Some days ago I woke up and saw that my Reverso Date was indicating Thursday the 29th.
It could have been a day like any other warm and sunny day of this end of June, it was not.
My dear Reverso had an appointement for the night, somewhere in Paris, with many many members of her family.
We arrived early in Paris and took some time to feel the atmosphere and mentally prepare. She was quite cool indeed, I was a bit less, having the pleasure to cover my first major MJLC event and knowing that you would read with passion.
Paris was in my favorite days of the year, preparing quietly for the holidays, sunny and still busy.
I couldn't wait for the evening and walked through the streets to enjoy the passing time.
Shortly after 8pm, the first sights of the party were appearing, with many people attending and waiting for the celebration to begin.
But what was it all about? Nothing less than the celebration of the 75th Anniversary of the Reverso! So it all began 75 years ago, and thursday night had to be a memorable time to look back and see what the future holds.
India has played a starting role in the long story and so was reminded during the evening.
The place chosen by la Manufacture Jaeger-Le Coultre was no ordinary place, but the Musee Rodin in Paris.
The night had to be about history and art.
It was really promising, the attendance being impressive and highly motivated.
Here are (from right to left) fellow PuristS JJ Casalo, Mohamed, and Francesco Rio, joined on the picture by Mr Dominique Flechon from the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (on the left).
We were welcomed by the very kind MJLC french team, Ariane Dedeyan-Ouizille (left), Alex Imbert (right) and MJLC France manager Yves Meylan (not pictured).
We were also welcomed by our host Mr Jerome Lambert, Directeur General de la Manufacture Jaeger-Le Coultre (on the right).
The party was taking place in the gardens of the Musee (the musee was opened for guided tours for attendants).
Walking among the crowd was an oppportunity to make some encounters.
Emmanuel Coindre was there:
Benedicte Ferlet from the Manufacture:
MJLC Chief Designer Janek Deleskiewicz:
The PuristS.com well known moderator Alberto Schileo and Mrs Schileo:
Several famous French actors were among the attendance: Mlle Florence Darel, Mr Stephane Freiss, Mr Bruno Putzulu, Mr Thierry Lhermitte, and also French TV stars, among them Mr Christophe Dechavanne:
The gardens were enriched of reminders of the Reverso history.
The party was entertained by a nice band, though there were so many people and so much to see that dancing was just not conceivable!
We had also a dancing show inspired by the indian history of the Reverso:
Mr Jerome Lambert pronounced a speech to honour the Reverso and introduce the younger heirs of the breed, the Squadra series.
The Squadra collection designer Cali was among the attendants (sorry for the red eyes Cali!).
(The readers of the report of the Manufacture visit in october 2004 may remember Cali's real eyes).
We had an interesting discussion with Cali about the Squadra bringing back the Reverso on its original sporting roots.
And you may ask: what about the watches?
Obviously there were many many JLCs around, both on the wrists and in the vitrins, ranging from historical models to the lastest ones, from some vintages, to the finest current models:
And obviously the Grande Complication a Tryptique was here:
On one side of the exhibition you could get to see the watch (inside a vitrin),
on the other side you could learn more, with Master Watchmaker Joel Cordier:
You could also meet the Master Engraver Dominique Vuez:
He was working on some 101 parts:
We could also see some very nice engraved models:
Master enameller Miklos Merczel was also here:
A cross over between engraving and enamelling:
The magnificent Reverso a Eclipse were also on show:
To summarize I would say that it was a real success, an encharming party!
The Reverso Anniversary was celebrated with passion and sharing, and watchlovers could only be pleased and satisfied to see such a real horological event take place.
Thank you very much to all the MJLC team for organizing such a party and for inviting us to share it. I can say that they were all really working hard to do the best for us!
Thank you also Thomas for trusting me to cover such an event.
PS: More will come in the next weeks and months about the new watches. Stay tuned and thank you for reading.