Jaeger-LeCoultre | The 1931 Café, elegant and convivial

This autumn in Paris, the watchmaking brand will be delighted to welcome guests to 1931 Café – an elegant and convivial new venue created to coincide with 90 years of the Reverso, a watch that is considered an icon of Art Deco design. Offering guests the chance to immerse themselves fully in the style and ambience of the period when the Reverso was born, the pop-up café first opened in Shanghai.

Born in the 1920s, Art Deco style was distinguished by a streamlined geometry that rejected traditional ornamentation and perfectly captured the spirit of modernity and progress that defined its time. Created in 1931 and infused with this same spirit, the Reverso was a radical departure from the norms of traditional watch design. Its ingenious functionality and highly distinctive aesthetic epitomised the progressive values that had transformed every area of design, from architecture, automobiles and graphic art, to furniture, films and fashion.

As a quintessential expression of Art Deco style, 1931 Café will evoke the elegant interior of a 1930s ocean liner and the glamour of a film set. Using a black-and-white palette and infused with a warm and flattering light, the design incorporates signature Art Deco materials – chrome, velvet, glass and lacquered wood – as well as featuring a marble floor with an inlaid geometric pattern typical of the era. Every detail has been custom-designed, from the frosted-glass chandelier dominating the centre of the room, to the chairs featuring three metal bands that echo the three gadroons on a Reverso case.

Open until August 15th, the 1931 Café is located at K11, the art and fashion hub in the centre of Shanghai. From October onwards, it will be recreated in a new location in the heart of Paris.