Skip to content

Cart

Your cart is empty

Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Ref. E859 - Original Family Owned

SOLD

The Jaeger LeCoultre Polaris is the most complicated way to solve a problem - and that is why we love it!

What is that problem? How do I know when I am going to run out of oxygen underwater! Decades before the Polaris, Jaeger LeCoultre has been producing its highly novel and unique alarm watch known as ‘The Memovox’. That model utilized and automatic winding in—house movement with a mechanical alarm function. At some point, this complication and design was thought to be married to a highly technical and robust diving watch that would be for the most serious of professionals. That watch, was the Polaris and its brother the Deep Sea Alarm.

Both of those watches are icons today, but The Polaris is the most interesting of the two as it married the Alarm Memovox, with the Technical SuperCompressor case and internal rotating dive bezel to create a truly innovating and unique watch sporting three crowns. The top crown controlled your inner bezel, the middle time, and the bottom the alarm. All housed under a massive plexi dome crystal. The idea being that you could use the alarm to physically (as the watch does vibrate) and visibly (as it would emit bubbles underwater) alert you when you would be running out of air on a dive.

Think about the technical prowess to build a waterproof dive watch with multiple inner rotating discs, operated by THREE crowns, and has a resonator case back… FULL OF HOLES! It's large size (by the standards of the time) lends for a perfect modern wearing experience and has become an icon of the JLC historical canon.

The example that we have here comes to us from the family of the original owner and even has a letter from them to go with it! The owner was a welder and recreational diver who used this on his dive trips off the coast of Bermuda! Remarkably, it has survived in fantastic, well-preserved condition with a strong unpolished case, an exceptional dial and inner rotating bezel, all three 'hashed' crowns, and even its U.S. market J.B. Champion 'brick'-link bracelet with a blade clasp.

An outstanding package!

Stainless Steel 1960s Original Family Owned Automatic 42mm

"As collectors themselves, Oliver and Clarke are on a mission to make buying vintage watches as painless as possible."

"The company focuses on good prices for its pieces, elite customer service and full transparency."

"The appointment-only space is inviting, with comfortable seating areas and exposed brick walls."

From Rolex & Patek Philippe, to Cartier & Audemars Piguet. As collectors first, we love the small details that separate the Submariner from Daytona and Calatrava from Royal Oak. This is why you'll find our curated assortment spans decades of generations of models and brands. We believe that watches don't just tell time, they tell history - and life is too short to wear a boring watch.

Oliver & Clarke