Jaeger-LeCoultre has slowly but surely been updating its classic Memovox in recent years. The Memovox was one of the first alarm watches of the Swiss watch industry, coming out in 1950 just two years after the Vulcain Cricket (which is no longer in production).

One of the most significant changes to this model occurred in early 2018 with the launch of the brand-new Polaris collection, which included a new Memovox. In fact whole Polaris line, which was brand new at that time, previously only having been the name of one model, was based on the look of the Polaris Memovox launched in 1965, a beefier, sportier version of the already-classic Memovox alarm dress watch.

The popular 2018 collection docked beautifully into the history of the handsome (but rare) diver’s watch. Only 1,714 Memovox Polaris watches had heretofore been manufactured between 1965 and 1970, equipped with a variety of dial styles and aesthetics. Robust functionality was the main characteristic of the Polaris – including water resistance to 200 meters – deftly followed by tasteful legibility.

The 2018 Polaris Memovox differed greatly from its predecessors in the modern case and modern accouterments like the 4 Hz frequency of Caliber 956 and an automatic rotor borne on ceramic ball bearings.

While the historical Memovox Polaris had a three-part case that included two inner cases – one in bronze to enhance the alarm’s resonance and one drilled with 16 holes to prevent the sound from muffling into a wetsuit – the 2018 tribute model was outfitted with an inner, sealed case back to retain its role as a resonance chamber. This was thanks to changing the position of the gong within the movement and an outer case back with the 16 openings to allow the sound out.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox (below) and Master Control Memovox Timer on the wrist

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Memovox Timer for 2020

During a phone call with Jaeger-LeCoultre’s heritage director, Stéphane Belmont, he reminded me that throughout its 70-year history the Memovox had always been characterized by evolution. “That was its success,” he said. “It did not remain in 1950.”

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox Timer

The two 2020 renditions of the Memovox introduced thus far – while incorporating the more modern technical characteristics of the 2018 Memovox Polaris and a few new updates that I will come to below – are visually more reminiscent of the Master Memovox Boutique Edition of late 2016. This was a nearly perfect (and stunningly beautiful) modern rendition of a much-loved classic as Ian Skellern opined at the time.

Historic Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox models and newer editions from the 1990s along with 2016’s Boutique Edition (far right)

Of the brand-new Memovox models launched in 2020 until now, the looks of the limited edition Master Memovox Timer remind us of the Master Memovox Boutique Edition the most thanks to the delectable dial featuring a variety of tone-in-tone blue hues and textures that include a sunray finish.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox Timer lume

What’s very new is the layout with the distinct concentric rings, including the inner white ring with the bas-relief numeral style with grained background first seen on 2019’s Gyrotourbillon 5 that Jaeger-LeCoultre has been favoring of late in some high-end models’ subdials. The inner ring gives the new Master Control Memovox the added “Timer” in its name: the ring is part of the countdown timer added to the alarm function.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox Timer

While the Memovox has received other added functions in a variety of models over the course of its 70-year history, the countdown timer is a first. The function allows the wearer to either set the alarm the usual way so that it rings at a specific time or choose the countdown function by setting a certain number of hours before the alarm should ring.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox Timer

Say you go to a meeting at 2:00 and need to leave it by 4:00. You just set your timer for two hours and it will ring after 120 minutes. Easy! The little red logo-tipped hand shows the number of hours it is set for.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox Timer on the wrist

What may cause some aficionados to grumble is the white background on the date display, though my take is that this white window is a choice the designers made to match the timer indication’s concentric ring and the luminous dots on the outside minute scale. I think that had the date window been made in blue it would not stand out enough to be legible. This way, the date is eminently readable.

This highly attractive variation is unfortunately limited to just 250 pieces. But I suppose Jaeger-LeCoultre is testing the waters a bit first, which is reasonable.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Memovox for 2020

As Jaeger-LeCoultre’s 2020 has largely been about the re-designed Master Control timepieces, it stands to reason that a new Memovox variation would also be included. And so it is.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox

First introduced in 1992, the Master Control collection generally comprises clear, functional, reliable timepieces with simple, elegant looks. The line is characterized by the in-house 1,000 Hours Control certificate that gives it its name, though in the meantime all Jaeger-LeCoultre watches undergo this testing before leaving the Vallée de Joux factory.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox on the wrist

The new models of the Master Control line are housed in 40 mm stainless steel cases whose sides feature a satin-brushed finish, while the bezel, crown, and lugs are polished – an interplay that creates a super refined impression.

The dial of this unlimited watch is no less refined with its purist style inspired by some of the brand’s 1950s classics. “The spirit of this line is to have classic design with innovative and classic functions,” said Belmont.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox

Those historic visuals now translate into applied, elongated index markers and classic Dauphine hands. Adding the only pop of color, the second hand is blued to stand out from the silvery dial with fine sunray finish.

The date window is white. Any other color would be incredibly jarring on this monochromatically styled watch.

A new Caliber 956 for a new generation of Memovox

For the last 70 years, the one thing that every single Memovox has offered is the charming, surprisingly loud chirp of its alarm. And for this alarm to resonate properly, it has always had to remain invisible to its owner behind a closed case back to which the gong was directly attached, amplifying its sound.

The year 2020 changes all that: for the first time in the Memovox’s history its caliber is visible to the owner through a sapphire crystal case back. And there’s more: it’s visible now because the caliber has been reworked.

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox Caliber 956

While Belmont maintains that the alarm’s chirp is more or less the same, I think that its noise is a bit different, replaced by something that sounds more like a lovely chirping ring somewhat more reminiscent of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s repeaters. What a revelation!

While I love the chirp of the original Memovox that gives it such a cool retro character, even in the modern renditions, this new ring – which the “grande maison” describes as a school bell sound, but which I think is more graceful – immediately pleased my ear more than I can say when I finally had the chance to handle the watches in Geneva.

Caliber 956, now thoroughly revised, allows the hammer to be seen as work hitting the gong. Instead of being attached to the case back, the gong now surrounds the movement and is secured to the side of the case, which according to Belmont provides a more regular sound regardless of case material. This also allowed the engineers to decrease Caliber 956’s height as the movement is also somewhat thinner than its predecessor.

View through the display back of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox

The new openworked gold rotor ensures an unobstructed view of the 77 times per second that the hammer hits this peripheral gong. “This is one of the fastest functions in all of watchmaking,” Belmont proudly expounded.

This update is part of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s ongoing research into and continuous improvement of the sound of its minute repeaters beginning with the patented gongs of 2005 soldered directly to the dial’s sapphire crystal first seen in the Master Minute Repeater. The articulated trebuchet-style hammers introduced four years later ensured more consistent and powerful strikes. The Master Ultra Thin Minute Repeater Flying Tourbillon of 2014 incorporated all of this and more for a voluminous, crystalline sound. Last year’s Master Grande Tradition Grande Complication combines all of these original elements and adds a new duplex gong design.

For more information, please visit www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/eu/en/chronicles/new-master-control-memovox and/or www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/eu/en/watches/master/master-control-memovox-timer.

Quick Facts Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox
Case: 40 x 12.39 mm, stainless steel
Movement: automatic manufacture Caliber Jaeger-LeCoultre 956 with dual spring barrels (one for the alarm, one for the movement), 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency, 45-hour power reserve
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; date, alarm
Price: €11,600/$11,600
Remark: up to 8-year warranty

Quick Facts Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Memovox Timer
Case: 40 x 12.39 mm, stainless steel
Movement: automatic manufacture Caliber Jaeger-LeCoultre 956 with dual spring barrels (one for the alarm, one for the movement), 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency, 45-hour power reserve
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; date, alarm, countdown timer
Limitation: 250 pieces
Price: €15,700/$15,700
Remark: up to 8-year warranty

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