Getting your Reverso engraved suddenly got a lot sexier with JLC’s new Alex Trochut typeface

Fergus Nash

Typography can often be one of the deepest psychological art forms, as well as one of the most important. The link between the words we read and the way they’re displayed is vital whether we consciously realise it or not, and it’s the job of a typographer to establish what a typeface communicates beyond the actual words that are printed. Alex Trochut has enjoyed international acclaim for his graphic design work, collaborating with massive brands from Apple to Coca-Cola on projects that you’ve most likely seen before without ever knowing it was him. My personal favourite is his recent design for the Dune hardcover book, whose Art Deco inspiration ties in nicely with this Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso project.

Rather than release a standalone watch, a concept limited in both number and scope, the renowned Spanish designer has created an alphabetical typeface for Jaeger-LeCoultre that represents their Art Deco lineage and status. With the Reverso originating at the peak of the Art Deco movement in 1931, it makes sense for that design language to have stuck with JLC for nearly a century. Each of Trochut’s letters is like a machine unto itself, with cascading lines of tightly controlled thicknesses and concentric details that blaze with ornate structure in an impactful display of extravagant sophistication.

This typeface will be available for customisable engravings on the back of Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso watches, and looks phenomenally impressive as a set of initials, but that’s not all that La Grande Maison has planned.

It may take several years, but the new lettering will be explored by Jaeger-LeCoultre to its fullest potential throughout a range of products and campaigns, until the design is almost as synonymous with the brand as the Reverso itself.

The photoshoot with Alex Trochut shows him wearing a personalised Reverso in a stunning blue sunburst, with the bold initials on the back adding intrigue to the brushed surface of the caseback.