A Legendary Dress Watch Brand Reminds Us That It Makes a Great Sports Watch Too

Watchmaking has changed so much since the introduction of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso in 1931 that most people don’t realize it was the world’s first purpose-built sports watch.

JLC is known as one of the most iconic dress watch brands, but it still produces leisure-enclined timepieces with strong durability, high water resistance and practical complications.

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The Swiss watchmaker’s newest sporty offering is the Polaris Chronograph in Ocean Grey. This aesthetic update is focused on a richly detailed dial created using 35 layers of lacquer.

Not quite as old as the Reverso, the Polaris was introduced in 2018 and is based on JLC’s motorsports chronographs from the 1960s. It also has aquatic aptitude and is nominally an evolution of the 1968 Memovox Polaris dive watch.

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This 42mm stainless steel chronograph, boasting 100m water resistance, exposes JLC’s playful and pragmatic side while maintaining the esteemed brand’s reputation for excellence in attention to detail.

Off to the races

JLC offers impressive complications like perpetual calendars, minute repeaters and moon phases, within the Reverso collection and beyond, so it should come as no surprise that the watchmaker produces a high-performance chronograph complication.

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The new Polaris Chronograph is powered by the same in-house caliber 761 automatic movement included in the 2023 redesign. It has a 65-hour power reserve and is decorated with a “JL” signed rotor, visible through an exhibition case back.

This current iteration ditches the 12-hour totalizer from the original, favoring a running seconds sub-dial at nine o’clock.

The chronograph complication comprises a central seconds totalizer and a 30-minute totalizer at three o’clock. It is operated in the traditional manner with a start-stop pusher at two o’clock and a reset pusher at four o’clock.

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In an interesting twist, the tachymeter is printed on an oversized chapter ring, meaning that it is angled and placed between the dial and crystal. This creates depth and makes reading it very easy at arm’s length.

One puzzling design choice was to mark the 60 on the tachymeter, the 60 on the running seconds dial, the 30 on the totalizer dial and the tip of the seconds hand all orange. Using an accent color to differentiate the chronograph from the running time is customary, so this arrangement can lead to confusion.

Dialed in

The Polaris Chronograph wouldn’t be a JLC watch without some obsessive level of detailing, which is manifested in the new dial texture and color.

Following the same design as the light grey dial texture from the 2023 reference, the new Ocean Grey uses 35 layers of lacquer to blend black with a greenish-bluish gray reminiscent of a stormy ocean.

It creates a rich depth of detail that plays with the light as the watch moves on the wrist.

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Along with a black rubber tropical dive strap with a folding clasp, the Polaris Chronograph has a fabric two-piece strap matching the Ocean Grey dial color.

This decidedly sporty watch, which exists somewhere between an auto racing chronograph and a diver and is soaked in mid-century vintage vibes, is an unexpected but nonetheless welcome changeup for JLC.

It is the perfect weekend and vacation companion piece for a Reverso.

Availability and pricing

The Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph in Ocean Grey is available now from JLC for $14,900.

Along with the black rubber tropical strap with a folding clasp, it comes with a fabric two-piece strap in a matching Ocean Grey.

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Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Chronograph

Specs

Case Size	42mm
Movement	JLC caliber 761 automatic
Water Resistance	100m

• $14,900 at Jaeger-LeCoultre

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