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Jaeger LeCoultre and Polo: the Reverso 78th Anniversary.


Polo is a team sport played on horseback; it was first played in Persia/Iran in 600 B.C. or much earlier. It was, at first, a training game for cavalry units, usually the king’s guard or other elite troops. It was often played with as many as 100 to a side, like a miniature battle.

It soon became an Iranian national sport played by the nobility and during the medieval times, it was the favourite sport of the Ayyubid and Mameluke dynasties of Egypt and the Levant. It later passed from Persia to other parts of Asia including the Indian subcontinent and China, were it became really popular during Tang Dynasty.

The game was played from Constantinople to Japan by the Middle Ages, it was known as the Game of the Kings. Its name, Polo, is said to have been derived from the Tibetan word “pulu”, meaning ball.

The modern game of polo, even though it was formalized and popularized by the British, it really derived from Manipur (India). It was then in 1834, where the first polo club was established in a little town in India called Silchar, in Assam.

According to Great Britain, the first polo club was established in 1862 by two soldiers who then spread the game to their peers in England. The British are credited with spreading polo worldwide in the late 19th century and the early 20th century.

Field polo requires two teams of 4 players. A full-size field is 300 yards long, and either 200 yards or 160 yards wide if there are side boards—these are generally 6" high. There are tall collapsable goalposts at each end of the field spread 8 yards apart. The object of the game is to score the most goals by hitting the ball through the goal. Ends are changed after a goal is scored. Polo found popularity in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Pakistan and the United States of America.




Jaeger LeCoultre has had a very closed relationship with equestrian polo sin 1931. Such closed relationship that the Reverso, by Jaeger LeCoultre, was designed speacially to withstand the rough and stumble, both characteristic of the sport.

In 2006 it was the Reverso 75th anniversary. In order to celebrate such event, the company sponsored numerous polo events like hosting the Maharaja Sir Pratap Singh Cup.

A Jaeger LeCoultre Reverso watch is distinguished among thousand of watches. Icon of the high watchmaking, Jaeger Le-coultre Reverso is distinguished by its elegant case that slides along its base to rotate on itself. Its sober and strong lines are based on the Art Déco style: clear and sober aesthetic, passion for the hand made "savoir-faire", for the precious materials and the good life style. The rotation of its case is an invitation to play with the time. Exaltation of the spirit , Jaeger Le-coultre Reverso shows its duality having a second face. Only a rotation is needed for the watch to become into a jewel that can be personalized with an eternal seal. It makes the people sights to follow the tic tac of its trains o shows a second esphera. In more than 70 years, not only has Jaeger Le-coultre Reverso become a legend, but also a jewel into the watchmaking. This big classic of the Art Déco is the inspiration of the best watchmakers and inventors who only wish to imagine new interpretation for this line.













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