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Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Duoface Calendar

Reference Q3918420. A sheet to take with you: the numbers to check the watch against, what to look at, and what to ask. It does not authenticate anything and it does not tell you whether to buy.

Check the numbers

Measure or ask. A watch that does not match these is not necessarily wrong, but it is a question worth the answer.

Anything above marked not recorded is a gap in this catalog, not a property of the watch. Do not read a blank as a zero.

Before anything else

A reversible case with a calendar on one face and a second time zone on the other means two dials, one movement and a swivel cradle, and most of what can go wrong with a used one is mechanical rather than counterfeit.

What to look at

1. case Swivel action and lock-up in the cradle
   Correct The case turns with even resistance and seats positively in both orientations with no lateral play
   Red flag Gritty or uneven rotation, audible rattle, or a case that will not sit flat once flipped
2. dial Calendar alignment on the recto
   Correct Day, date and month apertures fully framed with no partial characters when the calendar is settled
   Red flag An indication sitting between two positions outside the changeover window, which suggests a slipped calendar wheel
3. movement Caliber 853 running and reserve
   Correct Manual wind reaching a firm stop, and a 42-hour reserve from full wind
   Red flag A mainspring that slips continuously with no stop, or a watch that stops well short of 42 hours
4. caseback Verso dial and day/night indication
   Correct Second time zone and day/night disc move together and agree with the recto when set to the same zone
   Red flag A day/night disc that does not track the verso hands

Known issues on this reference

• The Reverso cradle wears. A case that no longer sits flush when flipped, or that rattles in the cradle, is a service item and a negotiating point rather than a sign the watch is not genuine.
• Triple calendars are set through the case-side correctors, and forcing a corrector while the calendar is mid-change is the single most common way owners damage them. Ask whether it has ever jammed.
• The moon phase and the calendar must agree with each other and with the date; a watch that has been stopped and restarted carelessly often arrives with them out of step, which is a setting problem, not a fault.

Parts that are commonly replaced

• Straps are consumable on a Reverso and are replaced often; a non-JLC strap does not affect the watch itself.
• Cradle bushings and the swivel spring are ordinary service parts on an older Reverso.

Ask the seller, whatever the watch

• When was it last serviced, by whom, and is there paperwork?
• Has the case ever been polished?
• Which parts are not original to it?
• Do you have the box, papers and the original bracelet or strap?
• Why are you selling it?
• Can I see it in daylight, and can I take a photo of the caseback?

What this sheet is standing on

The specifications above are sourced to europastar.com. What else the catalog does not know.

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