Hands-on with the most complicated reference in Jaeger-LeCoultre’s new sporty range. 

By Justin Mastine-Frost

When Jaeger-LeCoultre rebooted the Polaris collection at SIHH earlier this year, commemorating the iconic model?s 50th anniversary, there was a lot to take in. The Memovox and 3-hand variants garnered plenty of attention from the get-go, however at a personal level the World Time Chronograph instantly ticked quite a few boxes. A clean, legible dial, two-register hour and minutes chronograph, and an easy to adjust world time function, all crammed into a lightweight titanium case, for a very modest £12,500 seemed like such a no-brainer, leaving me with only one point of concern?would its 44mm case size wind up being a bit overpowering on the wrist" A quick on-wrist trial during the fair gave the impression that its case size wasn?t taken a step too far, but as with most things a more lengthy evaluation seemed to be the smartest move to get a better feel for the watch. 
At a cursory glance, the initial draw to the Polaris WT Chrono was as much visual as it was functional. Given the use of multiple dial finishes, applied indices, recessed subdials, and a bizarre cross-dial ?hand? that provides a day/night division, you?d be prone to call the new world time chrono a bit busy, but for some strange reason it doesn?t leave that impression on the wrist. Both its chronograph and its world time indication are immediately legible, and being a two-regist...