It was Jaeger-LeCoultre that first introduced a dive watch with an alarm function in 1959. Called the Memovox Deep Sea, it evolved into the Memovox Polaris in the early 1960s with a vastly improved striking mechanism featuring a triple caseback construction including one with 16 openings so that the alarm could be heard clearly underwater.
The watch was remodeled in 1968 with a sportier dial with trapezoid hour markers, baton-shaped hands and a triangle to indicate the alarm time. It is this version that the 2018 Polaris collection is based on.
Distinctive for its three-crown design – the top one sets the alarm, the middle operates the rotating bezel and the bottom sets the time – the original Memovox Polaris has now been revived in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces.
The Memovox Tribute to Polaris looks entirely similar to the 1968 watch except with a slimmer bezel and more streamlined lugs. Superluminova is now responsible for the luminous elements instead of tritium.
The in-house Calibre 956 is a direct descendant of the first automatic alarm movement developed by Jaeger-LeCoultre in the 1950s and represents a rare example of a movement that has been in production for 60 years but continuously updated.
Like the original, the 42mm stainless steel timepiece comes with a rubber strap and is water-resistant up to 200m.
