We love the vampish dial of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new chronograph
There’s an intense richness to both concentric dial sectors of the Polaris Chronograph, laboriously lacquered in almost 40 opposing fades of grey.
From black to snow white, this ‘graduated’ or ‘fumé’ (smoked) pattern is notoriously hard to apply – by hand – so consistently. Given the Swiss say the art of dial-making is already the hardest to master (after making the actual mechanics inside), it’s safe to say Jaeger-LeCoultre has made a rod for its own caseback.
Even the finest of watchmakers farm-out their dials, for this very reason. But J-LC really has made this dial in-house, along with everything else, inside and out. That’s why it’s known as the ‘watchmaker’s watchmaker’ of horology’s original ‘Silicon Valley’, the Vallée de Joux.
The watch itself is the latest in its (relatively) affordable line of sporty numbers, which launched five years ago, reviving the design codes of 1968’s cult ‘Polaris’ diving watch. Self-winding stopwatch functionality will be handy for timing your morning egg, and for a style switch-up it comes with two elegantly engineered, instantly interchangeable straps – in beige canvas and black rubber, respectively.
But still: that fierce panda of a dial.
There’s an alternative in appropriately deep-sea blue, but Jaeger-LeCoultre had us at ‘warm grey’. Anchored by the clean, modern lines of the case, the richness afforded by the watchmaker’s choice of lacquer lends a depth that images printed on newspaper could never do justice.
The lacquering process itself is a painstakingly artisanal affair, to say the least, for both the ‘sunray brushed’ central disc and ‘grained’ middle ring (the outer is an ‘opaline’ painted logarithmic rule, or ‘tachymeter’). It begins with the manual application of a clear coat of varnish, followed by a layer of colour. The challenge lies in controlling both the shade and the gradient, so that the two sections match. Followed by 35 coats of translucent lacquer, to add that richness. Then completed by polishing the components to a mirror finish.
Throw in a running seconds sub-dial, balanced by a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock, each picked out with racy orange pops (all hand-applied), then trapezoidal luminescent hour markers (also hand-applied), topped by skeletonised hands (inner edges hand-polished)… It’s not long before the mechanical wizardry whirring beneath takes a back seat for once.
Things like vertical clutches for engaging the chronograph counters will never mean back of the class. But in the case of this week’s surprise drop from Jaeger-LeCoultre, it appears you really can judge a book by its cover, and the Polaris Chronograph’s goes to to the top of the class.
• Polaris Chronograph is available now for £13,500; jaeger-lecoultre.com