I snoozed on the blue JLC Polaris Date LE

[cbalster]

This caught my eye when it came out, and was limited to 800 pieces but I just wasn't in the mood to buy a 42mm watch at the time. Now I see it's offered 50% above retail. Hindsight 20/20. I didn't know JLC above retail was a thing?

I own a RG Reverso Triple Calendar and even that seems offered 20% higher than 2y ago on the used market. A rising Rolex lifts all boats?

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/th...cs-and-pricing

[capote]

Yeah that is news to me to. I am no fan of the modern Polaris though.

[DCheeta]

Grab a Polaris Mariner. Very similar blue dial, but a little more sporty looking, and a regular production piece.

[vic216]

50% above retail? where u see this offer

[youthagainsttt]

If I was going to get a JLC I’d personally wanna be able to see the movement unless it’s a Reverso

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by youthagainsttt

If I was going to get a JLC I’d personally wanna be able to see the movement unless it’s a Reverso

Why? Most have but basic industrial finishing, especially in that range, nothing much to look at.

[youthagainsttt]

Originally Posted by Nav01L

Why? Most have but basic industrial finishing, especially in that range, nothing much to look at.

Well I always like to look at the movement with whichever watch I consider buying, with Rolex or certain other brands obviously its a given you won't be able to see the caseback. I'd beg to differ on the basic finishing part, there are some movements even by non luxury watch makers I would really appreciate & study to some extent. The main ones I'd consider from JLC would be the Duometre flying seconds & Perputual calendar with silver dial

[JR16]

I also snoozed on TSLA at $500.


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[nickorette]

Had to pay over retail for my Polaris Tribute to Memovox Limited Edition. They only made a thousand and I wasnt a collector when it came out. But glad I picked it up, love it! Such a unique history and design.

[Nav01L]

Originally Posted by youthagainsttt

Well I always like to look at the movement with whichever watch I consider buying, with Rolex or certain other brands obviously its a given you won't be able to see the caseback. I'd beg to differ on the basic finishing part, there are some movements even by non luxury watch makers I would really appreciate & study to some extent. The main ones I'd consider from JLC would be the Duometre flying seconds & Perputual calendar with silver dial

Don’t get me wrong, JLC can finish movements very well on their best of days, which any duometre is a testament to. But they don’t do it across the board and the movements they use in the Polaris range are impressive neither by virtue of their engineering (super old designs and very low power reserve by today’s standards) nor by virtue of their finishing. I take your argument that if it makes no difference, one may still have a translucent caseback nonetheless, but on the only truly interesting function of the Polaris line, which is the alarm, it makes all the difference in the world (the alarm and a translucent caseback are mutually exclusive as the alarm relies on a resonating chamber behind the movement).

In that instance, I’d prefer to have the more interesting movement without the ability to see it, rather than the entirely uninspiring one under a piece of glass.

But our preferences may of course differ in that regard and your view is as valid as mine.

As a sidenote, at least in the SS versions that perpetual calendar is executed toward cost rather than toward excellence. The finishing there is about as basic as it is in the Polaris. Better to look at a Duometre in that respect. If the calendar function is important to you, a VC fiftysix full calendar may not be able to distinguish between the 30th and the 31st, but in terms of finishing it’s done as such a movement ought to be, at a very similar price point. Would be my clear preference if I were looking at a watch in that tier. All you’re ever going to see in a calendar movement that doesn’t have an open dial is the base movement (the calendar functions are always going to be out of sight, in a module between the mainplate and the dial), so you might as well go for the prettiest base movement you can get.