Alright, so I got it in my head to try and make a watch. Not just any watch, mind you. I wanted to get as close as I could to that classic Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface. You know, the one with the cool flip thing? Yeah, that one. I mean, those watches are amazing. That whole Art Deco vibe, and the way the case flips over? Genius!
So, I started by grabbing a bunch of pictures online. I spent hours just staring at them, trying to figure out all the little details. This Reverso, it’s not huge, you know? About 40.1mm long and 24.4mm wide, and pretty thin, like 7.56mm. I heard somewhere that they used the measurements from the original 1931 model as inspiration, and honestly, it looks like it would fit on anyone’s wrist.
Then came the fun part – figuring out the case. I sketched it out a bunch of times, trying to get those proportions right. It’s all straight lines and sharp angles, but it’s not blocky, you know? It’s elegant. I used some scrap metal I had lying around – not sure what it was, to be honest – and started cutting and shaping. Lots of filing and sanding. Man, my hands were sore after that!
- First, I cut out the basic shape of the main case piece.
- Then, I worked on the inner part that actually flips over. That was tricky, getting it to fit just right.
- I even tried to copy that little grooved detail on the top and bottom. Not perfect, but hey, it’s something!
Next, I made a simple watch face. Just some paper and a printout of some numbers I liked. Glued that on, made some hands out of thin metal strips. The movement? Well, I just took apart an old clock I had and used that. It’s not a fancy Jaeger-LeCoultre movement, that’s for sure! I heard they’ve used over 50 different movements in those things. Can you imagine? The people who make those movements… they’re like, watch wizards or something.
The Result
After a lot of messing around, I finally got it all together. Does it flip perfectly? Nope. Does it look exactly like a real Reverso Tribute Monoface? Definitely not. But you know what? It’s mine. And I learned a ton about how these watches are put together. I really get why someone would shell out big bucks for a real Jaeger-LeCoultre. There’s gotta be a whole lot of craftmanship that goes into those, and a real appreciation for quality. It is really interesting!
This was a fun project. Maybe one day I’ll try again and make it even better. But for now, I’m pretty happy with my little homemade Reverso-ish watch. It tells the time, and it reminds me that even complicated things can be broken down into smaller, manageable steps. Plus, it’s a pretty cool conversation starter!
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