THE WORLD WITHIN REACH OF THE WRIST

A new model has come to swell the ranks of the Polaris collection and was launched at the SIHH earlier this year. This limited edition made by the “Grande Maison“ is specially aimed at big travellers.

In 1968, Jaeger-LeCoultre marked the history of watchmaking with the launch of the Memovox Polaris, a diver’s watch equipped with a mechanical alarm and produced in almost 1,800 pieces. The design of the patented case helped to optimise the sound quality of the alarm under water. This legendary model has given rise to a sizeable collection, which was presented in January at the SIHH. Today it is joined by the Polaris Geographic WT model.

Borrowing from the design of its ancestor, but brought up to date, this watch is made for travellers or for anyone whose professional or private life calls for keeping track of several different time zones. 250 watches are available only from Jaeger-LeCoultre stores.

Right at the heart of the elegant 42mm-wide steel case is the calibre 936A/1, an in-house self-winding movement. The mechanism runs at 4Hz and comes with a single barrel, providing a power reserve of over 38 hours. The calibre is partly visible through the sapphire crystal case back.

On the dial, Jaeger-LeCoultre has played with colours and textures. The blue at the centre of the Polaris Geographic WT turns black near the chapter ring, with a few red touches here and there. The day/night indicator is black and white. For the finishing touches, there is a sanded centre, opaline for the city disc (adjusted using a crown at 10 o’clock) and blue for the three sub-dials (a date with a hand at 2 o’clock, home hour and minute indicators at 6 o’clock and a power reserve indicator at 10 o’clock). As for the regular time information, the hours, minutes and seconds for local time are shown in the traditional way by central baton-shaped hands.

Price: 14,800 CHF www.jaeger-lecoultre.com

By Sharmila Bertin