Man, I gotta tell you about this watch I’ve been messing with. It’s supposed to be a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Tribute Monoface, a real classic. I’ve always liked the look of these things – super sleek, Art Deco vibe, you know? This one’s been kicking around my family for a while, and I figured it was time to figure out if it was the real deal or not.
First thing I did was flip it over and look for any kind of markings. I saw a model number, “295859,” stamped on it. Naturally, I popped that number into Google, and guess what? A bunch of pictures of a “Grand Sport” model came up. “Uh oh,” I thought, “this might be a fake.” But, I wasn’t ready to give up yet.
I dove into some watch forums online – places where people who really know their stuff hang out. I found a couple of threads talking about fake Reversos, and it sounded like even though these watches are tough to copy because they are really high quality. It is still possible to copy them.
Then, I stumbled upon some information about the new Reverso Tribute Monoface that Jaeger-LeCoultre released. Apparently, it’s got almost the same case size as the original one from way back in 1931. Kind of cool, right? I also learned that Jaeger-LeCoultre didn’t even make their own Reverso cases for a while. Weird, huh?
Now, here’s where it got a little tricky. I read that the serial number is supposed to be on the movement, either on the back or under the dial. And get this – the year the case was made might be a year or two behind the year the movement was made! That’s cause they might have a bunch of movements lying around and then assemble the watches later.
So, I took a deep breath and got ready to open this thing up. Now, I’m no watchmaker, but I’ve tinkered with a few things in my time. Carefully, I removed the back, and sure enough, there it was – the movement. And there’s a number there, but it’s different than the number on the outside! It’s not easy to tell since this thing is so old, but I do think it is a fake, but a good one. I guess it makes sense, though. A real Jaeger-LeCoultre, especially one of these Reversos, is big money.
What I’ve ultimately found
- Model Number Mismatch: The “295859” on the case led me to pictures of a Grand Sport model, not the Tribute Monoface.
- Forum Confirmation: Online watch forums indicate that convincing fakes of Jaeger-LeCoultre watches do exist.
- Serial Number Discrepancy: After carefully checking, I found that the serial number on the movement didn’t match up with what I expected.
- Age Consideration: The watch is pretty old, which makes it a bit harder to verify everything with 100% certainty.
So, after all this, I’m pretty sure this Reverso isn’t genuine. It’s a bummer, but it was a fun little investigation. It’s a good-looking watch, even if it’s not the real deal, I guess. I’ll probably still wear it, but now I know the real story behind it. It just goes to show, you gotta be careful out there, especially when it comes to fancy watches!
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