The strap size depends on the reference. Yours is engraved on the case back or between the lugs at 6 o'clock.
20 or 22 mm
Verification: From our database, not yet verified
38 to 42 mm cases · 1964 to 1972
Indicative information. Check your watch before buying a strap: whatsmylugwidth.com is not responsible for an incorrect size.
The story · Since 1954
In 1954 a 23-year-old Gerald Genta drew a watch for Scandinavian Airlines crews flying over the North Pole. Seven years later Universal Genève sent that Polerouter underwater: the Polerouter Sub, a 200 m diver.
23
Gerald Genta's age when he designed the Polarouter
Scandinavian Airlines asked Universal Genève for a watch to mark its new commercial route over the North Pole. The commission introduced the young Gerald Genta, and the first pieces went to the crews of the inaugural flight on landing in Los Angeles on 15 November 1954. Around 170 watches with the SAS logo were made in the first series.
The first Polerouter Sub, ref. 20369, used a 42 mm case modelled on the EPSA Super Compressor, with two crowns and an inner rotating bezel, and was water-resistant to 200 metres. Universal advertised the lume between 0 and 20 minutes on that bezel.
Under Breitling's ownership, Universal Genève marked the 70th anniversary of the polar flight in November 2024 with three unique Polerouter SAS Tribute watches of 35 mm. In April 2026 it relaunched the Polerouter as a collection of 37 mm and 39 mm watches with the new UG-110 micro-rotor caliber; no new Sub was part of these launches.
2017. A 1966 Polerouter Sub ref. 869116/01, confirmed by an Extract from the Archives, realised CHF 8,125.
2015. A 1967 Polerouter Sub ref. 869116/02 with green bezel, three spare bezels and its bracelet sold for CHF 8,750 against an estimate of CHF 3,000 to 5,000.
1954. On 15 November 1954 an SAS Douglas DC-6B left Copenhagen for Los Angeles over the pole, carrying the prime ministers of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. SAS crew were photographed wearing the new watches at Los Angeles airport; the story that each prime minister received one has never been confirmed by archives.
Commissioned at 23 to design a watch marking the SAS polar flights, Genta drew the Polarouter with its two-layer dial and twisted lugs; the SAS-dial ref. 20217-6 is the first execution. No source credits him with the later Polerouter Sub itself.
The relaunched Polerouter (not a Sub) in 39 mm and 37 mm, with a date only on the 39 mm UGPO001 to UGPO003, all with the UG-110 micro-rotor caliber and 100 m water resistance.
20 mm lugs on the 39 mm models, 18 mm on the 37 mm models; the maker lists an 18/16 mm strap for the 37 mm UGPO007.
An asymmetric case thicker on the crown side to act as a crown guard, a screw-down signed crown, a bidirectional bezel, and a Microtor movement with 57 hours of power reserve.
40 mm wide by 48 mm long with a 20 mm lug width; Worn & Wound notes it was offered on a bracelet with fitted end links.
An asymmetrical steel case with revolving bezel, sweep seconds and date, powered by calibre UG 69. Christie's sold a 1966 ref. 869116/01 for CHF 8,125.
38 mm diameter per Christie's and Phillips; Phillips sold a 869116/02 on a signed Universal Genève steel bracelet with deployant clasp.
A Sub with an external bezel, a date window and a symmetrical case.
Case shrinks to 38 mm.
The first Polerouter Sub: two crowns, an inner rotating bezel and 200 m water resistance, in an EPSA Super Compressor-style case.
42 mm case, much larger than the 1950s Polerouter; Christie's sold one on a Gay Frères steel bracelet.
The steel SAS-dial Polarouter, with the calibre 138SS bumper automatic, given to crews of the first polar flights. Phillips pairs it with an 18k gold ref. 10234-1 launched in November 1954.
Sotheby's catalogues a 20217-6 at 36 mm; no acceptable source states its lug width.
Universal Genève Polerouter Sub references in our database. Each card says where its width comes from: listed by the maker (linked to the maker's page in the details), two independent sources agree, or listed in our database and not yet verified by us.
Polerouter Sub I Black
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 38 mmYear: 1964Black dialCase material: Steel
Polerouter Sub I Grey
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 38 mmYear: 1964Grey dialCase material: Steel
Polerouter Sub II Black/Orange
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 38 mmYear: 1966Black/Orange dialCase material: Steel
Polerouter Sub II Blue
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 38 mmYear: 1966Blue dialCase material: Steel
Polerouter Sub “Skin Diver”
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 38 mmYear: 1967Black dialCase material: Steel
Polerouter Sub Compressor
Lug width: 22 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 42 mmYear: 1967Black Compressor dialCase material: Steel
Polerouter Sub Red Depth
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 38 mmYear: 1968Black/Red dialCase material: Steel
Polerouter Sub NOS Dial
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 38 mmYear: 1969Matte Black dialCase material: Steel
Polerouter Sub White Markers
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 38 mmYear: 1970Black/White dialCase material: Steel
Polerouter Sub Final Series
Lug width: 20 mm
Source: DatabaseCase size: 38 mmYear: 1972Black dialCase material: Steel
No reference matches.
Universal Genève Polerouter Sub references use 20 mm or 22 mm depending on the reference and case size, so check yours in the list below. The most common is 20 mm (9 of 10 references with a known width). These widths come from our database and are not yet verified.
No. 2 different lug widths appear across the line, often by case size or generation. Check the reference engraved on the case back or between the lugs.
Worn & Wound measured a ref. 869120-02 at 20 mm between the lugs, on a 40 mm by 48 mm asymmetric case.
No. The first Super Compressor ref. 20369 of 1961 is 42 mm; ref. 204615 of 1964 is 38 mm, and the asymmetric 869120 measures 40 mm wide by 48 mm long.
Yes: Worn & Wound says they were offered on a bracelet with fitted end links, now rare and costly. Auction examples include a Universal Genève steel bracelet with deployant clasp (Phillips) and a Gay Frères bracelet (Christie's).
Worn & Wound's tester, unable to find an affordable original bracelet, fitted a vintage big-hole Tropic strap to his 869120-02; Bonhams sold a 20369 on a black rubber Tropic strap.
The 39 mm models take 20 mm straps and the 37 mm models 18 mm; Universal Genève lists an 18/16 mm strap on the 37 mm steel model. These are Polerouters, not Subs.
The gap between the two lugs that hold the strap, in millimetres. A new strap must match it exactly: 20 mm lugs take a 20 mm strap.
Most watches use spring bars, so any strap of the right width fits. Many smartwatches use their own band system instead, such as Apple Watch bands or Garmin QuickFit.