Brand Guides / Jaeger-LeCoultre / Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris
Reviewed by the Fine Watch Guide team · October 2026
The Polaris collection, launched in 2018, revives the 1968 Memovox Polaris, a dive watch with a mechanical alarm, as Jaeger-LeCoultre's modern sports line with automatic, date, chronograph and alarm models.
The original Memovox Polaris of 1968 was a dive watch with a mechanical alarm, meant to warn a diver when it was time to surface. Jaeger-LeCoultre brought the name back in 2018 as a full sports collection, keeping the inner rotating bezel and the multi-crown look while adding everyday automatic and chronograph models. It's the JLC to wear when the Reverso feels too formal.
The 1968 Memovox Polaris used three crowns: one for the time, one for the alarm and one for the inner rotating bezel that tracked dive time. Its caseback was designed to help the alarm carry through water. Original examples are collectible and fairly rare, and they need a watchmaker who understands vintage alarm calibers.
The 2018 collection kept the visual cues but split the idea into several watches. The Polaris Automatic and Polaris Date are time-and-date sports watches, the Polaris Chronograph adds a timing function, and the Polaris Memovox keeps the alarm. Later additions include more specialized dive models. When you book a service, the exact model name tells a watchmaker most of what they need to know.
A Polaris service covers the movement, the gaskets and all the crowns, along with the inner rotating bezel. The bezel is turned by its own crown, so the crown, its gaskets and the bezel's ring all need cleaning and checking. A bezel that slips or turns too freely is a sign of wear, and a dive watch is only as watertight as its weakest crown, so the pressure test at the end matters more than usual.
The Memovox models add an alarm mechanism with its own mainspring and hammer. Ask whether the watchmaker has serviced JLC alarm calibers before, since the setting works and the striking action have to be adjusted so the alarm rings cleanly at the set time. The chronograph models need the usual chronograph checks: clean starts, stops and resets, with the hands returning exactly to zero.
As with other modern JLC watches, parts access for independents has tightened. Confirm that a watchmaker can get genuine parts for your caliber before you hand the watch over, or use the brand's service.
Modern Polaris watches often trade below their original retail price, which makes them good value pre-owned. Check the papers against the serial number, test every crown, and turn the inner bezel through a full rotation. On a Memovox, set and trigger the alarm. On a chronograph, run it, stop it and reset it a few times.
Look at the case and bracelet for heavy polishing, and ask whether the watch comes with its original strap or bracelet and any extras. For a vintage 1968 Memovox Polaris, have a specialist confirm that the dial, case, crowns and movement are correct, because replacement parts are common on older alarm watches and they affect value heavily.
The modern Polaris is built to be worn hard, and its water resistance makes it a better swimming companion than most JLC watches. Rinse it in fresh water after the sea or a chlorinated pool, make sure every crown is fully home before you go in, and have the water resistance checked every couple of years. The inner bezel crown is the one owners forget, and an unscrewed bezel crown is a common way water gets in.
Rubber and textile straps on the Polaris wear faster than the case. Replace them with genuine JLC straps when you can, since the fit at the lugs is specific and generic straps often leave a gap.
A 1968 dive watch with a mechanical alarm, three crowns and an inner rotating bezel, designed to alert a diver underwater.
In 2018, with automatic, date, chronograph and Memovox alarm models.
It's turned by its own crown, so that crown, its gaskets and the bezel ring should be cleaned and checked at every service.
It needs a watchmaker who knows vintage alarm calibers, and some parts can be difficult to find.
Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris owners use Jaeger-LeCoultre specialists for servicing, authentication and restoration.
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