A diver's watch that chimes underwater has been dormant in Jaeger-LeCoultre archives for half-a-century till its renaissance in 2018.
The 50th anniversary of Memovox Polaris is not only marked by a limited edition but a new family of elegant sports watches named Polaris, now on display along with historic pieces at an exhibition till Aug 28 at Siam Paragon's Hall of Fame.
Equipped with the Memovox or "voice of memory" function, the model from 1968 would remind divers that it was time to return to the surface.
Likewise, the new steel Polaris Memovox is equipped with an alarm function set by the top crown, whereas the other two crowns are for the inner rotating bezel and time setting.
Jaeger-LeCoultre's first automatic alarm watch movement was created in the 1950s. A descendant of the movement, Caliber 956, drives the commemorative model available in 1,000 pieces.
On its dial, vanilla Super-LumiNova, trapezoidal indices mixed with four Arabic numbers and a triangle serving as an alarm indicator lend a vintage appeal.
Without an alarm function, the steel Polaris Date has a double crown and a similar retro look that extends to the glass-box case with raised crystal. The case back features an engraving of a scuba diver, resembling those found on the inner case back of the 1968 model.
Other members of the Polaris family include the three-hand automatic model, chronograph and chronograph world time.
Variations of the timepieces are fashioned with an ocean-blue dial besides black like the historic model, whereas the rose gold chronograph has an anthracite dial.
The distinctive dial combines different finishings on three concentric circles -- sunrayed in the centre, graining on the outer circle and an opaline finish on the rotating inner bezel.
The largest model, Polaris Chronograph WT is housed in a 44mm titanium case, with two chronograph pushers and an additional crown at 10 o'clock to control the rotating city disc.
In addition, the Swiss maison has released a boutique-edition Polaris Geographic WT, which comes in a 42mm steel case and is adorned with a smoky blue dial due to the graduated shades of blue to black.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris Exhibition runs till Aug 28, at Hall of Fame, M Floor, Siam Paragon.
