Looking for a timeless travel timepiece with a 2nd time zone to follow the home front ? Meet the new Polaris Geographic GMT in this article.
History
With more than 200 years of history, Jaeger-LeCoultre is one of the pioneers of Swiss watchmaking.
It was Founded in 1833 by Antoine LeCoultre, who transformed his family’s small barn into a watchmaking workshop.
Obsessed with accuracy, he took it upon himself to create the tools needed to develop the smallest parts to produce the most accurate calibers. In 1903, a meeting between Frenchman Edmond Jaeger and Swiss Jacques-David LeCoultre changed the name and successfully fused French style with high-end Swiss engineering.
Due to their constant innovation and creativity, many of their inner movements are used by other watchmakers which earned them the title “The watchmaker of watchmakers.”
The Timepiece
Most know Jaeger-LeCoultre mainly for their Reverso model but in this article we will discuss a lesser known gem namely their sporty Polaris series and more specifically the brand new GMT “Geographic” edition. The Polaris series is not a newcomer and already saw the light of day in 1962.
With the Polaris, Jeager-LeCoultre is targeting people who are looking for a timepiece that can be worn daily and in all circumstances. The watch is 100m water resistant so you can brave the pool or beach without problems.
In addition, through choice of case material, steel or gold, and and a wide range of watch straps (rubber, canvas, leather and steel watch straps) there is something for everyone.
Also, in addition to the Geographic GMT variant we are discussing here, the Polaris series also has a chronograph version, a standard hour/date version, the Memovox Mariner diving version and a version with a true perpetual calendar. The Polaris Mariner Memovox even included a mechanical alarm function that served as an audible signal to remind divers that it was time to return to the surface.
If we look closely at the dial we can see at the GMT functions similar subdials that we also find at the Augemar Piguet Royal Oak dual time and the vacheron constantin overseas dual time. Not surprisingly, these 2 use as their base an inner movement from Jaeger-LeCoultre namely the 889.
The new Geografic GMT has as inner workings a caliber 939 which is basically an evolution of this caliber 889 with several modifications. An important difference is the winding system. The rotor rests on ceramic bearings, the barrel of the mainspring has been enlarged and the teeth of the gearing have been re-profiled to reduce friction. As always, this beautiful interior is beautifully decorated and visible through the transparent bottom of the movement.
What is most striking about a timepiece is the design of the dial. And that, in the case of the Polaris Geographic, is a gem. The ocean gray lacquered dial has a double gradient color that adds visual depth and dynamism. To achieve this color, Jaeger uses a complex process consisting of nearly 40 steps, including 35 coats of lacquer. For better legibility, orange accents draw attention to key information points, contrasting with the luminous coating on the indexes, numerals and hands.
The GMT indication on this timepiece is not an extra hour hand as we find on many other GMT timepieces but a real miniature version of a clock with hour and minute indication above the orange triangle indication at 6 o’clock. The cherry on the cake is the name of the city that corresponds to the second hour. So you yourself must not know the time difference between your travel position and home position. To the left of this we find a very small but excellently done day/night indicator. At 10 o’clock we find a “Power Reserve” indicator that shows whether the watch has sufficient power reserve.
The bezel is not rotatable like the Mariner diving edition of the Polaris and has a standard counting scale with a numeral indicator at 3 and 9 o’clock.
Specifications
CASE
316L stainless steel 42mm diameter, 11.54mm height, 100m (10 ATM) water resistant, anti-reflective sapphire glass
MOVEMENT
In-house Calibre 939 Automatic with 70 hour power reserve, Frequency: 28’800 vibrations per hour. 8-year warranty .
Functions : Hours, minutes, GMT indication with country.
PRICE
17600 euro
REFERENCE
Q9078640
Conclusion
A beautifully designed and superbly built GMT movement are some of the superlatives we can talk about when looking at this timepiece. With its price tag of 17600 euros, this is certainly not a cheap timepiece, but if you then compare it to the GMT versions by Audemar Piguet and Vacheron Constantin with similar inner workings and functions, however, we are talking about a “bargain”.