The Cult favourite Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris & the link to the United States

JAEGER-LECOULTRE AND WATERPROOF TIMEPIECES FOR DIVING
In June 2007, off the coast of Hawaii, a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) built for Industrial deep sea operation plunged to a depth of 1080M. Secured to its metal structure was a Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Compressor Diving GMT watch - strapped onto an open and exposed compartment and monitored by a video feed from the ROV. The whole operation was witnessed by the professional and industrial operating crew, Jaeger-LeCoultre CEO Jerome Lambert and a few privileged international journalists. The same exclusive operation was repeated in the Celebes Sea off Manado in November 2007; this time, another Master Compressor Diving GMT was immersed to a depth of 1088M. As expected by everyone fortunate enough to witness the procedure, the timepiece survived both tests flawlessly. The watch remained accurate, reliable and undamaged on both occasions.
This experiment was the first time a naked wristwatch was witnessed to be tested to such depth outside the theoretical laboratory environment and in the real ocean. As Jaeger-LeCoultre made its indelible mark in haute horlogerie diving watches meant for professionals, it is worth noting that the brand took its first baby diving step in the year 1911…
In a patent (No.FR427.532) applied by Jaeger on 30th May 1911 and granted on 5th August of the same year, Jaeger-LeCoultre mastered a “case system for a watch in two parts fitted one on top of the other, which also has the advantage of being extremely easy to produce and assemble while ensuring a very hermetic seal”. This technique was originally designed to seal the watch against dust, but the basic principle would become useful as the world became increasingly fascinated by water sports and sea explorations.
JAEGER-LECOULTRE AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
When one sees the pervasive presence of Jaeger-LeCoultre timepieces in Asia, Europe, North and South America, the global reach of the brand seems natural and logical. In the pre and post World War II period however, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s historical links were strongest in France, Switzerland and the United States of America. LeCoultre & Cie Le Sentier has been the most important movement supplier to the Swiss haute horlogerie brands, and for all intents and purposes; Edmond Jaeger was French and it was him who brought LeCoultre’s watch-making expertise to the French haute horlogerie market.
Although the serious study into JLC’s strong American links is yet to be completed, it was obvious that the unpatented LeCoultre crown winding system was widely adopted by American watchmakers since 1847. Between 1853 and 1857, Founder Antoine LeCoultre associate and son-in-law Jean Gallay finished the LeCoultre watches within his workshop and exported to US via Dorsival of New York. In 1878, Elie Lecoultre also had to set up a new finishing workshop to produce 5000 of Jaeger-LeCoultre 19BV and 19BS calibres meant for Mathey Mathey & Company of New York viaFrères Bertollet (Ponts-de-Martel). By 1885, LeCoultre had delivered simple calibres, chronographs, quarter and minute repeaters movements to the US market.
Most LeCoultre watches were unsigned until 1929, when the “LeCoultre” name appeared on the dial for the first time. At the same time LeCoultre watches were distributed by a company “Spécialites Horlogeres” (SH, subsequently renamed SA des produits Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1937). The company LeCoultre S.H. of America was later setup in 1936 to assert control of LeCoultre watches in the US.
Corporate restructure in 1938 led to Jaeger-LeCoultre and Genevan Vacheron Constantin falling into the same hand of ‘Societe anonyme des participations Industrielles et commerciales’ (SAPIC) and to create synergies within their complex distribution structures in USA, both brands decided to work with Wittnauer, a distribution company established in US since 1866. The partnership between JLC and Wittnauer was to last till 1970s.
To the loyal Jaeger-LeCoultre fans however, the most important role of the American is the origin of their cult favourite, the POLARIS diving watches.
JAEGER-LECOULTRE POLARIS, THE CULT FAVOURITE
As Water Sports and Scuba Diving in particular became the rage in the 1950s, JLC was slowly acquiring the experience in creating a diving watch. The catalytic push however was initiated by Mr. Lowe, the President of LeCoultre Watch Inc. in New York. He submitted a letter to the JLC Board of Directors for the creation of a Diver’s watch, which was accepted by the watch making house. The resultant product was the 1959 Memovox Deep Sea (E857) equipped with calibre 815, the first diver’s alarm watch.
Between 1959 and 1970, Jaeger-LeCoultre was to create a dozen evocatively named diver’s models such as Shark, Voguematic, Dolphin and Barracuda. In vintage catalogues, products names vared according to the intended markets. This practice was commonplace and like all other watches produced by the Manufacture at that time; they were marketed in the US under the LeCoultre brand name whereas in the other markets like Switzerland and France, it carried the Jaeger-LeCoultre signature.
Unknown to JLC at that time, the most famous diving watch would be born in 1963, when JLC created a pre-series of 50 ‘Memovox Diver’s Watch’. Driven by its perpetual quest for innovation, JLC introduced a 42mm watch, a case which was exceptionally large for its time. The large size was perfect for its readability underwater and together with the characteristically JLC triangular alarm hour marker, it gave the watch a distinctive ageless style still very much admired today.
A system was developed to make the watch alarm ring louder underwater. To avoid the sound being muffled by contact with the neoprene diving suit or by direct contact with the watch movement itself, a triple-backed case was used, to ensure water resistance to a depth of 200 metres. It was also equipped with the patented Piquerez Compressor system. To guarantee enhanced security, the bezel was also placed under the dial and activated by a third super-watertight crown positioned between the two characteristic Memovox crowns. The case-back was also stamped with the “Compressor” logo, indicating the ultra water-resistant nature of the watch, this name was later used by JLC in their new Master Compressor line of watches.
For this model, the JLC Calibre 825 was used, featuring an alarm, date window and a cadence of 18,000 vibrations per hour. Like the 42mm case itself, the movement was also large for a wristwatch, corresponding to 14 lignes, meaning 31.6mm in diameter and 7.5mm thick. These spacious dimensions made it possible to endow the mechanism with all the attributes required of a sports watch: durability, precision, reliability and pragmatic functions.
The E859 Memovox Diver’s watch was launched as “Polaris” in the United States; this was suggested by the American as being entirely in tune with the adventurous spirit typical of this period where people were fascinated by polar exploration, oceanographic discoveries and the space race.
It was a period of time when the North Pole (Nautilus) was conquered; Cousteau was exploring the world’s oceans, A depth record of 10,916M was set by Jacques Piccard and Donald Walsh in the “Trieste bathyscaphe”, and also a time of space conquests. Although ‘Polaris’ is the pole star which guides sailors and explorers, the name is more likely due to the first Polaris missile launched by the American Armed Forces in 1961.
The ultra secret Polaris missile project was initiated in 1955 and built by the United States Navy. The missile launch marked a new escalation of the cold war arm race with the then Soviet Union. Considering the rave American media interest on the Polaris missile and the wildly patriotic and hawkish public opinion of the time, this assumption was a logical one.
The Polaris was made and marketed in a total production run of 1,714 watches issued between 1965 and 1970, were delivered on a rubber polymer straps and steel bracelets. The production number, modest by today’s standard was considered a huge success for non mass-marketed specialised timepieces. The Polaris watch, especially the popular 1968 version, remain one of the most highly sought-after diver’s watches among the collectors today. The big, bold, fresh and highly distinctive designs worked as it was introduced in a period where Americans were (and still are), dynamic, adventurous and forward looking.
In 1971, a second version was created and named Memovox Polaris II in the US. Enriched with the latest technological breakthrough, it took the conquest of precision to another level. Its Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 916 belongs to the generation of high-frequency automatic movements that the Manufacture began creating in the 1970s. Its balance oscillates at a cadence of 28,800vph, enabling it to reach new heights of accuracy. The oscillating weight replacing the former winding system spins freely on its axis and was hence dubbed the ‘rotor’. Whichever way it turns, the device equipped with an eccentric and with two spring-clicks to wind the spring barrel. The fact that this movement is still used in the modern Master Compressor Memovox is eloquent proof of its incredible performances.
The Memovox Polaris II was housed within a shockingly revolutionary design at that time. Three dimensional in look, the extremely large egg shaped case framed a dial in blue – the last colour still visible below water. Eleven hundred and twenty Memovox Polaris II watches were made between 1970 and 1972. The dials of the American models carried the initials “HPG” meaning High Precision Guarantee and implying the high-frequency. While some of those for the non Polaris French market featured the letters “GT” (Grande Taille) shaped to form a triangle.
Unlike some LeCoultre watches made in Le Sentier but cased in the US, all the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris and diving watches were produced entirely in Switzerland and shipped complete to the market due to the stringent requirement of the waterproof (now referred as water-resistant) cases.
The cult status of Polaris is undeniably affirmed and the then outrageous size and designs, the 1965 and the 1968 models in particular, are increasingly beautiful and ageless as time passes. There is little doubt that the watch remains a true classic today.
If the Polaris didn’t happen, and is launched today, it would be assumed and accepted as a functional, modern and contemporary timepiece would be instantly popular and successful in a market hungry for new ideas and interesting products.
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