Important Collectors' Wristwatches, P...

New York, Mar 10, 2010

LOT 279

Jaeger LeCoultre Polaris 1st generation Jaeger LeCoultre, Memovox Polaris, Ref. E 859. Made circa 1965. Fine, center seconds, self-winding, stainless steel wristwatch with date, alarm and 2 crowns. Accompanied by a Jaeger LeCoultre service invoice (dated January 21, 2010) and a service box.

USD 10,000 - 20,000

EUR 7,500 - 15,000 / CHF 11,000 - 22,000

Sold: USD 17,400

C. Two-body, polished and brushed, inclined bezel, the crown at 2 activates the central revolving alarm dial. D. Black with applied Arabic and baton indexes, inner revolving disk with applied luminous and minute divisions for the alarm, outer dot minute divisions with 5-minute/ seconds markers and Arabic quarters, aperture for the date. Luminous steel hands. M. Cal. 825, 14 ???, rhodium-plated, fausses cotes decoration, 17 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self-compensating flat balance spring, index regulator. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 42 mm. Thickness 16 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3-19

Good

Dent(s)
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3-10-55-01

Good

Patinated

Luminous material reapplied

HANDS Original

Notes

Launched in 1965 as a successor to the Memovox DeepSea, the Polaris was Jaeger LeCoultre's response to the ever-increasing popularity of recreational scuba diving. Developed for the American market and designed in a massive 42 mm case, it featured an internal revolving bezel as well as an alarm function and a date. Equipped with the Jaeger caliber 825 that revolutionized the watch world a few years before as the world?s first automatic alarm watch, the Polaris offered divers reliability and endurance. It was fitted with a plain full back (later examples were drilled for better sound diffusion) and a dial with applied baton indexes. Produced in only 1714 pieces over a 5 year period, this model is rare. The present early Polaris is from the first batch of 500 produced and is therefore particularly desirable.
Most were made for the American market, so the dials were usually signed only LeCoultre. This particular example features the Jaeger LeCoultre signature. According to the Jaeger LeCoultre archives, probably fewer than one hundred pieces had these characteristics.
We would like to thank Mr Sebastien Vivas of Jaeger Le Coultre for his invaluable help and assistance on researching this piece.