Jaeger-LeCoultre: Wang Shun becomes the latest friend of the house
Sep 06, 2024
Olympic gold medalist Wang Shun makes a splash as the latest friend of the house of Jaeger-Lecoultre
With his recent bronze success in the men's 200m individual medley at the Paris Olympics, Wang Shun has become the first Asian swimmer to win individual medals in three consecutive Olympics Games. This is just one of many records he has broken as an outstanding athlete.
“When I was young, I dared to dream all kinds of great dreams and wouldn’t hesitate to say that I wanted to be an Olympic champion,” he says. “But as I matured and encountered many setbacks and difficulties, I realised that reaching the pinnacle of this sport would not be straightforward. I am so glad that I have persevered; all of the effort is worth it, and this is a message that I want to transmit to younger people.”
his kind of drive is similar to that of an artist, working at perfecting their craft. His tale of unwavering dedication is one that began since the very beginning of his career in 2000, and has held true in the many challenges he has faced along the way.
“The partnership with Wang Shun came very naturally”, says Catherine Rénier, the former CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “With his approachable personality, refined yet recognisable style and hardworking ethics, he embodies the values and aesthetics of our Maison.”
In his campaign, Wang sports the new Reverso Tribute Chronograph in pink gold. The timepiece is presented in both steel and pink gold, complemented by dark blue and black straps respectively. It pays tribute to the Reverso’s roots with the quintessential sporting complication – the chronograph – which was developed in 1931 for one of the first wristwatches developed specifically for sport. Its ingenious swivelling case was designed to protect it when worn on the polo field.
Bearing all of the hallmarks of the Reverso Tribute line, the front dial of the watch features the baton hour markers, Dauphine hands and peripheral chemin de fer minutes track. But when one flips over the watch case, it reveals the beautifully crafted chronograph mechanism on the reverse side. The dial is entirely skeletonised to showcase the fascinating animation of the chronograph and full complexity of the movement, while the bridges are decorated with Côtes de Genève to create visual unity. The chronograph seconds and minute tracks are highlighted in black to maximise legibility, with blue screws to match the blue of the chronograph hands.
The Reverso Tribute Chronograph is powered by the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 860, a fully integrated hand-wound chronograph movement. It beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour and incorporates a column wheel chronograph with a horizontal clutch, which was chosen over the more familiar vertical clutch to reduce the overall thickness of the movement. So this means that despite its complexity, the shaped rectangular movement is able to elegantly fit into a case less than 12mm thick.
To display hours and minutes on both front and reverse dials, the movement powers two sets of hands that must move in opposite directions to indicate the time in correct clockwise fashion on both faces of the watch. But even with the high energy requirement of a retrograde chronograph combined with two time indications, the Calibre 860 offers a power reserve of 52 hours, much like an athlete at the top of their game.
