For the longest time, collectors didn’t know the Corvo Reverso story. This changed in 2021 when the Italian site Watch Insanity published an excellent article telling its story, featuring an interview with Michele Corvo, Giorgio’s son (and Jacopo’s father). Soon after Richemont acquired Jaeger-LeCoultre, the Corvo family ended its distribution of the brand in Italy and pivoted to indies, becoming an early pioneer of F.P. Journe, MB&F (they knew Büsser well because of his time at JLC), and others.
But even today, if you search “Corvo Reverso,” this article supplies the sole images of a Corvo Reverso with its proper Roman numeral dial. Over the past couple of years, I’ve even seen a handful pop up for sale without a mention of the Corvo family, this story, or the watch’s role in the rebirth of the Reverso https://www.highluxurystore.ru.
It’s hard to say whether or not the Corvo Reverso is undervalued, but the story is undoubtedly undertold. So many people just don’t know what this watch is and how important it is to the history of Jaeger-LeCoultre. Sure, JLC made those more impressive and complicated Reversos after the Corvo in the ’80s and ’90s. But the Corvo is the watch that literally brought the Reverso back from the dead – and only 200 were ever made.
In fact, because of the nature of these cases – remember, they’re 1940s “Staybrite” steel cases – it’s possible that over the years, dealers even swapped these Corvo dials with what they thought were era-appropriate dials. The few Corvo Reversos I’ve seen have serials beginning with 467xxx.
Except for perhaps the Reverso Art Deco and its beautiful salmon dial and skeletonized movement, the Corvo is my favorite Reverso. The Roman numerals dial is beautiful, giving the Corvo an elegance missing in many other Reversos and rivaling that of a vintage Cartier.
But more than that, it’s the story of the Corvo Reverso and its historical importance that makes it one of my favorite watches ever made by Jaeger-LeCoultre, even if the brand itself was once skeptical about the idea.