Jaeger-LeCoultre

OK.. just to see what Polaris owners think about their Tribute '68 Polaris Dial..
Hopefully, JLC will consider if there are enough of owners wanting it.

To be fair - I think if JLC changes, it will ONLY BE ONE WAY ie Non Luminescent to Luminous and NO RETURN CHANGE, valid within a certain time frame.
For those who DO NOT WANT TO CHANGE - Also please fill in below so that we know how many don't want as well..

Please fill in your details:

Name (Initials or Login ID)               Country                   Polaris no (XXX/768)          Want Luminescent Indexes (Y/N)

1.  eyedoc                                            Singapore               33X/768                                 Yes

...I have a polaris with a non lumen dial (the 2. edition). 

I like how it looks in daylight but would love a full lumen at night. On the other hand - the full lumen dial (the first edition) looks nice in the dark but is (to me) to strange/dark in the daylight. If JLC could make a combo (as the 2. edition but with full lumen), my guess is, they would have done so with the 2. edition and i would rather have a watch that looks nice in the daylight.... To me none of the above are perfect and this is still a strange watch to me.

Would have been nice to have known this "minor detail" befor I paid for my Polaris up front - I think JLC have lost som collectors on this one. It is still strange to me that JLC can put so much time and  $ into a perfect re-edition, and then throw it all awy on the dial. It is non pro and give JLC a bad rep. Strange. They must have known this problem from the start, or don´t JLC produce the dials themself?

I still hope for a combo dial but on the present 2 - I like the 2. edition best.  

The ideal dial is second dia with luminous indexes

I still think that a more " creamy " color should have been a blast...

best,

Nicolas

...however I certainly would like to have the triangular indices glow
like the indices on my MCD/GMT.

I never saw an original '68 in the metal so I don't know if they had
bright lume in their day or not.
N

...the tritium would be actively glowing. Not a faded brown.

In any case, I know what I prefer between faked patina and function.

 

It is a diver!

- and the mail point for the design of the dial, is the function of the lumen - so a non lumen dial make no sens to me... I would rather have a all white dial if it could all glow!

the original polaris would not glow at all with indexes with tritium. The half life of tritium is 12y, the power of the glow would be today abotu 1/16th of what it was originally.

nevertheless, the dial with not all indexes glowing as one would expect is not a good thing, I think.

does anyone know the range of the first batch in terms of s/n in the limited edition with the "fully glowing" dial?

Technically, despite the 12,5 years half life, the '68 is stil glowing after 40 years...

All right, it is only slightly glowing, but at least all the indexes do glow !

 

 

 

...I would like my Polaris to "lume." OK, maybe just a little brighter!
Thank you Clavi.
N

No message body

the exposure time and aperture for this picture?

15 seconds @ 2.96875

So indeed, it is not glowing much !

No message body

Technically, the phosphor would have been used up prior to the electrons no longer being emitted from the Tritium...The output is not directly related to the degree of decay. No phosphor, no glow...

Anyway, what I meant to convey was that if one bought a new Polaris in the late 60's, the indices would not be brown.

Hi
Just wondering if JLC actually monitors or reads these discussion boards to get feedback and opinions...
If not, our comments and efforts would all just fall to deaf ears anyway...

So far, the Polaris is my favourite watch because of its beauty but in the dark, it really falls short.
:2 second places by just a hair:
My Omega Railmaster, because of its simplicity in design and the lume looks great in the dark.
The Panerai Black Seal is my favourite for casual wear.. great looks and good lume too.

Pity for the Polaris lume... it would have made it miles ahead...

JLC ...  guys are you listening to your customers????
PLEASE CONSIDER THIS REQUEST ! Just one chance of a change !

best wishes to all

After 3 emails from JLC I can assure you that they do not care about what we think, I have both Polaris and I love them however I would have loved to have the first dial (indexes glowing) in my 68, I am with you for a change

I think JLC does care about its customers.

On this particular problem of lume on the dial, they could propose a solution or at least communicate with the customers that would want to know whether or not something can be done. I suppose it could be easy if the customers would register their tribute to polaris on the JLC website, then JLC coudl communicate directly. would this provide a solution in a form of a recall of the watches to change the dials: I doubt it, but surely this would make watchfans appreciate the brand more.

I also think that a good old fashioned letter written to the "grande maison" has a weight bigger than just a sheet of paper.

But do JLC peole franticly read every post of every dedicated forum where their brand is mentioned? I hope not.

 

anyway, I wish I had a tribute to Polaris on my wrist when I see all the nice pictures of wristshots of the beast.

Dear All,

Unfortunately I would have to say that JLC is not at all concerned about what we think about their decision not to change the dial. It was after all a very limited edition so they probably have considered the cost of getting it right against a few limited (less that 700) unhappy people and thought that they can live with losing a few customers if that what it came down to.

Sad but unfortunately true since the response that we have received from them to date is quite frankly an insult of the highest order. Apologies if I sound bitter but that’s a fact. I cannot accept that a company like JLC that can produce some of the most sophisticated time pieces in the world can’t get a simple thing like the lume correct. It like saying I can do vector based equations but I can’t add 1+1. I don’t buy that for one minute it is all about costs in the end.

I’ll always be happy that I am privileged to own what is still a great watch but it has definitely left a bitter perception about JLC the company.  The lady that was in charge of the project aught to be ashamed that she delivered a less than perfect piece. I know I would be…….talk about snatching mediocrity from greatness.

Best

 

Mark S 

 

   

Polaris as original as possible. I think it's JLC mistake that they produced incorrect dial before they found how to make correct dial.
They firmly believe correct (2nd) dial (without luminova) is closer to the original. I saw it and I agree. That's why incorrect dial owners can change to correct dial by the end of 2009.

It seems that closer replication is more important to JLC than full lume is.

There is no 'closest replication' acceptable  if you don't get full luminous indexes...    (remember: form AND function ! )

This is no excuse.

I understand that there could have been "trials and errors" in the making of this watch (especially considering this is a small batch that came to market within a relatively short time), but now that all the community of owners agree that the outcome is not exactly right, I think that offering a free upgrade  (i.e. non fake-patinated, but fully glowing indexes) would be a smart move.

Not sure it will happen though....  but if JLC chosed to replace the dials (mk  I and II ) by a correct one, I think it would improve brand image a lot within the true enthusiasts community  (since the buyers of this very special watch are not the average Joe but are quite influential - in a positive, or negative way )

index color they have to give up the lume. So it't either full lume or closer index color.
Making dial with original color index with lume is quite impossible. They have chosed the color, not the full lume.

I too feel that JLC should have offered same correct dial version. Too bad.
In my case, I liked peach-index (incorrect) more than pineapple index (correct) so I paid premium to get one. I don't care about the full lume too much. I have enough number of watches with full lume anyway.

Take care,

Jean