Now that the Polaris has reached a few homes, I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you a short interview of Stephane Belmont, head of marketing and development of Jaeger-LeCoutre. I did this short interview nearly a year ago on the subject of the new Memovox calibre. I didn't publish it before as I wanted to wait for the Polaris to reach my home. Time has come and you'll see my Polaris too! 

Enjoy!

PPI: What was the initial objective of this new calibre (912 in EWA, 956 in Polaris)? What did you want to improve on the former Memovox calibre 916?

Stephane Belmont: The former calibre (calibre 916) had the alarm for only function (plus date). Here we have the 24 hours (on the EWA) and the alarm has been highly modified with a timbre ringing now instead of a diapason version like before.

Gorgeous twelve

PPI: Have you reached all your goals? 

SB: Yes all goals reached !
 

My Polaris

PPI: What was the complexity of the new calibre development ?

SB: To make ring a timbre instead of a diapason is the aspect that has needed the most important development work.

Calibre 912 (EWA calibre)

PPI: Who has worked on this calibre ?

SB: We're a team, we are all working under the same roof. If I have to give names, what we don't like because we are more than a thousand people who all participate to new products in some extent... for the case technical team Laurent Morel with notably and for the calibre development, Roger Guignard.

Regulation of free-sprung calibre

PPI: How long has taken the development?

SB: 24 months.

Ready to encase (calibre 912 for EWA)

PPI: Will the new version of the lateral timbre like in the EWA be systematic in this new generation of calibre? Does that mean that this calibre will be cased only in large cases? Does that exclude the possibility of a dress version (in the spirit of the old Master Reveil)?

SB: No, no, no... It all depends of the implementation !

My old new case back

PPI: Will the ringing locking system be systematic? How does it work?

SB: No, it is a bistable on /off locker that blocks the escapement of the ring. It is built in the case and not in the calibre.

The old calibre 916 in an Amvox1 (in fact it's a more recent 918 on the same base)!

PPI: Is it a base for a development of new complications coupled with the alarm? Can we imagine a chronograph version?

SB: No!

Triple promises

PPI: Will the models currently fitted with the old version be modified to case the new calibre (Amvox1 and Grande Memovox)?

SB: No, on the contrary we will be able to present a new generation of alarm watches.

My 2008 jewel

PPI: Will this calibre receive some of the Extreme Lab advances?

SB: No not yet but nothing is excluded.

PPI: Thank you Mr Belmont!

I'm sure you'll like to speculate on some of these answers? Nicolas?......  

Thank you for reading.

Dje