Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Polaris Watch, ca. 1968
Watch
GUEST:
This is a watch I got from my father when he passed away. That's 25 years ago, and it sat in my basement all this time. It took me a long time to find out that it's a LeCoultre. And I took it in to a dealer of the same brand of watch, LeCoultre, and they said it's authentic. And they suggested they could get it repaired for me if it needed to be repaired. I didn't know what to do at the time, and then, since then we moved, so it's been on hold.
APPRAISER:
Your watch is signed LeCoultre on the dial. So we know that was made for the U.S. market. The ones for the European market were made with a Jaeger-LeCoultre on the dial.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
This model is called the Polaris. They started making them around 1965. Yours has the broader, luminous markers on it. So that would probably put it around 1967, 1968. These were made for divers, and this is an alarm watch to tell a diver when they should come up. I've never been underwater to hear what it sounds like, but they actually make noise and vibration underwater so that the diver would know. They came with rubber straps because it was a diver's watch.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
So most people would look at that and say the bracelet's been added on. That bracelet on this watch is the original bracelet. Only for the U.S. market they put these bracelets on the watches. So you have an original bracelet.
GUEST:
Hm.
APPRAISER:
And what's really nice about that bracelet is, it's, it's very desirable to collectors and very rare. Now, the watch is a pretty rare watch. There was less than 1,800 of them made. Looking at the watch, you have some issues with the case. It's, it's been worn. The crystal, obviously, has got scratches. That needs to be replaced. That's not a big deal. If you look at the hands of the watch, we see where the luminescent material is getting darker. But still a nice watch. Right now, the market, I would say, is a little bit on the softer side. But in auction today, I would still put the estimate at $20,000 to $25,000.
GUEST:
(exhales) (laughing, voice breaking) Wow. Wow! Oh, that's great. Oh..
APPRAISER:
What would your dad think today if he, if he knew that?
GUEST:
Well, I... (sighs) I don't know. I mean, he got it from his neighbor, and, like, even if it was rare back then, it must have been a very nice gift for him to get. And he must have thought a lot of my father, so I'm proud of him.
APPRAISER:
Had this been totally mint, maybe if you had the box and papers, things like that, I would put an auction estimate of closer to $35,000 on it.
Appraisal Details
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