We arrive at Jodhpur’s Umaid Bhawan Palace amidst much fanfare. There is the rhythmic beating of drums as we sweep up the palace stairs, rose petals underfoot, a billowing stretch of blood-red fabric overhead. The traditional Rathore welcome – named for the ruling Rajput clan – continues as garlands of sweet-smelling marigolds are placed around our necks and spots of vermilion dye are pressed to our foreheads.
It is a fitting entry into the abode of the Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Marwar-Jodhpur, for although most of the palace was converted into a hotel in the 1970s, the maharaja and his family continue to occupy a wing of the grandiose-looking building. The palace, built between 1928 and 1943 by the present maharaja’s grandfather, Umaid Singh II, was envisaged as a modern antithesis to Mehrangarh Fort, which has sat majestically on a hilltop overlooking the Blue City since the mid-1600s and was the official residence of Jodhpur’s royal family for about 400 years.
In its emblematic architecture, the palace makes a nod to two other historic marvels, Cambodia’s Angkor Wat and India’s Taj Mahal. To wander its halls, where sculptures of eagles, believed to be a manifestation of the goddess Chamunda, are intended to protect all who pass beneath; to sit in its trophy room, where the heads of wild animals stare down from the walls, calling to mind historic hunting expeditions; or to traverse its 26 acres of landscaped gardens, a setting so lavish that on the final morning of our stay, a Bollywood movie is being shot there; is to be transported to an entirely different era.
On the afternoon of our first day, we are transferred to the Jodhpur Polo and Equestrian Institute, for British Polo Day India 2015, in a 1940s Cadillac from the maharaja's private collection – which is housed on the grounds of the palace and, when I visit, is swarming with groups of young men taking selfies in front of the Rolls-Royce Phantoms, Morris Minors and Buick Roadmasters.
At the polo field, an Asian elephant, decked out in multihued finery, with bright floral patterns delicately painted onto its face and trunk, lumbers along the sidelines, offering rides to excitable onlookers. At the other end of the field, glossy polo ponies are being given the once-over before an upcoming match.
The maharaja himself is in attendance, as are Maharaja Sawai Padmanabh Singh and Maharaja Narendra Singh of Jaipur, along with the 13th Duke of Argyll and the Honourable Geraldine Harmsworth.
All in all, it is not so difficult to imagine the day, 85 years ago, that one of the watch world's most distinctive pieces, Jaeger-LeCoultre's Reverso, was first envisaged, in a setting not so different to this. As the story goes, in 1930, César de Trey, who was well-known in the watchmaking industry and a friend of Jacques-David LeCoultre, was visiting friends in India and decided to watch a spot of polo. After the match, one of the players showed him the glass of his watch, which had been smashed. The player, lamenting the fact that polo players couldn't wear their timepieces while practising their sport without running the risk of breaking them, challenged de Trey to come up with a solution. De Trey turned to the workshops run by Jaeger-LeCoultre, which responded with an art deco-inspired timepiece with a swivelling case. This allowed the delicate glass dial to be hidden away, out of harm's way.
Today, the watch is available in infinite variations, from the standard, stainless steel Reverso Classique to the Reverso Cordonnet, with its diamond settings and lapis lazuli dial, and the Grande Reverso Ultra Thin 1931. We are joined in India by an illustrious selection of rare Reversos that have been flown in from the Jaeger-LeCoultre museum. These include original timepieces, in various sizes, from the 1930s, as well as custom-made creations, including one watch emblazoned with the Batman emblem. It’s a show of how versatile this watch can be and how much scope it offers for personal expression.
“The Reverso offers a lot of possibilities,” explains Marc de Panafieu, brand director of Jaeger-LeCoultre Middle East. “I know for a fact someone who used the Reverso to propose. He bought his partner a Reverso and had ‘Will you marry me?’ engraved on the back, so she would see it when she turned it around. For weddings, you can buy one for him and one for her, and put initials or dates on them. I know someone else who, when his children were born, bought a Reverso from that year and engraved the child’s initials on to it. He plans to pass them on to his kids when they turn 18. You can also have it enamelled or set with gems. Because we do everything in-house, there is no limit to what can be done.”
At its heart, the Reverso is a product born out of practicality, which is so rare in the luxury world. And although the word “icon” is so often bandied about, in this case it actually applies – 85 years on and the Reverso is still one of the brand’s most popular models. “It’s very hard to explain why this watch, and not another one, became an icon. It’s not a round watch, it is rectangular, or square in the case of the Squadra, but the design is really timeless. I liken it to the Emirates Towers buildings. They are 10 or 15 years old now, but you could tell someone that they were just completed, and that person would believe it. Because of the design. If you go back to the design of the Reverso, nobody can say it really looks vintage; yes, it’s classic and somehow understated, but no one could say that’s your grandfather’s watch or it’s an 85-year-old design.”
Nonetheless, the fact that the Reverso is so steeped in history and that there are so many variations on the market can cause confusion, de Panafieu admits, so to dovetail with this year’s 85th anniversary, the company is looking to simplify things. “Because the line has been around for 85 years, it’s very rich – we could have a dedicated Reverso boutique. It would be easy, as a customer, to get lost among all the models and versions. So there’s an effort to make it easier for our customers. We have created a line called the Reverso Classic, where you have three sizes – small, medium and large. I think this is important for our customers, if they are first-timers.
“We are also introducing the Reverso Classic with some automatic movements. We want to give it a more contemporary, user-friendly feel. Some people don’t want to be winding their watch every few days. They want something practical that they don’t have to worry about. Which is why we are producing more automatic movements in the Reverso line.
“There will also be the Reverso Tribute, which will be more towards complications. This will be more for watch aficionados who want a watch with complications, whether it’s a calendar or tourbillon or minute repeater.”
A series of special events and celebrations are being planned to mark the 85th anniversary, which kicked off in Jodhpur. Given that its most iconic timepiece was born out of the game, it made perfect sense for Jaeger-LeCoultre to partner with British Polo Day, a high-profile, invitation-only global event that sees British polo teams play against local players in cities around the world.
The series currently consists of 10 annual events, in Abu Dhabi, Australia, China, Dubai, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Mexico, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, Sumba Island in Indonesia, Thailand and the United States, with South Africa, Brazil and South Korea set to be added to the roster. The event was envisaged as a platform for networking in emerging and growth markets, and is all about creating unique experiences in exotic destinations. In Jodhpur, this extends beyond watching some top-level polo and spending a couple of nights in a palace, to include a stunning gala dinner on the ramparts of the Mehrangarh Fort, a fashion show – complete with resplendent jewels from one of India’s leading fine jewellers, Amrapali – on the grounds of the palace, and an auction that raised US$41,150 (almost Dh152,000) for Head Injury Through Sport and The Head Injury Foundation, a charity founded by the maharaja after his own son suffered a serious injury on the polo field.
For Jaeger-LeCoultre, a brand defined by its exclusivity and discretion, such tie-ups must grow organically, explains de Panafieu, who cites the case of Jaeger-LeCoultre ambassador Carmen Chaplin as an example. “The relationship with Carmen started because when her grandfather, Charlie Chaplin, settled in Switzerland, he was presented with a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch. That watch was passed on from Charlie Chaplin to Carmen Chaplin’s mother and then to Carmen. And one day, she showed up at the manufacture with her grandfather’s watch asking for a service. That’s the way the relationship came about.
“The same with Clive Owen. Clive Owen was a client of Jaeger-LeCoultre before becoming a brand ambassador. The same thing goes for polo. We didn’t say: ‘We need to choose a sport that is practised by ultra high-net-worth individuals around the world.’ It’s true that polo is still a very confidential sport, but polo is the reason why the Reverso was invented, so it is a natural connection. It’s an organic relationship, just like the relationship with India. It’s part of our history.”
sdenman@thenational.ae