Hands On With The Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph ‘Ocean Grey’

It is almost impossible to think of Jaeger-LeCoultre without thinking of the Reverso – the company is so strongly identified with the Reverso that one has become virtually synonymous with the other. Over the course of its history, though, JLC has produced quite a few other models; one of the best known families is the Memovox alarm watch collection. JLC began placing Memovox movements in dive watch cases in 1965, and in the US market, they were given the name “Polaris” – a name which Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Stephane Belmont told Revolution was originally suggested by a US retailer. JLC would go on to use the name as an official name for Memovox equipped diver’s watches in its advertisements, “Polaris” to most of us means the pole star, but in the 1960s, especially in the United States, the name would immediately remind people of the Polaris intercontinental ballistic missile, which was the US Navy’s first successful SLBM (submarine launched ballistic missile) deployed in the USS George Washington, the lead boat of her class.

The last year of production for the original Memovox diver’s watches was 1970. In 1971, JLC released the second generation Polaris II watches; as with the first series, these were produced in very small numbers by modern standards – 1,764 of the first generation Memovox divers, and 1,120 of the Polaris II. In 2008, Jaeger-LeCoultre revisited Polaris with the Tribute To Polaris watches (Memovox Tribute to Polaris 1965 and 1968) and the line was officially re-introduced to the catalog in 2018, in regular production models. For the first time, non-alarm watches got the Polaris name; the new lineup featured a time only automatic, time and date model, a chronograph, and a world time chronograph.

At SIHH this year, there were several big moments for Reverso – the new Tribute Monoface Small Seconds on a gold mesh bracelet got a lot of love from enthusiasts, and my personal favorite among the new Reverso models was the Tribute Geographic world time. However, a very attractive new Polaris Chronograph also launched, with what JLC calls an “ocean grey” lacquer dial.

The Polaris Chronograph Ocean Grey is a substantial watch – “substantial” is in fact a good word to describe not only the watch overall, but also the various features of its construction. It’s 42mm x 13.39mm, running the Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber 761. The 761 was developed from the 2004 caliber 751, which was Jaeger-LeCoultre’s first automatic chronograph movement, column wheel controlled with a vertical clutch, and with a center chronograph seconds hand,  minute and hour recorders, and small seconds at 6:00. The 761 is reconfigured to support a two register display, with small seconds at 9:00, and no hour recorder, which in addition to being a cleaner design, is an old-school layout that feels a little closer to the original models from the 1960s, albeit those were not chronographs.

The lacquer dial’s a beautiful piece of work – a love-at-first-sight dial if ever I saw one. JLC says that the dial is decorated with 35 layers of lacquer and the depth and near-iridescence of the dial is remarkable in person. Although JLC calls the color ocean grey, it can look anything from a very deep grey to a very deep blue, depending on how the light hits it.

The dial is on three separate levels, with a sort of battleaxe shaped central area that has a underlying sunray finish, the double-sunk chronograph minutes register and small seconds subdial, and the wide outer ring for the hour markers and minute track; there is a fairly large format tachymeter scale as well. The applied hour markers and and Roman numberals at 12 and 6 rise well above the level of the dial itself, and are filled with what looks like a bathtub’s worth of Super-LumiNova.

Case construction is excellent as well. The box sapphire crystal sits on top of a very narrow bezel and the lugs and case middle are crisply finished, with brushed finishing on the lug tops and sides and horizontal brushing on the case middle. The transitions between the mirror polished facets of the case and the brushed finish tops and sides are very sharp and clean, and the high level of polish on the chrono pushers and crown contrasts beautifully with the brushed finish on the case middle proper. Water resistance is 100 meters. The relatively short lugs make the watch pretty versatile in terms of fit onto different diameter wrists.

There are a couple of strap options, including the canvas strap shown, and a textured rubber strap, both of which work with the double deployant clasp, which is also very well made. The same attention to detail shown on the dial and case carries over to the clasp, with brushed finish on the JLC logo contrasting with the mirror polishing on the rest of the clasp components.

Caliber 761 is as we’ve mentioned, a development of the three register caliber 751, and it is currently used by JLC only in the Polaris chronographs. It’s an integrated chronograph movement, with a freesprung, adjustable mass balance, running at 28,800 vph in 35 jewels, with a 65 hour power reserve delivered out of double mainspring barrels. At 25.60mm x 5.76mm, it is not much thicker than some workhorse automatic calibers (the ETA 2824-2, for instance, is 4.6mm thick with a 38 hour power reserve).  The  movement and the entire watch go through JLC’s 1000 Hour Control series of tests (Jaeger-LeCoultre first introduced this testing regimen for the Master Control collection in 1992, and then expanded it to include every collection). The tests take six weeks, and includes testing for precision in six positions, as well as tests for functionality, power, reserve, and resistance to magnetic fields.

Caliber 761, image, JLC

Overall the caliber 761 gives the impression of a very solidly built piece of work – the automatic winding system, chronograph system, and going train are all under two bridges, and the rigidity this offers should mean a very durable movement with good long term precision (helped along by the freesprung balance). This caliber is an example of JLC’s philosophy when it comes to its mainstream calibers – it is what the industry calls a “tracteur” – a tractor, something capable of pulling its own weight and then some. It is certainly a very appropriate movement for what is, fundamentally, meant to be a go-anywhere sports chronograph.

On a totally different, completely non-technical note, this is one of the finest watches in the world if things that glow in the dark turn you into a happy five year old, before you became old and bitter and the world lost its joy.

I said earlier that you get the impression that there is a bathtub’s worth of lume in the markers and hands, and while that is obvious hyperbole, the cake-frosting thickness of the lume on the Polaris Chronograph Ocean Grey makes for a very satisfying after hours, lights-out experience.

It’s tough to be a Polaris, in a way – you have this superstar sibling (you know who I mean)  full of drop-dead elegance that has gotten so much love over so many decades, and been a vehicle for so much artistry as well as so much obsessively dedicated watchmaking, that you can’t help but feel a little like you had an uphill battle from the start. The Reverso is one of the most important, versatile, and flat out sexy watches of all time. But I would say, don’t sleep on the Polaris. I was genuinely prepared to be underwhelmed, having never paid all that much attention to the line, but I’m genuinely happy to have had my mind changed by how well made and how attractive the Polaris chronograph Ocean Grey is in person. It might not have the historical megatonnage of the Reverso, but given a chance, it might just become a new North Star for JLC.

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Ocean Grey: case, stainless steel, sapphire crystals front and back, 100M water resistant, 42mm x 13.39mm. Dial, lacquer Ocean Grey, with three different finishes, in 35 lacquer layers; applied dial markers; hands and indexes applied, and filled with Super-LumiNova. Movement, Jaeger-LeCoultre caliber 761, 1000 Hour Control, 65 hour power reserve from two mainspring barrels, running at 28,800 vph; column wheel controlled, vertical clutch chronograph with center chronograph seconds and minutes totalizer. Price, $15,100.

The 1916 Company is proud to be an authorized retailer for Jaeger-LeCoultre. Contact us for confirmed pricing and  availability for the Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph Ocean Grey.