Jaeger-LeCoultre

Polaris (Green lacquered Dial)

Name: Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris (Green lacquered Dial)
Brand: Jaeger-LeCoultre
SKU: Q908263J
Availability: InStock

Ref. Q908263J

On request

Message on WhatsApp

Case42mm 18k rose gold

DialGreen lacquered, Arabic numerals

Movement868

StrapRubber

PapersBox and Card

The Polaris revives Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 1968 Memovox diver, inner rotating bezel and all. It is the Grande Maison in a wetsuit.

A Polaris in 42mm 18k rose gold, green lacquered, arabic numerals on the wrist. 868 keeps it running.

Fun fact: The 1968 Memovox Polaris rang through a triple caseback loud enough for a diver to hear underwater, and only about 1,700 were made. Jaeger-LeCoultre revived the name in 2018.

A 1968 diver, restated in green

ReferenceQ908263J, Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris

Case42mm stainless steel, box sapphire, inner rotating bezel

MovementAutomatic calibre 899, 28,800 vph, date

IntroducedPolaris collection 2018, current 42mm generation from 2022

Why this one matters

The Polaris name comes from 1968, when Jaeger-LeCoultre put an alarm movement in a diver with an inner rotating bezel and three crowns. That watch stayed a footnote for decades until 2018, when the brand built a whole sports collection around it: trapezoidal indices, the inner bezel, the crown trio and layered dial finishing, but no attempt at a straight reissue.

The 42mm Date sits in the middle of that collection, between the 41mm Automatic and the chronograph, and it is the size most of the later dial colours appeared in. Green lacquer came after the blues and greys. The line was reworked in 2022 with revised proportions and a quick change strap system, so a green 42mm belongs to the current generation rather than the first run.

The movement

Calibre 899 is Jaeger-LeCoultre's own automatic, made and serviced at Le Sentier, beating at 28,800 vph with bidirectional winding and a quickset date. It is the base family behind much of the Master Control line, which matters more than it sounds on paper: watchmakers know it, parts move, and it is not an orphan calibre that strands an owner in a few years. It also stays thin, which is why a 42mm Polaris does not wear like a slab.

On the wrist

The 42mm figure reads worse on paper than on the wrist. The lugs are short and turn down early, so it feels closer to a 41, though the box crystal adds height. Green lacquer is the point: near black under shop lighting, clearly green in daylight, with the three dial finishes separating as the light moves. On rubber it disappears, and the bracelet adds real weight.

Questions we are asked about this reference

Is the Polaris a dive watch?

It is a sports watch with an inner timing bezel rather than a saturation diver. Treat it as suitable for swimming and daily wear. Jaeger-LeCoultre keeps the higher water resistance ratings in this family for the Mariner models.

Why 42mm when the Polaris also comes in 41?

The 41 and the 42 are different cases with different calibres and dial layouts. On the wrist the gap is small because both have short, turned down lugs. Choose by dial and layout, not by the number.

How does calibre 899 stand against Swiss sports watches at similar money?

It is fully in house, thin, and long established, which is more than several of the watches it competes with can say. What it does not have is the marketing weight of those names, and that is the reason the pre-owned price is where it is.

Polaris

The sporting side of the house, descended from a 1968 alarm diver

Polaris traces back to the Memovox Polaris diver's alarm of 1968, and the modern line arrived in 2018. It spans a straightforward date model through the Mariner divers and Memovox alarm up to chronographs and a perpetual calendar. Inner rotating bezels, a third crown on the alarm pieces and gradient lacquer dials on current models give it a character clearly separated from the Master family.

inner rotating bezel

three crowns on alarm models

trapezoidal applied indices

three texture dial construction

Sizes in the family

42 mm across the current line

Who it suits

Suits a buyer who wants one watch for daily and weekend wear without moving to a tool diver.

See every Polaris we have