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amanico
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THE RETURN OF A LEGENDARY WATCH : THE POLARIS

1968 / 2008: 40 years after, the Rebirth of the Polaris.





To be precise, 2008 was not really the 40th Anniversary of the Polaris, as this Cult Watch was born in 1963, as a Prototype, ( 50 pieces ) and was discontinued in 1970 ( 55 pieces ), but the truth is that what drove JLC to re edit it was the 1968 model, the most known version, and the most produced, too ( 1150 pieces )...

Here, some pics of the 1967, 1968 and 1969 Catalogues showing this most known Polaris:







As a group of friends and collectors were involved in this project, it was also decided to re edit the 2d most produced version of the Polaris, the 1965 ( 500 pieces ), in a small batch, for the Paris Boutique only, in SS, or in Platinum ( Worldwide, 165 pieces ).

Here is a short story, a kind of Genèse of the Story of the Polaris Re Birth...

Some Dates are important to have in mind:

- 26th of November 2006: 1st meeting at the Paris Boutique, between these friends and the JLC Team, to present and discuss the Polaris Project.

- 3rd of April 2008: First pre view of the Protos, at the Paris Boutique:



- 21st of November 2008: The first Polaris Lands in Paris...( Huge thanks to Aaron and Marv for these pics )











So, now, let's have an in Depth look to these 2 Marvels:





1/ The Re Edition of the Polaris 65:

Here is the Original model:





And here, a Lecoultre model of the same year, as previously posted by Clavi:



You will notice the difference of the writings ( Gold, and " Automatic- Alarm- Calendar instead of only " Automatic "), and the different hands, too.

Here, the model which inspired the Re Edition, with its empty dots on the Alarm disk ( Pic Taken from the 1965 Catalogue ):



And there, the various dials:

Plain dots:



Small and big plain dots ( 1966 / 67 Catalogue ):





What is interesting on the '65 models is the non luminous Hour indexes of the dial and Minutes indexes of the bezel, which is a bit surprising for a Diving Watch, while the Minutes indexes of the internal ring of the Alarm is!

You will also notice while viewing all these Old pics that there were different dials, writings, dots, etc...

It may be explained that at this era, things were more artisanal than nowadays, and that some dials were used, others too, without an industrial logic.

That may be an explanation to these differences in the layout of the dials.

The Case Back ( common to all the Vintage Polaris ) was in 3 parts:

- A bronze innner case, to enhance the sound of the Alarm.

- A 2d back for the water resistance of the watch ( 200 meters ).

- The last one showed some 16 " holes " or circles, to avoid that the diving suit ( as the watch was used on the diving suit ) " kills " the vibrations which are useful for the Diver in action.



Following Pic to be credited to Clavi:



The Compressor Symbol, as to remind that the case is Water Resistant to 200 meters was inside for the Vintage models:





Behind the 3 parts Case Back, the movement, of course: The Cal 825 which was also used on the Memovox E 855:



Automatic " Bumper " movement,17 Jewels, 241 pieces, Anti Shock Kif, 18 000 Vibrations per Hour, 60 Hours of Power Reserve, which offers the following complications:

Hour, Minutes, Central Seconds, Date, and Alarm.

The Case is 42 mm big, and quite thick due to the very domed plexy.

You will notice the presence of 3 crowns:

The upper one is to set and wind the Alarm, the one in the middle is used to move the internal bezel, and the last one is used to set and wind the Hour, and Minutes.

As for the Date, you have to set it by moveing the hour hand from 10 PM to 2 AM, till you are on the good day...Which is not very practical, nor friendly...

Now, let's have a look at the ' 65 Re Edition :

When you speak of " RE EDITION ", you have to literally " STICK " to the original version, which is a real challenge, as nowadays, no JLC watch comes with a plexy, Tritium has disappeared, and as you have to improve some details, as the quick set of the date, for example.

A/ The Case:

I had the occasion to compare both the original and the re edition, that is exactly the same, with the exception of the case back.

Same shape of the lugs, same proportions, same crowns, with the specific gridwork motif, same shape of the case, all is very faithful, as you can judge by comparing the pic of the original I previously posted, and with this comparison pic:



Where is the Vintage one???



As for the case dimensions, the diameter is 42 mm, and the thickness is important, due to the very domed plexy, as previously said: 17, 52mm, but only due to the domed and impressive plexy, as the case is not that big.

Here are some pics to allow you to judge by yourself:









The Case Back is a bit different...

Nothing was written on the original case back, while here, some details were added, among which we find with pleasure the Compressor Symbol, the reference of the watch, the LE number, the Series number, and " Jaeger-Lecoultre " signature.

Here, this is the " 768 " model, but this is exactly the same, LE number apart...



The strap has the same look than the original " Tropic ", with a larger buckle ( 20 mm, instead of 18mm )...



The Dial is very elegant, with its metal indexes, and the warmth of the plexy.

Here is a small difference with the original model.

The original 1965 Polaris had 8 long and thin painted indexes, while the re edition has metal indexes.

As for the dots of the alarm ring, they aren't plain, which is conform with the model which is taken in pic in the JLC Catalogue from 1965.

Even if some other ' 65 Polaris came with plain dots, this configuration, choosen on the '65 re edition is correct, as the writing " Automatic Alarm Calendar " also came in the same model.





The Dauphine Hands are respecting the original model, and obviously adds elegance to this very nice dial, which, in fact, is very close to another great Memovox, the Black E 855:



The movement is the main improvement on this re edition, as it is the new Cal 956, with all the specificities of a modern JLC Caliber:

Ceramic balls bearings for the rotor.

Variable inertia balance.

28 800 Vibrations Per Hour.

Set of the Date with the crown which is located at " 2 "...by turning it clockwise, and Quick set, wich is far better than the system of the original Polaris.

45 Hours Power Reserve, which is a bit less than the 60 Hours of the Cal 825.

The Gong is suspended at the back of the case, which represents, acoustically speaking, a big difference, compared to the Original Polaris. as it sounds like a School Bell, not like a big Frog.

2/ The Re Edition of the 1968 Polaris:

Here, things are simpler, as only the dial changes from the 1965 Re Edition, so, I won't speak again of the movement, the plexy, and the case, crowns or case back...

I will focalize only on the dial, which is, as I previously said, the best known model.

Here again, the Re Edition is very close, and very faithful to the original,



Obviously, this layout is more logical for a Diving Watch, with the luminous indexes, hands. triangle of the bezel, and Alarm Symbol.

The very small differences are:

A bit bigger " 6 ", " 9 ", " 12 ", and Alarm indexes too.

The Date Window is eating a bit the Ring of the Alarm.

Now, let's speak a bit about the Color of the indexes.

As you could notice, the color is a bit orange, while it was initially planned to choose a yellow / brown.

This " anomaly " will only concern the first batch of '68 Re Edited Polaris...

Hence, the watch will come with a letter, giving the choice to the owner to send back, till Dec 2009, the watch, to replace the dial for the regular one, which will come, as planned, in a more yellow / brown color.

Of course, the first owners also have the possibility to keep their dial with these orange indexes.

A nice accident, isn't it?

But except these small details, the other elements are axactly the same than on the original 1968.

Here's a pic I love a lot, showing the Polaris Re Edited in all its magnificience and Bestiality, with this awesome plexy, and these special crowns.



This dial gives to the Polaris another personnality, more Tool Watch, stronger, maybe, while the Polaris 65 is more elegant and dressy, IMO.





Tool Watch, maybe, but sensual, too.

The Curves are everywhere, from the case and the lugs, to the Domed plexy:





The contrast and the warmth of the combination plexy and colored luminova as a Vintage watch are a winner, IMO:









About the hands, there were various possibilities, and here again I think that JLC opted for the best solution.

The Vintage possibilities:

Polaris 68:



Polaris 67 ( Pic previously posted by Clavi ):



Polaris with " Calypso " Hands:



The Best, IMO, was to choose the hands of the Polaris 1968, to avoid discussions about all the other hands, and more specifically, the Calypso Hands.

The bezel is also faithful to the original.

The 65 Re Edition adopts an anodised bezel, which is conform to the original.

For the 68 Re Edition, JLC took the decision of the " Vintage Colored Luminova " and painted numbers and indexes, which is conform to the Original Polaris ' 68, and a nicer solution than these greenish indexes we see on some re editions, like the IWC Aquatimer 140th Anniversary, IMO.

Here a pic of the Original 68, with its 2 Re Edited sisters, to see better see the difference between the 65 and 68, and the similarities between the 68 and the 68 Re Edited...



The Packaging :

Here again, JLC had the obsession of the details, as they chose the design the old packaging for these re editions.

The Old Packaging:

The Outer Carton Box:



The box itself:



Inside the box:



The Full Package:



The modern one, although bigger, is very similar:

The Outer Box:



The Box:



Inside ...

The watch, with something weird on your left...



Here is the weird thing...Not a loupe, but a 2d...Plexy!



The Full Package:



Well, it remains one last question:

Which one will you get???







The most important is to keep in mind that the Polaris is not a Re Edition of a watch, but a Story of Friendship, and an History.

Hope this will answer to your questions.

Best.

Nicolas

PS: I want to Thank the JLC Heritage Gallery to have provided these documents about the Polaris Vintage ( pics of the catalogues, case back etc...) for this in depth review. This message has been edited by amanico on 2008-12-02 05:19:28 This message has been edited by amanico on 2008-12-02 05:45:07 This message has been edited by Dje on 2008-12-05 23:20:12

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