But to resolve the time issue, the SAS had to turn to its official watch supplier, Universal Genève.
The airline was able to develop a new navigation system and thus had one less problem. They completely paralyzed the SAS planes’ navigational and timing instruments, including the crew’s wristwatches. Of these, the extreme magnetic fields were the most important to consider. However, flying over the North Pole brought its own set of challenges. The shortcut enabled SAS to reduce the flight time from Copenhagen to Los Angeles to around 24 hours – without a three-hour stopover in Canada.
It was the first time a commercial airline had flown over the Geographic North Pole. These flights don’t seem memorable now, but back then they were a big deal. Swiss watchmakers Universal Geneve commissioned Genta, at the tender age of 23, to design a watch to commemorate Scandinavian Airlines Systems (SAS) polar flights from New York and Los Angeles direct to Europe. The design of the polerouter was created by Gerald Genta and characterizes Universal Geneve like no other model. The reference S 20217 – 5 was delivered with the serial numbers 1715219 to 1828597. The low serial number suggests that it is a watch from 1955. This early period version of the Universal Geneve Polerouter was manufactured in 1955-1956. Polerouter in original condition (service crown)
