101st Auction

2019/11/16

Lot 105

Jaeger-LeCoultre, Swiss, "Polaris", Movement No. 1996559, Case No. 1134490, Ref. E859, Cal. K825, 42 mm, circa 1968
A rare vintage automatic diving wristwatch with date and alarm. Just 1,714 of these watches were made, and they remain very collectible
Case: steel, turnable index bezel via crown. Dial: black, central alarm disc.
The "Polaris" model is the successor of the Memovox "Deep Sea Alarm" reference E857 dating from 1959, which was the first automatic wristwatch with a diving alarm. The Polaris was launched in 1965 and was a similarly purpose-built, robust timepiece. Only about 1,700 models in several variants were produced between 1965 and 1970.
The matte black dial is fitted with a central alarm disc surrounded by large indexes and the numerals 6, 9 and 12 for the hours. The outer ring has a 60-minute division and indicates the start of the dive.
The 42 mm case boasts three oversized, cross-hatched crowns; the crown at 2 o’clock winds the alarm spring and sets the time of the alarm. The 3 o’clock crown turns the outer ring to set immersion time and the crown at 4 winds the watch and sets the time.
Two separate casebacks include the inner super-compressor portion, which is designed to become more watertight as the diver goes deeper - as water pressure increases, the caseback’s water-sealing rings are increasingly compressed to ensure the water resistance of the watch. Thanks to the hole-bearing exterior caseback, the sound of the alarm can be heard easily underwater.

Sold

estimated
2.0005.000 €
Price realized
16.300 €