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When you think of Jaquet Droz, your mind most likely goes toward the ultra-traditional. I'm talking automatons, detailed enamel painting, and old-school gold filigree work. But that's not everything the brand is about. The Grande Seconde Moon Onyx is proof of this, taking one of the brand's familiar silhouettes, but rendering it in a very modern way with the use of a stainless steel case and a clean onyx dial.
The Grande Seconde family is one of the key pillars of Jaquet Droz's contemporary collection. There are loads of different versions of the watch, all united by the namesake large sub-seconds register. Sometimes this register is directly below the hours/minutes dial, forming a sort of "8" pattern, and other times it's off-center or even integrated into a tourbillon. Here, you've got the most traditional configuration, though the seconds register also contains a date complication and a moonphase complication, all in that same, oversized circle in the lower portion of the dial.
The Grande Seconde Moon Onyx starts with a 43mm stainless steel case that has a slim, slightly domed bezel that gives the dial a lot of room to breathe and make its statement. I'd say it wears slightly on the small side for a 43mm watch, with the case tapering a bit to the wrist, but it's still a large watch and the 13.23mm thickness doesn't help. The dial itself looks rather simple at first glance, but there are a lot of layers at play here. The main dial sits as the base of sorts, with the two metal chapter rings floating above, casting subtle shadows below. I really enjoyed this effect and I think it adds a ton to the visual interest of this watch overall.
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The moon disc is also onyx, so it matches the rest of the dial perfectly. At certain angles, it's hard to see where the various parts of the dial fit together – they instead just look like one expansive black surface. Again, the effect is really eye-catching. On the moon disc sits a detailed moon made of 22k white gold and a few stars made of 18k white gold. The stars are Jaquet Droz's signature seven-pointed variety and there's something a little old-school about them that adds a little softness to an otherwise stark watch. The moonphase indicator is accurate to one day in every 122 years and 46 days.
Powering the watch is the Jaquet Droz caliber 2660QL3, which is an automatic movement with a silicon balance spring and pallet horns. It has two mainspring barrels that offer a 68-hour power reserve and the movement runs in 30 jewels. The finishing is appropriately modern to fit with the rest of the watch, with wide, sunray-shaped stripes radiating from the balance and a partially-openworked winding rotor. To get the accuracy of the moonphase function to where it is, Jaquet Droz uses something they call the "mechanism 135." This may sound mysterious, but it's really just a moon disc with 135 teeth that is controlled by a 16-tooth driving wheel. This is not a proprietary Jaquet Droz technology, but it is nice to see the brand offer up a higher precision moonphase in a watch like this where the complication is a crucial part of what makes the watch special.
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Overall, the Grande Seconde Moon Onyx surprised me on the wrist. The use of negative space on the dial, the little shadows cast by the chapter rings, and the nearly numeral-free expanse makes for something really striking. As I said, the case wore smaller than I expected, however I did find the thickness to be a limiting factor for me. It's one of those watches that you really feel after wearing it for a little while. Some will love this, others won't – it's really a personal choice. Aesthetically though, even at the HODINKEE office, this is a watch that garners a lot of comments and "Whoa, what's that on your wrist?" questions.
It's worth noting that this watch has two relatives too – the Grande Seconde Moon Silver and the Grande Seconde Moon Ivory Enamel. Technically speaking, these watches are identical to the Grande Seconde Moon Onyx, they just have different aesthetic treatments. The former uses a stainless steel case paired with a silver opaline dial, Roman numerals, and lots of blue accents, while the latter starts with a red gold case and finishes it off with an iv0ry-colored grand feu enamel dial that also uses Roman numerals and more color. To me, the Onyx version is the most interesting of the bunch, but if you're looking for something a little more traditional, you might want to consider one of the two alternatives.
The Grande Seconde Moon Onyx retails for $17,300, while the the Grande Seconde Moon Silver and the Grande Seconde Moon Ivory Enamel retail for $15,200 and $28,900, respectively. The onyx version is exclusive to Jaquet Droz boutiques and Swatch Group's Tourbillon boutiques, while the others are available through the full retail network.
For more, visit Jaquet Droz online.
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