It was another time. The time when airliners first flew over the North Pole. On November 15, 1954, the inaugural flight of SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) began to shrink the size of our planet, reducing the journey by 2,600 kilometers. Transpolar flights were born, and they required a very special watch to be worn on the wrist, so as not to be disturbed by the pole’s magnetic field.

It was a young man of 23, a certain Gérald Genta, who designed it, and this success launched his career as a watch designer. In name, function and style, this Polerouter remains one of the most desirable timepieces in the history of 20th-century watchmaking. It was the SAS that asked Universal Genève to design a special watch for its pilots, capable of withstanding shocks, temperature changes, humidity and magnetism. The specifications probably didn’t anticipate that this 35 mm-diameter watch would be so elegant, with its two-tone dial featuring a three-dimensional effect, achieved thanks to a two-part design: a clamping ring with indexes attached to the crystal, and a curved dial to hold the movement. A technical and visual feat in equal measure. Initial production of this Polarouter, then Polerouter, was 170 pieces. But by 1956, the Polerouter had become a watchmaking icon in its own right.

As Universal Genève prepares to be relaunched at the end of 2026 by Breitling President Georges Kern, the first three SAS Polerouter watches have just been unveiled to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first SAS flight over the North Pole, from Copenhagen to Los Angeles, in 1954. Enough to keep aficionados waiting. For the occasion, these timepieces feature a micro-rotor caliber, as has been the case since the late 1950s. This automatic caliber, measuring just 4.1 mm, offered a two-day power reserve.

The first new Polerouter combines a new white gold case, twisted lugs and the historic “Microtor” movement, with a dial featuring both the new Universal Genève logo and the historic and modern SAS logos. Offered on a white gold bracelet handcrafted by Laurent Jolliet, Switzerland’s last chain maker, it will be auctioned by Phillips, in association with Bacs & Russo, in May 2025, to benefit the CFP Arts de Genève, which teaches applied arts. The other two Polerouter models in red gold with black or steel dials will join the brand’s collections. But they offer a glimpse of how this iconic design will be revisited by what is now Breitling’s sister brand.