WINNING FORMULA
Jaeger-LeCoultre marks the 50th anniversary of its vintage diver’s alarm watch with a sporting new collection
CLASSIC ELEGANT WATCHES such as the Reverso and Rendez-vous are what horological giant Jaeger-LeCoultre is famous for. So it’s reasonable for its sports watches to settle into the back seat – that is, until this year.
Inspired by its Memovox Polaris diver’s alarm watch from 1968, the 2018 Polaris Collection also marks a significant expansion by the company into sports watches. There are five models: a three-hand automatic, two chronographs (one with world timer), and two vintage-inspired models. All have dials that feature an attractive combination of finishings: Memovox Polaris-inspired sunray core, grained outer circle, and opaline rotating inner bezel.
The highlight here is Polaris Memovox, a homage to its namesake predecessor and the only limited edition. As with the original, the 50th anniversary version has three crowns, one each to set the alarm, bi-directional rotating bezel and time. Its self-winding 956 calibre features a striking mechanism with a gong, and a jumping-date system. In appearance the watch recalls the original with a vintageinspired dial, with vanilla Super-LumiNova indices, and stick-shaped hands. Cased in stainless steel, this diver’s watch is fitted with a rugged rubber strap and is water-resistant to up to 20 bar, with its caseback specially engraved with a Scuba diver motif first seen in 1968.
Another vintage-style model is the Polaris Date, which resembles the Polaris Memovox, right down to its Clous de Paris-patterned rubber strap that you can swap for a sleek triple link bracelet. But unlike the triple-crowned Polaris Memovox, this bears a distinctive double crown, one each for the time and the divinginspired inner rotating bezel. It’s driven by an 899A/1 automatic calibre.
At the opposite end of the spectrum is the entry-level Polaris Automatic, with the same double-crown mechanism as the Polaris Date. It also features interchangeable straps with a folding buckle. The watch, driven by an
898E/1 automatic calibre, offers a 40-hour power reserve.
Clearly, the Polaris Collection requires its chronographs. This year’s series includes two to highlight the brand’s sporting intent. The Polaris Chronograph WT flaunts a titanium case that contains a self-winding 752A calibre, with in-house chronograph and world timer complication. Besides two chronograph pushers, this watch has an additional crown at 10 o’clock for setting the rotating time-zone disc to 23 selected cities around the world.
More understated but no less sophisticated is the Polaris Chronograph, which fuses the quintessential Polaris aesthetic with the popular and practical complication, and includes other elements such as wide tachymeter scale, slim bezel and totalisers. Available in steel or rose gold – the Chronograph is the only Polaris watch available in the latter – it’s driven by the self-winding 751H calibre.