Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris II Memovox Full Set Ref.E870 “Blue Ocean” Vintage Alarm from the 70’

DETAILS

Model: Polaris II

Reference: E870

Movement: automatic, caliber 916 is a mechanical rhodium plated, 17 jewels, bi-directional winding movement, thanks to its central rotor, with date, sweep center second and alarm. Thanks to its construction, the sound is very loud even underwater, to prevent the diver to go to surface.

Case: steel oval case, 43 mm, dial is fitted with painted luminous baton indexes, a date aperture at 3, a sweep center second, a revolving central disc for the alarm, an outer white minute track.

Condition: mint

Box & Papers: Comes with its original Box, Instructions booklets and guarantee. ( Very Rare Collector Set )

Year: 70'

Overview: Never polished. Very rare, produced between 1970 and 1972 in only 1120 pcs and this was the USA version, one of the most attractive version with its « uniform » ocean blue dial, instead of the usual two tone versions. Incarnation of the sports watch for four decades, it is a timepiece of great rarity, a must have for collectors nowadays. Its strong design, energetic lines, and a spirit that combines performance and dynamism still define the Jaeger-LeCoultre sports lines, from the Compressor Memovox to the AMVOX, including the brand new dive watch line: Master Compressor Diving.

Nearly half a century ago, Jaeger-LeCoultre marked the history of diving. The Memovox Deep Sea, launched in 1959, was the first dive watch with an alarm. The bell had the function of reminding the diver the moment to begin his return to the surface. It was equipped with the Caliber Jaeger-LeCoultre 815, the first caliber in the history of watchmaking which offered both automatic winding and alarm clock. Six years later, the Memovox Polaris watch was born. A new step in the history of techniques, its triple bottom case allows an optimal diffusion of sound under water. An ingenious system prevents the sound from being stifled by the contact of the dive suit and the case. The Memovox Polaris watch was characterized by a generous size, absolutely out of the ordinary for the time, which made it easier to read the time during the dive. As the seal is naturally the keystone of a diving watch, the new model incorporated the patented Piquerez Compressor system as well as three super-tight crowns. Moved by the self-winding Caliber Jaeger-LeCoultre 825, whose pendulum makes 18,000 vibrations per hour, the Memovox Polaris also showed an indication of the date in a three-hour window. In keeping with the dimensions of the case, the movement had a remarkable size for a wristwatch: 14 lines, 31.6 mm for a height of 7.6 mm. In order to meet the specific requirements of the US market, the first to bear witness to its interest in a sports diving watch, this new Memovox watch was named Polaris, echoing American eponymous missiles, symbols of Western power during the Cold War . But this name resonated mainly with the great adventures of the 1960s, marked by the desire to go faster and farther, at a time when the public was passionate about the conquest of space, oceanographic discoveries and the exploration of poles