Polaroid: The Polerouter By Universal Genève

Non categorizzato

IWS Team

DATE

19 May 2019

The beginning

In 1953 S-A-S (Scandinavian Airlines) organized the first polar air route, from Copenhagen to Los Angeles.
(That’s why the watch was first called Polarouter)

The decision was to cross the magnetic North Pole, using it as a shortcut, allowing for a shorter flight time.

Crossing the North Pole caused malfunctioning in on-board instruments and pilots’ watches.
S-A-S then instructed its wristwatches supplier, Universal Genève, to create an antimagnetic watch.

Thanks to this important decision, the Polerouter was born.

The maison gave the project to one of its youngest employees. His name was Gerald Genta and he became one of the XX century’s most important watch designers.
He’s actually the father of Patek Philippe’s Nautilus, IWC’s Ingenieur SL and Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak.

In 1954 the first Polarouter was introduced, the name will be then changed to Polerouter.

The 34,5 mm case, twisted lugs and a silvered ring (called Rehaut) inside the dial that was divided in sectors, gave the watch an elegant look.

These 3 elements were the foundations for the next series up to 1969, last year of production.

The first version was equipped with a bumper automatic caliber: the 138 SS.

In 1958 the brand-new caliber UG 215 was introduced.

With this one came the introduction of the micro-rotor, a small oscillating mass integrated in the movement. Thanks to this implement, the print “Microrotor” was added to the dial.

The caliber 215 then became the caliber 66 and 67.

With a thickness of just 2,33 mm, it was featured in the world’s slimmest automatic watches, the Golden Shadow and the White Shadow. This record was hold until the 70s.

For almost 20 years, Universal Genève continued to produce the Polerouter line

Here you have a selection of all the different versions proposed by the company, some of which are incredibly rare.

Polerouter Date

Polerouter Super

Polerouter Day-Date

Polerouter Compact

Polerouter Jet

Polerouter De Luxe

Polerouter Sub

Polerouter Sub Two Crowns

Quotations

During its whole production, Universal Genève catalogued the Polerouter as a high-end watch, with a list price comparable to a Rolex Explorer. Today’s quotations are still accessible, considering the historic importance of the model, being Gerald Genta’s first project.

The first version, in steel with the bumper mechanism, is the rarest and can be found up to €2.500.

Microtor versions can be had for a lot less, from €600 to €1.500, depending on the model and case material (steel or gold).

An exception is made for the Polerouter Sub, going from €5.000 to €6.000, and the De Luxe, priced between €1.500 and €2.000.

For who’s looking to approach vintage horology, the Polerouter surely is a perfect watch to start.

Few years ago, this watch, as many others, wasn’t even considered on important markets. To find old quotations is really difficult but, thanks to many collectors around the world, the Polerouter was rediscovered and, as a raw diamond, brought back to light.

Thanks to the legendary Gerald Genta, the Polerouter can be considered as a watch that wrote the XX century’s history, allowing a maison like Universal Genève to gain shine and prestige.

Translated by Lorenzo Spolaor (@itsdoc_oclock)