There are good looking watches and great looking watches and then there are a few watches that it's tough to imagine ever taking off of your wrist - the huge (for its time) JLC Memovox Polaris, manufactured by Jaeger-Le Coultre from 1965-1970 is definitely one of just a handful of watches that makes it into the latter column in my book. Technically the first watch designed for diving that featured an alarm, its real appeal back then most likely rested in the fact that it was, as a result of its size, extraordinarily easy to read.
A target of collectors since production stopped in 1970, an original Memovox Polaris is almost impossible to find now. Anyone who has one won't part with it easily - that's for sure.
Luckily though, for 768 lucky watch aficionados, Jaeger is offering a re-edition of the celebrated Jaeger-Le Coultre Memovox Polaris this year. It is undoubtedly the one new watch to buy this year if you are buying only one.
The new Memovox Polaris, as you might imagine since it is a re-edition, is a very faithful replica of its predecessor. Jaeger has even abandoned the now ubiquitous sapphire crystal in favor of a domed synthetic glass that's accurate to the original design specifications.
The dial of the Polaris is perfection - there's plenty of room for all of the indicators, nothing is superfluous and everything is just where you'd want it to be. Conspicuous in its absence is an external bezel of any sort (the internal bezel rotates to log bottom time) to take the focus away from the important stuff. A hallmark of the original version, the triangle that marks the alarm time is there too - it's subtle but spot on.
Inside of the Jaeger-Le Coultre Memovox Polaris (2008) is the Jaeger Calibre 956 manually wound movement. It should be even more reliable (and accurate) than the original powerplant with the modern technology it incorporates but it still features a suspended gong - the feature that made the alarm of the original audible underwater and the subject of much of the advertising for the Polaris back in the late 60s.
On the wrist, the look and even the feel of the 42mm Polaris is like no other watch you've ever worn. It isn't often that you find a watch without a single design element that couldn't use some tweaking - the Jaeger-Le Coultre Memovox Polaris is one of those watches!
Jaeger is making 768 of these in stainless steel - fly don't drive to your JLC authorized dealer!
The stream of new and notable watches from the Jaeger-LeCoultre workshops seems to have taken on a fevered pitch. Among the most impressive revelations at SIHH 2008 was the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Minute Repeater. Part of JLC's 1833 Collection, this state-of-the-art minute repeater utilizes a crystal gong to produce an incredibly crisp and robust sound. 
