While not terribly expensive (and still not particularly affordable given that so far the collection is only presented in stainless steel), the new Jaquet Droz Grande Heure Minute Quantieme was designed for those people who believe that a dress watch must only be worn with formal attire. While you still can wear one of them with jeans or even chinos, you must be either a really successful screenwriter or a slightly eccentric serial start-upper to pull off the trick.
Jaquet Droz
Jaquet Droz Museum Pocket Watch
Earlier this month, Jaquet Droz has presented its piece unique: the Museum Pocket Watch. It was literally built around a time-worn 18th-century movement that was lovingly (and also painstakingly) restored to its present glory in JD own workshops. Originally missing certain vital parts, the restored mechanism, as archaic as it is, looks magnificent and stately inside its massive 18-karat red gold body.
Jaquet Droz Lady 8 Ceramic in Steel and Gold
The 2014 Jaquet Droz Lady 8 Ceramic Collection (refs. J014500240 and J014500241) somehow manages to combine a clean, uncluttered layout of a classic two-hander with their trademark figure eight shape. Migrating from the dial, which is now available in whole three radically different finishes, to the body and bezel, the Arabic numeral makes this watch (and probably its owner) look especially memorable. While not as flashy as the last month’s Chanel J12-365, the Jaquet Droz model runs circles -figuratively speaking- around the aforementioned model in terms of originality and overall elegance.
Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde SW Cotes de Geneve (Ref. J029030245)
The energetic JD Grande Seconde SW line has been here for about five or six years now. It was introduced back in 2008 in different variations, including the outrageous SWROUGE model that featured a combination of rose gold and black rubber. This new Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde SW Cotes de Geneve (Ref. J029030245), however, attempts to take the model a step or two higher on the elegance ladder.
Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Relief Season Automatic
The new Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Relief Season collection delivers such a high degree of refinement and elegance that one usually expects only from a piece unique hand-made for a special event. Jaquet Droz, however, plans to make whole 176 of them!
Jaquet Droz The Eclipse Ivory Enamel (Ref. J012613200)
First revealed in the year 2012 with a sexy jet-black onyx dial, the updated Jaquet Droz Eclipse has been reissued in an even dressier version with its face finished with ivory Grand Feu enamel (which is not only pleasant to look at but is also difficult to manufacture on an industrial scale). Although the beige-colored plate of the J012613200 doesn’t do a particularly good job mimicking a night sky, it still makes the watch a perfect choice for those looking for a dressy moon-phase timekeeper.
Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Minerals Automatic in Rose Gold
The Swiss watchmaking house Jaquet Droz is not the first (and possibly not the last) manufacturer to implement minerals (as well as other ‘low-tech’ materials like, say, wood) in the design of their timekeepers. However, their dressy Grande Seconde series gains the most from this beautiful mix of inexpensive, yet highly decorative stones that serve as dials, and precious, finely polished rose gold body and parts. Meet the new Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Minerals.
Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Off-Centered Ivory Enamel Automatic (Ref. J006033200)
The new Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Off-Centered Ivory Enamel (Ref. J006033200) is delivered in a finely crafted, albeit slightly oversized red-gold body and features the most elegant hand-made dial that features rare (and expensive, since the process cannot be automated) Grande Feu enameling, off-centered sub-dials forming figure eight and a nice mix of Roman and Arabic numerals.
Jaquet Droz Grande Heure Onyx Automatic (Ref. J025030270)
Jaquet Droz has recently reissued its famous regulator-style timekeeper that, lacking the usual minute hand, is instead equipped with the single hour hand that circles around a 24-hour dial. The new version sports an absolutely gorgeous-looking, matt black onyx dial. Equipped with an in-house automatic movement, the new Jaquet Droz Grande Heure Onyx (Ref. J025030270) nicely complements the recently introduced self-winding The Eclipse Onyx (J012630270).
Jaquet Droz The Eclipse Onyx in Stainless Steel (Ref. J012630270)
The new Jaquet Droz The Eclipse Onyx has not one, but whole two aces in its sleeve. For starters, it has its face crafted from black onyx: a mineral, which is widely used in jewelry for making cabochons and beads, but rarely employed when it comes to crafting dials (well, Jaquet Droz knows a thing or two about jewelry, so they use the mineral pretty often.) The second is its unusual moon-phase indicator that may be of some interest to those already tired of the customary displays.