REVERSO "Commandant François - Bibesco Cup No. 2611 Reference 201 Caliber 064 Date of manufacture circa 1931 Art Deco wristwatch in two-tone 18k (750) gold offered on the occasion of the Bibesco Cup victory by the aviators François and Jenin, on the Paris - Bucharest route, on 6 July 1934 Rectangular case, reversible with inscription on the back "Commandant François Coupe Bibesco 1934", numbered with the removable part in 18k (750) yellow gold and the fixed part without the handles in 18k (750) white gold Patinated dial with stylised and applied Arabic numerals, inscribed "Reverso" on the dial Mechanical hand-wound movement, 4 adjustments, spiral balance with advance and retard adjustment racket, numbered "223806 Dim. 23 x 35 mm Gross weight 44,3 g The Bibesco Cup was an aeronautical competition organised in the 1930s between Paris and Bucharest. It was named after the Bibesco family, which was influential in Romania, notably Prince Georges Bibesco. Notable editions: - 1930: Major Pierre Weiss, accompanied by Lucien Girier, won the Coupe Bibesco by flying the Paris-Bucharest route. - 1934: On 6 July, French aviators François and Jenin won the Coupe Bibesco on the Paris-Bucharest route. These competitions showcased the advances in civil and military aviation at the time, while strengthening ties between France and Romania. This watch, which was presented to Commandant François on this occasion, has been carefully preserved by all his descendants and has been entrusted to Layan & Associés for the auction. The historic watch is accompanied by extensive period documentation recounting the early life of one of the pioneers of aviation, through period newspapers and original photographs. Reverso: a watchmaking icon The Reverso, a watchmaking icon from Jaeger-LeCoultre, has a rich and fascinating history dating back to the 1930s. The concept behind the Reverso was born in 1930 in a British polo club in colonial India. César de Trey, a Swiss citizen, was playing polo when one of the players - a British army officer - showed him the broken glass of his timepiece, challenging him to make a model capable of withstanding the impact. César de Trey envisaged solving this problem with a reversible watch and entrusted the study of this project to Jacques-David LeCoultre, with whom he already had a number of business relations. But the Manufacture then turned to Wenger, a renowned Swiss case manufacturer, to carry out a new project that would give birth to the famous Reverso. At the time, the Manufacture Le Coultre had little experience in case manufacture, so Jacques-David Lecoultre turned to his Parisian partner Edmond Jaeger, who commissioned the engineer René-Alfred Chauvot to bring the project to fruition. On 4 March 1931, Chauvot filed a patent for a "watch that could slide in its support and turn on itself". Thanks to this mechanism, the wearer could turn the case through 180 degrees to protect the dial. In order to meet the target of marketing the watch before the end of 1931, production of the cases was entrusted to Wenger. As there were no LeCoultre calibres fine enough to be used in this very special case, the supply of the first movements was temporarily subcontracted to the Tavannes Watch Co. It was not until the second half of 1933 that Reverso watches were fitted with movements manufactured in-house by Manufacture Le Coultre, like our example, which, like all the early examples, is signed only Reverso on the dial. The first watches, in the Art Deco style, were designed as elegant but above all functional timepieces, with a reversible dial intended to protect the watch from shocks. These watches were designed primarily for polo players, who needed a watch that could withstand impacts while retaining a refined aesthetic. The first Reverso watches became a symbol of elegance and functionality. Their simple design, sometimes with only the words "Reverso" on the dial, perfectly illustrates the balance of this timeless innovation, which is both practical and aesthetic, that characterises this legendary model that also shaped the adventure of the wristwatch in the 20th century. Today, these historic models such as ours are particularly prized by collectors for their direct link with the origin and history of the Reverso, like our two-tone example in white and yellow gold, which is unusual and rare in the very first productions essentially in steel. The Reverso watch has since become a watchmaking icon, which has just celebrated its 90th anniversary and is approaching its 100th, a true feat of both aesthetics and technology, with increasingly complicated models in recent years, such as the famous gyro tourbillon. The purchaser will receive an extract from the Jaeger Lecoultre Manufacture's records, certifying that the watch was manufactured around 1931. Expert: Mr Geoffroy ADER