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Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso 986 Duodate Limited Edition Watch

Jaeger-LeCoultre is presenting this Grande Reverso Duodate as a classic use of the Reverso case. On one side of the JLC 986 is guilloche engraved silvered dial with the time, subsidiary seconds dial, and a large "open" date display (not a fan of these panoramic open date windows, and look forward to this trend ending soon). Overall, this side of the watch is attractive but nothing special. Reverse the case with a flip as is iconic of this line and you get another watch face in black with a synchronized 24 hour hand that serves as a day/night indicator. Frankly the design is in fact classic Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso, but isn't very exciting other than that. The watch is called "Duodate," but of course only has one date. Who is naming these watches?

The 986 Duodate will be available in two limited edition models. First is a 52mm x 31.3mm wide steel case version in 1500 pieces, and another 19k pink gold version in 500 pieces. Inside the watches is a manually-wound Jaeger-LeCoultre 986 mechanical movement. Despite having just one crown for setting the two times, Jaeger-LeCoultre assures that the process is simple and setting one time should not disturb the setting of the other time. For the traveler who likes the Reverso case types and wants two time zones in a classic package, this is a fine watch. Plus it has the benefit of being a limited edition and attractive. Otherwise it falls a bit short of feeling special or unique amongst other, potentially more interesting watches in this lineup.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Jaeger LeCoultre Grande Reverso Duodate