This masterpiece first starts with the gold dial being created with partitions of different shapes and sizes which will be the outlines for the enamel. Each of the empty spaces from the partitions will then be filled with different colours of enamel, after which they will be put through several successive firings. Each time the dial enters the oven, the colour of enamels will gain more density and depth of colour. The risk of successive firings however is that it only takes a few degrees of extra heat before the enamel will break. The plique-à-jour enamelling process will create a perfectly transparent enamel that will play with light and reflections to bring the motif to life!

Design:

The Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Smalta Clara Hummingbird comes in a 35mm case and features 100 diamonds set on the bezel and pallet lugs. The miniature dial that tells the time at the 2 o’clock position features mother-of-pearl. The strap option offered is a hand-embroidered green satin strap. 

The motif of the hummingbird is a beautiful display that is created in a somewhat subtle gradient of green. Over seven shades of green were used to create this image of this joyous bird. With the time dial created in a miniaturised version, it offers the hummingbird more space to show its true colours and the virtuosity of the plique-à-jour. The case back offers an inside peek into the movement all the while retaining the beautiful enamel work. 

Limited to just 8 pieces, Jaquet Droz showcases that they have masted the art of plique-à-jour enamelling, by creating the Petite Heure Minute Smalta Clara Hummingbird to be seen in such a naturalistic and lively manner.

Specification:

• Case: 35mm and Thickness 10.83mm
• Case material:18-karat red gold case set with 100 diamonds (0.89 carat)
• Dial: 18-karat white gold dial with “plique-à-jour” Grand Feu enamel and white mother-of-pearl with 18-karat white gold applique.
• Crystal: Sapphire, domed on both sides, anti-reflective coating inside
• Water resistance: 30 meters
• Movement: Jaquet Droz 6150, self-winding mechanical movement, silicon balance spring and pallet horns, platinum oscillating weight with 18-karat red gold applique.
• Power reserve: 38 hours

Jaquet Droz is already well known for creating unique pieces that bring art together with function. Now they have gone a step further by displaying watchmaking precision and pushing the boundaries of skeleton movements to the extreme by creating a watch using the bare minimum amount of material, while still producing a lightweight yet sturdy piece. For the Maison, this skeleton structure is brand new to them. Having a very modern design, it features straight lines, angles, and symmetry. 

The technicality of the skeleton design is matched equally by the highly precise tourbillon. The bridges of the tourbillon are done in matte black, while the cage of the tourbillon follows the same geometric patterns of the skeletonised dial. The triple cross shape on the cage will align itself perfectly with its bridges, once a minute. 

Design:

The Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Skelet-One Tourbillon comes in a red gold 41mm case with possibly the largest opening in the dial, which gives a view of the complete movement of the watch. The dial is split into two parts, the top being the tourbillon and the seconds-hand display, the bottoms being the hour and minute hands, and the hour indices. The hour, minute, and seconds hands have been redesigned by Jaquet Droz to be much more slender and majestic. The hour indices on the bottom time display have been made with gold so it matches closely to the case. 

The time display is also made from Swiss smoky quartz, making it appear to be see-through. This watch is all about transparency, so the see-through dial fits perfectly with this theme. The second’s dial is also hollowed out, with only the “seconds track” having a transparent display. Jaquet Droz has taken extra steps to make the watch have the 3D effect when looking directly upon ii, by playing with different degrees of transparency.

To ensure that the body of the watch is as sturdy as possible, the bottom plate has been completely reworked. What this does also is that it distributes the circulating forces around the movement and also allows as much light to pass through as possible. 

From the case back we can see even more of the timepiece, such as the red gold 18k skeletonised oscillating weight. This can only be viewed from the back and it provides the Grande Seconde Skelet-One Tourbillon with a staggering 7-day power reserve. 

This piece has not been built to simply tell the time, but rather to evoke emotion. Pushing the boundaries of skeletonised movements, Jaquet Droz has created a work of art that tells a beautiful story of time. 

Reference: J013523242

Specification:

• Case: 41mm, thickness 13.36mm
• Case Material: 18-karat red gold
• Dial: Sapphire dial, Indexes and dial fixing screws in 18-karat red gold
• Crystal: Sapphire, domed on both sides, anti-reflective coating inside
• Water resistance: 30 meters
• Movement: Jaquet Droz 2625SQ, self-winding skeleton tourbillon movement, black treatment, silicon balance spring and pallet horns, titanium tourbillon frame, single barrel, 18-karat red gold oscillating weight.
• Power reserve: minimum of 7 days (168 Hours)
• Strap: Rolled-edge hand-made black alligator, 18-karat red gold folding clasp

The latest edition to Jaquet Droz exceptional timepieces is the Grand Seconde Moon Phase Lunar edition. The intense and mystical timepiece revives the Grand Seconde aesthetic soaring over an astronomical Moon Phase. As the saying goes, “You can’t dispute taste.” The word “dispute” originally meant that there was no use trying to reconcile aesthetic preferences. There is no better adage to describe the new Grande Seconde Moon by Jaquet Droz. The piece currently has one of the largest followings out of the Maison’s collections. And in the interest of granting collectors their wish, Jaquet Droz has remodelled the now legendary creation.

Jaque Droz had a silver iteration of the Grand Seconde Moon, the new watch now comes in anthracite. A bit darker shade of grey changes how the watch is perceived. This dial is sandblasted, which makes it more vivid and striking – not to mention it casts a striking resemblance to the surface of the moon. The lunar display sits poised at 6 o’clock as the large seconds hand and perpetual date hand fly over it. With the utmost regard to watchmaking tradition, these hands are blued, as are those marking the hours and minutes. Thus, the hands boldly and seamlessly blend into the cosmic backdrop with a blue reminiscent of outer space.

Six white gold stars strike forth against this solid background as a subtle nod to the Jaquet Droz two-star emblem. They are joined by the 22-karat white gold moon, which was drawn by hand to capture its naturally cratered surface, moved by a so-called ‘astronomical’ Moon Phase. 

It is powered by a new movement called Mechanism 135 that runs with a 135-tooth wheel. While a traditional 59-tooth movement accumulates an error of one day every 2 years, 7 months and 20 days, the Jaquet Droz Moon Phase only requires a single adjustment every 122 years and 46 days. The movement’s precision is thus closer to the actual lunar month: 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 2.8 seconds.

This new Anthracite Grande Seconde Moon comes on a handmade rolled-edge alligator strap with a sleek, silky rubber-like finish. The 43 mm steel case features a sapphire crystal back designed for admiring the movement’s Côtes de Genève finishes and openwork Sunray finished oscillating weight. With a double barrel enabling the 68-hour power reserve, this Jaquet Droz 2660QL3 self-winding mechanical movement has a silicon balance spring and pallet lugs, making it virtually impervious to magnetic fields and temperature fluctuations. When the height of tradition meets modern advances, the Grande Seconde Moon calmly gazes upon a legacy over 280 years in the making.