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Quick Take
Over the last couple of decades, Jaquet Droz has produced a very wide range of models, ranging from time-only watches all the way up to elaborately complex mechanical automatons, including the Singing Bird watch, with which we went hands-on in 2017. The cornerstones of Jaquet Droz's collections, however, have always been the Grande Seconde watches, which feature a figure-8 dial design with a very large, prominent sub-dial for the seconds hand. The amount of unoccupied space on the dial has for much of the brand's history, given it an opportunity to showcase a number of different crafts – most especially the art of enameling, which has been an area in which Jaquet Droz has often produced truly exceptional pieces (I think, for example, of the wonderful paillonée enamel pocket watch, which we had an opportunity to look at up close and personal in 2016).
Owing to the fact that the dials have so often been the focus of so much creative effort, the Grande Seconde watches have tended to be on the larger side, with cases generally 43mm in diameter and 12.21mm thick. (There have also been some models available in 39mm cases as well). Jaquet Droz recently announced the launch of a new-to-the-collection 41mm size in a case which is a bit thinner than for the 43mm models – the new models are 12.10mm thick.
There will be a total of seven new models in the new size. Four of these are in red gold (which has always struck me as an ideal metal for the Grande Seconde watches in general; it seems to really emphasize the case geometry) with grand feu enamel dials, in ivory, deep blue, burgundy, and anthracite.
Three additional models will be offered in steel, with matte black, sandblasted titanium grey, or a sandblasted silver dial. Prices are uniform across all models in each metal, with the steel watches listed at $9,500, and the red-gold models at $20,000. The movement is the caliber 2660Q2, with two mainspring barrels that deliver a 68-hour power reserve and which includes a silicon balance spring (this is the most up-to-date version of the Jaquet Droz caliber 2663, which is based on the F. Piguet/Manufacture Blancpain 1151).
Initial Thoughts
I have admired Jaquet Droz watches for many years. When the name was re-established in 2000 by the Swatch Group, the company's use of exotic and very seldom seen enameling techniques quickly made them a critic's darling, if rather niche in appeal. The company's early and consistent devotion to making delicate, expensive to produce, and often very elaborate enamel dials meant that the watches were not very often seen, although they made a tremendous impression in person.
The 43mm cases for the Grande Seconde watches never struck me as particularly excessive in size – especially when paired with some of the company's remarkable enamelwork, the diameter seemed to be a deliberate choice to have a larger canvas on which to display what was then a quite rarely seen horological decorative art.
Certainly, however, tastes have changed since the early 2000s, and I think having a 41mm case for the Grande Seconde models makes a good deal of sense. At that diameter, you sacrifice little in terms of the surface area necessary for the dial composition, which offers an appealing amount of negative space – always a strong suit for Jaquet Droz. Pricing also seems eminently sensible – especially in steel, the new 41mm Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde watches represent a quite interesting alternative for someone wishing for an unusual, but still classically proportioned, dial.
I will always retain an affection for the Grande Seconde watches in enamel, though. It's difficult to remember at a distance of two decades, but horological enameling was at one point a nearly lost art. It required the effort of a few dedicated, extremely stubborn and persistent, and often self-taught artists like Miklos Merczel at Jaeger-LeCoultre, Suzanne Rohr at Patek Philippe, and Anita Porchet, to keep the various extremely difficult genres of horological enameling and enamel miniature painting alive. Though one sees enamel dials – both standard vitreous enamel and more complex enamelwork such as paillonée, flinqué, and cloisonné – more frequently today, it is worth remembering that like mechanical horology itself, it was at one time a craft whose future seemed very much in doubt, and which continues to exist today thanks to brands like Jaquet Droz, which was a pioneer in bringing the art to a wider audience.
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The Basics
Brand: Jaquet Droz
Model: Grande Seconde 41mm
Diameter: 41mm
Thickness: 12.10mm
Case Material: Steel or red gold
Dial Color: Red-gold models, grand feu enamel in anthracite, burgundy, ivory, and deep blue; steel models, matte black, sandblasted titanium grey, or a sandblasted silver dial
Water Resistance: 3 bar/30 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Matching alligator for the red-gold models; calf leather for the steel models
The Movement
Caliber: Jaquet Droz 2660Q2
Functions: Large seconds, off-center hours and minutes, with date
Power Reserve: 68 hours
Winding: Manual and automatic
Frequency: 28,800 vph
Jewels: 30
Additional Details: Silicon escape wheel and pallets
Pricing & Availability
Price: Red gold, $20,000; steel, $9,500
Availability: Currently available
See the new 41mm models at Jaquet-Droz.com.
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