Polaris is a familiar name amongst watch enthusiasts. Drawing upon its diving watch legacy and over a century of expertise in chiming watches, Jaeger-LeCoultre presents two watches that combine fully ISO 6425-compliant specifications with the sporty-elegant Polaris collection: the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Mariner Memovox and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Mariner Date.
Highlighted by their rich gradient-blue colour, the dials consist of multiple parts finished with different textures – where the sunray-brushed central discs are complemented by the subtle graining of the middle rings and the opaline finish of the outer rings – and feature bold indexes and three Arabic numerals. The Super-LumiNova-filled hands, indexes and numerals, together with the use of different colours, make them readable in low light conditions.
Benedict Cumberbatch showcasing the Polaris Mariner watch
The aesthetics of the 42mm cases are enhanced by neat lines, and attractive combination of brushed and polished surfaces. In addition to the water-resistant to 300 metres cases, the screw-down crowns used to set the inner bezel stop unintentional movement and orange security bands are fitted to warn wearers when the crowns are not properly secured.
Celebrating the signature “school bell” sound – which lends charm to the watch, the Polaris Mariner Memovox pays homage to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s first diving watches, with their robustness, design aesthetic and sporty elegance. Equipped with Calibre 956, the self-winding movement is also a descendant of the watch brand’s first automatic alarm watch calibres. While the previous Memovox Polaris watches feature a closed case-back which the gong is attached, the Polaris Mariner Memovox comes with a sapphire case-back, allowing the wearer to admire the hammer in action – which requires a redesign of the mechanism with the gong now located at the case side. An open-worked rotor, decorated with Côtes de Genève to match the fine finishing on the movement plates, ensures an unobstructed view of the strike-works.
The watch keeps the three crowns of the earlier Memovox diving models. The top crown adjusts the alarm, turning the central disc of the dial so that the triangular pointer lines up with the alarm time; the middle crown control the inner dive bezel; and the bottom crown sets the time.
Featuring hours and minutes functions with a running time indicator and unidirectional bezel one would expect to find on a dive watch, as well as an instant-jump date display, the Polaris Mariner Date is a practical yet fundamentally powerful watch. The two crowns are distinctive of super compressor-style diving watch cases, with the upper crown operates the inner bezel and lower one sets the time and date. Powered by a new-generation version of Calibre 899, the watch is fitted with some technical improvements to guarantee a power reserve of 70 hours.
This story first appeared in the October 2020 issue of Men’s Folio Malaysia. Check out the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Mariner timepieces here.
