Luxury Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new Polaris Chronograph — one of the standout models from this year’s all-new Polaris collection, inspired by the classic Memovox Polaris divers’ alarm watch from 1968 — is emphatically among the latter.
The case:
At 42 mm in diameter and a svelte 11.9 mm thick, the stainless steel case features predominantly satin finishing, with subtle areas of polished finishing on the beveled flanks of the curving lugs; on the thin, edged bezel; and on the surfaces of the curved rectangular pushers and small, notched crown.
The presence of the Luxury Replica Watch pushers — in addition to their functional necessity, of course — is a nod to the unconventional three-crown design of the original Memovox Polaris, in which one crown wound the movement and the other two were used to set, wind, and start or stop the mechanical alarm, which used a crown-operated inner rotating bezel flange with a 60-minute scale.
The dial:
Each Swiss Fake Watch dial consists of three concentric circles with contrasting finishes: sunray in the center, graining on the outer circle, with its vintage-inspired Arabic numerals, white hashmarks, and variously shaped indices, and opaline for the inner bezel flange — which is, again, stationary here rather than rotating, and inscribed with a very sporty, auto-racing-inspired tachymeter scale rather than a 60-minute alarm-setting scale.
The effect is handsome indeed, adding a sense of both refinement and depth to a dial that already benefits from that soothing “Ocean Blue” color and the two symmetrically oriented, snailed subdials at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock.
The strap and clasp:
Finally, this Replica Polaris Chronograph, a timepiece that has evolved from a vintage sports watch, is attached to a strap that is both suitably sporty and appealingly “aged.” The dark brown calf leather strap with tone-on-tone stitching has been treated with a faux patina that imparts an almost timeless historical sheen — not to mention the fact that it is supple, not stiff, and thus instantly comfortable to wear. The secure double-folding steel closure, graced with alternating satin and polished areas and relief logo form, also adds to the comfort, anchoring the timepiece snugly to the wrist. There is also a version with a steel bracelet, which is attractive but perhaps pulls off the vintage-inspired look not quite as successfully.
