetual calendar, a sky chart, zodiac calendar, and sunrise and sunset indicators all powered by the in-house manual wind Calibre 175/1.

Among this tour de force of complications, features, and an entire suite of celestial complications, the most impressive part is that they are all crammed within the Reverso’s limited design aesthetic. The Reverso’s rectangular shape and proportions have been set in stone since time immemorial (or at least since the 1930s), albeit this time rendered in a 37.7 × 55 mm platinum case with 30 meters of water resistance. 

Jaeger-LeCoultre spread these components across three distinct displays. The first displays hours, minutes, a 24-hour indication, and a calendar power reserve, with the tourbillon in the 5 o’clock position occupying most of the dial’s space. Its cage is shaped like the wings of a bird, or perhaps a manta ray, nestled underneath widening arms. 

Flip this first dial over and you'll encounter a sky chart set inside of a zodiac calendar in a deep blue ring. Tipped with a spiky-pointed sun, the blued hand that extends over this miniature map is the Equation of Time complication, which shows how the length of a solar day varies based on the eccentricity of the Earth’s orbit and the angle of its axis. This dial also displays sunrise and sunset indicators, sidereal time and 24‑hour civil time.

Lastly, on what would otherwise be the back plate of the Reverso’s case, you’ll find an ultra-thin and instantaneous perpetual calendar, which displays the days, weeks, and months around a silver-engraved moonphase. With some clever engineering, the movement within the swiveling case helps advance the perpetual calendar and moonphase to the current and exact time. 

Just 75 pieces of the Grande Complication à Triptyque were produced for this anniversary. Twenty years after its release, this very special Reverso remains a brilliant advancement of a design that has withstood the whims and fortunes of the 20th century, rendered with even more grandeur at the start of the 21st.