Jaeger-LeCoultre Launches An Affordable Timepiece For Men Of Adventure

An icon returns to embrace today's contemporary man.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Launches An Affordable Timepiece For Men Of Adventure

Jaeger-LeCoultre are paying homage to the men who walk their own path in 2018 with the release of a brand new Polaris Collection.

The five distinct watches which made their debut at this year’s SIHH all borrow the DNA of the original Memovox Polaris timepiece hailing from 1968.

With the old school pillars in place alongside the model’s 50th anniversary, Jaeger-LeCoultre focused their efforts on creating a broader model range which now includes a three-hand automatic, a chronograph, a chronograph world time and a more vintage-inspired duo in the Polaris Date and Polaris Memovox.

A Design Exercise In Sport Elegance

A glimpse at the face of every Polaris piece will reveal a marriage of fine watchmaking tradition with a fresher and more contemporary feel – think sporty and elegant with a vintage touch.

The defining feature across all five Polaris models is the dial which comprises of a mixture of finishings on three concentric circles to provide a face with added depth and detail.

The case of the Polaris collection is also a worthy mention as it’s a brand new affair featuring a combination of brushed and hand-polished surfaces, with sharp, plunging lugs and thin, rounded bezels to achieve the aforementioned sport aesthetic.

Large crowns meanwhile mimic the original 1968 model whilst providing better grip. Let’s take a closer look at each one.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Automatic

Steeped in pure minimalism is the dual-crowned Polaris Automatic. The iconic appointment sees one crown designated to setting the time whilst the other adjusts the inner rotating bezel.

The inner rotating bezel itself is a nod to the Polaris’ diving roots which allows for tracking of elapsed time under water. This piece in particular has a water resistance rating of 100m.

The 41mm case is made from stainless steel and houses the Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 898/1 automatic movement with 40 hour power reserve. This movement drives the hours, minutes, seconds and the rotating inner bezel.

The final touch to this piece is a dial in black or ocean blue which features three treatments – sunray, grained and opaline.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Steel Chronograph

Adding a chronograph function to the Polaris brings another dimension to the watch without diluting its original design.

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph is the sportiest of the new line thanks to its tachymeter bezel, a feature which allows the wearer to determine their speed over a fixed distance.

The technical specs of this model sees a 42mm stainless steel case housing the Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 751 automatic mechanical movement which boasts a 65 hour power reserve. The movement drives the hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph and tachymeter scale.

Once again, the dial features a black or ocean blue hue with sunrayed, grained and opaline finishes. Water resistance is also rated at 100m for this piece.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Rose Gold Chronograph

A touch of elegance goes a long way in the modern world and that’s exactly what Jaeger-LeCoultre have focused on with their new Polaris Chronograph in striking rose gold case.

The internal movement is essentially the same as the standard chronograph with the only difference being the rose gold version’s anthracite dial with sunrayed, grained and opaline finishes and an oscillating weight in rose gold.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph WT

World time is the true companion to any serious traveller and Jaeger-LeCoultre have addressed this with their latest Polaris Chronograph WT.

The in-house chronograph movement boasts a useful world time complication for those who are always on the fly. Of course it all starts with a durable and lightweight 44mm case that’s made of titanium and measures in at just 13mm thick – a requisite for when you need to travel light.

This case houses the Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 752 automatic movement with hours, minutes, seconds, chronograph and world time functions. This is further backed up by an extensive 65 hour power reserve.

It not only features the two chronograph pushers, but it has an additional crown at 10 o’clock to control the rotating city disc, which you can set to the city you are in, and immediately see the time in 23 other cities around the world.

The dial design on the Polaris Chronograph WT comes in the option of black or ocean blue with sunrayed, grained and opaline finishes.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Date

The Polaris Date is the first of two timepieces which takes direct inspiration from the original model which arrived in 1968.

It uses the same design elements including Vanilla Super-LumiNova hands, the triangle along with trapezoidal indices mixed with four Arabic numbers, a railway track for the minutes and a date window at three o’clock.

The case itself is a 42mm stainless steel unit and features a glass box where the crystal is raised from the case, evoking its vintage inspiration.

Flip the watch around and there’s a closed case back which wears an engraving of a SCUBA diver, similar to the engraving that was found on the inner case back of the 1968 model.

Inside the case is resides the Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 899/1 automatic mechanical movement with hours, minutes, seconds, date and rotating inner bezel functions. There’s also a 38-hour power reserve backed up with a 200m water resistance.

The dial configuration on this piece is black with sunrayed, grained and opaline finishes.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Memovox

They call this one the rebirth of an icon and it’s certainly our personal favourite of the collection.

Issued in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces, this model features the special alarm function made famous by the 1968 Memovox Polaris watch.

This 50th anniversary timepiece features the iconic three-crown design: one for setting the alarm (top), one for the inner rotating bezel (middle) and one for setting the time (bottom).

Everything is set within a 42mm stainless steel case including the Jaeger-LeCoultre Caliber 956 automatic mechanical movement, a striking mechanism with a gong, along with the central seconds and instant-jump date-change system.

It also affords functions like hours, minutes, seconds, alarm and date backed up with a 44 hour power reserve.

The dial is where the vintage cues really resonate thanks to vanilla Super-LumiNova markings and trapezoidal indices mixed with four Arabic numbers.

The triangle in the dial centre acts as the alarm indicator.

This movement is special in that it’s a direct descendant of the first automatic alarm watch movement created by Jaeger-LeCoultre in the 1950s.

As it represents the pinnacle of timing accuracy, robustness and reliability, it’s been evolved for more than 60 years to suit today’s demands. That includes a 200m water resistance rating and a black sunrayed, grained and opaline finished dial.

Simple yet cool is how we’d describe it.