Introducing The Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Tribute

Among the many anniversaries being celebrated at this year's Baselworld, Jaquet Droz will be toasting to its 280th year. While the Grande Seconde wristwatch has only been around since 2002, it's based on a historic pocket watch design from Pierre Jaquet-Droz, the brand's namesake founder, and has become the brand's instantly-recognizable calling card in the 16 years it's been in modern production. 

While the brand does experiment with more avant garde takes on the Grande Seconde, ultimately it's a watch about classicism. So, for this anniversary year, Jaquet Droz is making the watch in yellow gold for the very first time. It's shocking this hasn't been done before, but it hasn't, and JD is pairing the traditional case with an ivory grand feu enamel dial to up the ante. This is about as pure and clear an incarnation of the Grande Second as you could imagine and it's being produced as a limited edition of 88 numbered pieces (in a nod to the "8" formed by the overlapping registers on the watch's dial).

I've gotta say, I really like this one. Jaquet Droz is a brand that thrives when it embraces the things about it that feel a little anachronistic. That's a big part of the charm for me. This is a watch that I definitely assumed already existed and to know that it was this long coming makes it all the more appealing. All the negative space on the enamel dial gives you lots of space to appreciate the grand feu and if this dial is anything like JD's other enamel dials, the black markings will be razor sharp too. For me, the only catch here is that the watch is 43mm in diameter. For something so classic, that feels way oversized. I know it's the standard Grande Second size these days, but for something like this I would have much preferred the 39mm case. Can you imagine? Maybe for the 285th anniversary?

Brand: Jaquet Droz
Model: Grande Seconde Tribute
Reference Number: J003031200

Diameter: 43mm
Thickness: 11.48mm
Case Material: Yellow gold
Dial Color: Ivory grand feu enamel
Indexes: Roman and Arabic numerals
Lume: None
Water Resistance: 30 meters
Strap/Bracelet: Blue alligator strap with yellow gold ardillon buckle

Caliber: Jaquet Droz 2663.SI
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Power Reserve: 68 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 4 Hz (28,800 vph)
Jewels: 30
Additional Details: Silicon escapement and hand guilloché  on winding rotor

Price: Coming Soon
Availability: Coming Soon
Limited Edition: 88 pieces, numbered on both the dial and caseback

For more click here.