Jaeger-LeCoultre

amanico
[JLC Moderator]
402063

• Show profile
• Show other posts

The Polaris: It is all about love, nightmare, and friendship.

Strange title, isn't it?

Well, if you know me a bit, you know how important the Polaris was and still is for me.

It took me a quite long time to find MY Vintage Polaris, complete, and to be precise, it was the Polaris 1968..

When it was re edited, I was among the first to get it ( not one, but both of the Worldwide and Paris Boutique versions ).

You also know that the Tribute To Polaris was a project where were involved some passionate guys, friends of the brand.

So, all was perfect, like in a dream, a " love song ", till I " lost " the two Tribute To Polaris, among others.

Nightmare.

Here comes the unbelievable story.... A story about TRUE friendship.

Not only I received a massive support form all of you, but some of the members of our Community ( and Community here has a deep meaning ) helped me to get two Polaris: The Tribute To 65, and ... The original 1965 Polaris.

One is elusive ( 65 pieces only for the TTP 65 ), the other is a grail I was running after for many years, without being able to put my hands on it ( each time I found a correct one, it escaped from me, like a malediction ).

The two beloved sisters:



I will prepare a dedicated topic on the Vintage Polaris '65, let me just share my joy with you on the TTP 65.

This is a well known piece for our Community, as a lot was written about it.

To make a long story short, I would say that I loved it a lot when I owned it, I loved it even more when I lost it, so you can imagine how happy I am to see it back home.

The TTP 65 has some great virtues:

- It is very close, aesthetically, to the original, as you can see on the picture above.

- It houses a modern, accurate and reliable Alarm movement, which rings deliciously, like a school bell.

- It has an unbelievable presence, blending strenght and elegance.

- It has a major advantage on the Vintage, as it can be used even when you swim.

- Its huge domed plexy can be polished, all the hairlines will disappear, if not too deep. But if you cannot buff all the dings, you have a spare plexy, so no worries.

In the real life, I intensively used my two TTPs, and never had any issue with their plexy.

The TT Polaris has a major flaw, a weak point: Its strap, which is really indign of such a watch.

So, I had to find a solution, to find the right strap for this watch.

To celebrate its return to " the stable ", and to share some new pictures all together, here is a selection of what I found.

1/ The Classic leather straps:

If you opt for this solution, you will enhance the toolwatch character and Vintage look of the Tribute To Polaris, without damaging its elegance.

I find, but this is just my perception of the watch and my taste, that a Crocodile strap is a bit out of place, even on the TTP 65.

So, let's go for a Calf, but which one?

I opted for a non stitching rugged calf strap, and I should use the plural as I found several combinations.



The black is perfect, and gives to the watch a natural allure. Some would say that combomay appear a bit too sad .

So, for them, here are other solutions:

One I used on my regretted TTP 68, which doesn't work on the TTP 65 is this clear, almost beige strap, but which would perfectly make echo to the indexes of the '68 version, though:



Let's go in the darker colors:

Orange brown:



Chocolate brown, which I find even more interesting, elegant and rough at same time:



There is also another interesting combination which is the rugged burgundy strap you saw 4 pictures above, stuck to the crown at 3 o clock.

The only problem with these straps: you can't swim with them, they don't stand the water.

2/ THE original strap, the famous tropic.

Here, you're playing the " Historical " Card, along with the bracelet, but there is no remake of the original braceletn which raises a question:

The original and the Vintage both share the same case size, and the same distance between the lugs. Would a vintage bracelet work on the TTP?

Back to the Tropic, this option gathers two advantages: The Historical look + the possibility to use it when you want to go to the water.

Here, on the Vintage Polaris 65, to give you an idea:



Not bad at all... The inconvenients are that the Vintage 22 mm are hard to find, pretty expensive, less pleasant or comfortable to wear than a leather strap, and the moderns are less nice to see.

But, in my opinion, a must have for such a watch.

3/ The NATO solution:

Here, things are not easy...

Those you see most often are very affordable ( around 20 euros ), but cheap.

On another side, you can wear them in any circumstances, and you can have a bath in the sea without fears, you won't ruin them.

If you want to " invest " a bit more, you can go for a leather NATO, or for a high quality Nylon Nato, which has some leather on their underside.

But you can't swim without ruining them.

An example of black leather Nato:



You can of course opt for a caramel or a dark borwn leather Nato, you will have an " happier " combo.

But be careful if you go on a leather Nato: Some are really thick, and the Polaris is already a thck watch, so be sure that the one you'll choose is thin.

I found another solution: a high quality leather Nato, thin, and ... Water Resistant!

Supple, very comfortable to wear, and very nice, this is my absolute favourite.







As you see, it is so good to be able to play with straps, again, and to enjoy these lovely tic tac monsters.

I wouldn't end this post without saying that such a sacrifice let me just speechless, and balanced in a large way the emotional loss I felt during these months.

Thank you sounds even a bit stupid, as it is too weak to describe my feeling.

Best to All.

Nicolas.