The Polaris is a very different watch to the rest of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s collections. It’s not an Art Deco icon like the Reverso, nor an ultra-refined Master or haute horological masterpiece like the Duometre. It’s their daily wear sports watch, designed to be practical and versatile. Though that’s not to say it does away completely with the brand’s typical fine arts, as evidenced by the gorgeous lacquer dial on the new Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph Ocean Grey.
At its core, this new launch is a fusion of two previous Polaris models. It takes the Ocean Grey colour scheme of the Geographic Worldtimer and the design of the Polaris Chronograph released in 2023 and combines them. Resulting in a fresh interpretation of the piece.
Starting with the dial, it’s made from 35 layers of lacquer. A delicate and exacting process that could go wrong at any stage, especially as the display makes use of the three styles of finishing that each need to be produced individually. In the centre of the dial is a sunray brushed style disc with fumé gradient. Then an hour scale sector with a grainy finish, again with fumé and lastly a peripheral tachymeter in black. The fumé gradients make use of the Ocean Grey colour, which starts as a very pale blue-grey before transitioning to grey and finally black to create that smoky appearance.
Interspersed with those lacquered areas are the chronograph subdials that track small seconds at 9 o’clock and a 30-minute timer at 3 o’clock. The central hands on the watch are hours, minutes and chronograph seconds, which in conjunction with the tachymeter scale allow you to calculate the speed at which an object is traveling – a key factor in its application to racing and sport. The chronograph function is operated via the pushers that flank the crown.
Protecting the watch is the 42mm steel case with 100m water resistance, durable enough for the trials of day-to-day life. Inside that case is the Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 761, an automatic movement with a 65-hour power reserve. Between the great movement and the artisanship required for the lacquer dial, the price of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph Ocean Grey is £13,700.
Price and Specs:
More details at Jaeger-LeCoultre.
JLC watches are amongst the top drawer makes, and, as Michael points out, the art deco styling of the Reverso is hard to beat (along with the original concept of being a polo players watch, developed to provide some protection in the days where multiple watch ownership wasn’t the norm).
I do personally like JLC watches and have a couple of vintage versions in my collection. Some of the recent variants from JLC are also very attractive but sadly, this one is not one that I personally find attractive. Again, as stated by Michael, this is more of a hybrid of a couple of others from their range and is just too busy on the dial for me. So, as a sports or tool watch, £13k is s bit rich (yes, it’s a JLC, but at a price of a high end dress watch that is less likely to get knocks and bumps).