If you’re looking for a watch that goes with everything you have plenty of choices. But if you want to wear a work of art on your wrist, you’ll want to consider the three exquisite new models from Swiss watchmaker Jaquet Droz.
The newest additions to the Droz Ateliers d’Art collections display hand-painted and enameled dials created using the paillonné enamel technique. The result is a trio of unique and colorful timepieces that will show off the wearer’s good taste and appreciation for the arts.
Creating fine watches with an artistic touch has been a family tradition for Jaquet Droz, going all the way back to the brand’s 18th century beginnings and its founder Pierre Jaquet-Droz. The house gained a following with its intricately enameled watch cases as well as other pieces like snuffboxes, urns and birdcages.
The paillonné enameling process shares an equally illustrious history dating back to the 18th century. This intricate process involves placing a piece of foil between two layers of enamel resulting in translucent enamel covering an enamel base. This craft gives the watch dial brilliance and luminosity owing to the transparency of the enamel.
In 2000, the Jaquet Droz brand was acquired by the Swatch Group and in the years since has created several limited-edition collections. Each series consists of only eight pieces, all of them displaying the Droz signature touches of paillonné enamel dials that feature gold settings and grand feu enamel.
The three latest limited edition timepieces from Jaquet Droz get their inspiration from a pair of historic watches from the brand’s past. One is a paillonné enamel pocket watch from 1780 featuring a gold case set with pearls and rubies while the second from 1790 has a similar case with the addition of a blue enamel back panel decorated with a pattern of gold and silver beneath translucent enamel.
All three new Jaquet Droz watches, the Petite Heure Minute, the Grande Seconde and the Pocket Watch, are encased in 18-carat red gold. The two wrist watches have rolled-edge straps of black alligator leather with 18-carat red gold buckles, while the pocket watch includes an 18-carat red gold chain. The wrist watches contain automatic calibers with 22-carat oscillating weights of white gold that are water-resistant to 30 meters. The pocket watch has a hand-wound caliber and is not water-resistant.
A different movement distinguishes each model, with the Petite Heure Minute being run by a Jaquet Droz 2653 caliber with a 68-hour power reserve and a frequency of 28,800 vph. The Grande Seconde bears a Jaquet Droz 2663 caliber, also with a frequency of 28,800 vph and a 68-hour power reserve. The Pocket Watch has a Jaquet Droz 2615 caliber with a frequency of 21,600 vph and 40-hour power reserve.
All three new watches from Jaquet Droz are destined to be true collector’s items and each will bear an individual limited-edition serial number engraved on the case back.