Jaeger-Le-Coultre Memovox
Being one of the very notable pieces in the Jaeger-Le-Coultre history, the Memovox has ‘No Crown at 3’ and a story worth telling.
50s Le-Coultre Memovox
Vulcain introduced the first alarm watch, the Cricket, in the early stages of the post-war era. In 1950, Jaeger-Le-Coultre launched the first Memovox, to compete with Vulcain's timepiece. It was equipped with the in-house mechanical calibre 489, which separated timekeeping from the alarm. This resulted in not having a crown at 3 but separate ones at 2 and 4 o’clock. This is still a very recognisable design element.
Following the commercial success of the first Memovox, JLC introduced further variants of the watch, starting with the 1956 Memovox, featuring the calibre 985, the world's first automatic calibre with an alarm function.
Memovox World Time
1958 marked the 125th anniversary of Jaeger-Le-Coultre, and to celebrate this, the Memovox World Time and Memovox Parking were introduced. Just one year later, the first dive watch with an alarm function, the Memovox Deep Sea, was brought to market. 1956 saw a new calibre (825) for the Memovox and marked the introduction of the first Polaris version of the timepiece, a name still to be found on modern Memovox watches. In 1971, the Polaris II, featuring the calibre 916, followed.
Memovox Polaris II
Modern versions of the Memovox have changed quite a bit and now feature a crown at 3 o’clock. But even the vintage pieces vary in design and functionality. However, what all of these timepieces have in common are the two crowns and the alarm function.
Underrated?
Despite being a trailblazer in many respects, the Memovox seems not to be receiving the recognition that many other, less innovative timepieces do. While this is a bit of a bummer, it also provides the wearer of this watch with a lot of uniqueness. So, if you want to stand out while queuing at your local coffee shop, this one might be for you.