Jaeger-LeCoultre: Nicholas Hoult pays tribute to the evolution and versatility of Polaris timepieces
BY
David HoJun 18, 2024
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s global ambassador Nicholas Hoult celebrates the timeless evolution of the Polaris Collection from its creation in 1968 to today in a new campaign
Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Polaris collection has been a signature watch for the adventurous, all the way from its creation in 1968 and its revival in 2018 to today.
Of course, a name won’t last that long in the watch game without being quality pieces. With aesthetics that are a direct homage to the maison’s eponymous diving watches of the 1960’s, Polaris timepieces are pure sporting elegance. But it’s more than just skin deep, as they make for durable and useful companions on adventures with their high-performing in-house calibres, helpful functions and signature complications.
The new Always Up With the Times ad campaign sees Nicholas Hoult, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s global ambassador and Hollywood star, pay tribute to the Polaris collection in several different settings. From the red sand of a tennis court to the adrenaline-charged atmosphere of a race track and the infinite blue of the ocean, the campaign showcases and celebrates the versatility and enduring appeal of the Polaris model.
“Always Up With the Times captures the true essence of Polaris. While making this campaign I was transported to a universe where style and design meet the sporting edge of Polaris. The collection represents to me Jaeger-LeCoultre’s capacity to reinvent its icons with constant relevance through time,” says Hoult.
Jaeger-LeCoultre has introduced a complication to enrich this lineup – the Polaris Geographic. This complication reinterprets travel time, making it perfect for those that move and operate across different time zones. Instead of showing only the hour of a second time zone, the Geographic complication also gives us a 24-hour Night and Day indicator. In an aperture at the bottom of the dial, the name of a city relating to each of the 24 major time zones is displayed, with those that observe daylight savings clearly marked.
What this does is give travellers the option of setting the second time according to location instead of having to calculate the time difference. It is done by turning the crown at 10 o’clock. Then when a city is chosen, the corresponding time is automatically displayed. Thanks to a stop-seconds feature, this second time zone is accurate to the hour, minute and second.
This year, two models are offered with new dial colours. The Polaris Date is presented with a gradient ocean-grey dial that elevates the confident modernity of its design to a new level, while the Polaris Perpetual Calendar comes in pink gold with a visually striking gradient green dial that complements the richness of the case metal.
The Polaris Perpetual Calendar always shows the correct date and automatically adjusts for the different duration of months and even for leap years. This means it also needs no manual correction until 2100, which is basically a lifetime for most of us. After that, it needs to be adjusted only on centenaries that are not also leap years.
Also see: Jaeger-LeCoultre: Tales in the pursuit of precision