amanico[JLC Moderator]
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Jaeger Lecoultre Memovox E 855 Black and E 859 Polaris 1965. A side by side picture, and a question.
Nov 21, 2017,00:38 AM
The reason behind this side by side picture is not only motivated by the pleasure to see these 2 beauties, but to see how similar and different they can be, and to try to find an answer to the following question:
Did Jaeger Lecoultre use the dial of the Polaris 1965 for the E 855 " Black "?
When I took this picture, I know that, to be complete and more accurate, I had to compare the black dialed E 855 with a Jaeger Lecoultre E 859 Polaris 1965, and not only with a Lecoultre.
Here is the Lecoultre Polaris versus the black E 855:
As you can see, there is more wording on the Lecoultre Polaris than on the Jaeger Lecoultre Polaris or than on the Black E 855, as pictured above. The Jaeger Lecoultre Polaris is indeed closer to the E 855.
The Jaeger Lecoultre Polaris 1965.
Other than that, there are several common points.
First, the dial is glossy. The alarm disc is very close, too, surrounded by some dots. But on the ( Jaeger ) Lecoultre Polaris, the luminous dots are bigger. And on the Jaeger Lecoultre, there is no Memovox mention written on its alarm disc, as it is the case for the E 855.
There is a rectangular alarm triangle on the E 855 and E 859, but on the E 855 it is empty while on the Polaris it is filled with tritium.
The hands can be the same ( Dauphine ) on both, or baton. Both configurations are correct in the Polaris, while the E 855 hands have to be Dauphine shaped.
The black dial of the E 855 and E 859 is bombed, in both cases. The dial layout is very close.
Both have thin metal indices, longer and larger on the E 855, and 6 / 9 / 12 applied hour markers in the Polaris.
Both the E 855 and E 859 1965 have a gilt signature, too.
The Date disc is framed by a metallic window in the Jaeger Lecoultre and Lecoultre Polaris 1965. It is not framed in the E 855.
It is interesting to keep in mind that the Polaris 1968 doesn't have a metallic window. And the date is stuck to the alarm indices, it doesn't " eat " them in the Polaris and in the Memovox E 855.
Another interesting point is the comparison of the production dates.
The first Polaris was conceived as a prototype as soon as 1963. The definitive version came in 1965, and in production till 1967, to let place to the luminous indices the following year.
The Black Memovox E 855 was unveiled circa 1967 / 1968, which helps to know which one inspired the other...
Unless... Jaeger Lecoultre decided to use a Polaris 1965 dial in the E 855, with the different changes mentioned above. I still have to measure both dials, to see if this theory has some consistence.
Looking forward to reading your comments, thoughts and opinion,
Best.
Nicolas
This message has been edited by pingtsai on 2017-11-24 09:27:05 This message has been edited by pingtsai on 2017-11-24 09:34:21