Jaquet Droz Baselworld 2012 Report

Ornatus-Mundi · 2012-07-09T07:57:42Z

Explore Jaquet Droz's Baselworld 2012 novelties, from the Dragon relief to ceramic Grande Seconde. Discover the brand's unique aesthetic and craftsmanship.

Ornatus-Mundi

WPS member · Horological Meandering forum

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Ornatus-Mundi delivers an insightful report from Baselworld 2012, chronicling Jaquet Droz's evolution under Swatch Group ownership, particularly after the leadership transition to Marc A. Hayek. This piece examines how the brand, known for its distinctive '8'-styled dials and artisanal crafts, navigates its historical legacy while introducing new collections and design directions.

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Jaquet*Droz has a changeful – but long - history in fine watchmaking: Founded by Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721–1790), a Swiss-born watchmaker, the company was famous for clocks, musical birds - and animated dolls.

Pierre Jaquet-Droz, his son Henri-Louis as well as their partner Jean-Frédéric Leschot were also marketing geniuses in the sense that they developed their automata to help selling their watches and clocks. Much like Red Bull for example organises Red Bull stunt events to help selling their energy drink.

The brand was successful amongst the nobility of Europe, but had a particularly strong customer base in China.

Over time the company changed a lot of hands until Swatch Group finally bought it in 2000. Initially under the helm of Manuel Emch, the relaunch was a successful and interesting one. Focusing on a theme first used in a vintage J*D pocket watch, the post-2000 watches of the brand featured the distinctive ‘8’-styled dial with an eccentric and separated hours/minutes and seconds display:

In reviving the company an ancient technology of Grand Feu enamelling was also put at display, bringing the collectors a fascinating variety of difficult to make dials, expanded by a range of rare stones, fossils or other materials such as exotic wood plates.

Mr Emch was for a long time the face of new-born J*D, but all this changed in early October 2009 when he quit his job (and later accepted to lead the Romain Jerome brand; report to follow!). Subsequently, the brand is now in the hands of Breguet, Blancpain and German dial manufacturer’s CEO Marc A. Hayek.

So, the question is – what (if anything at all!?) changed, and can we learn something from the changes? Our visit to the brand should answer this!

Since the collections are a but confusing we will present the novelties arranged in a few major thematic groups!

This message has been edited by Ornatus-Mundi on 2012-07-09 08:09:23 This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2012-07-09 09:48:21 This message has been edited by MTF on 2012-07-13 13:39:49

Key Points from the Discussion

Jaquet Droz has historically appealed to aesthetes with clean, distinguished designs and a focus on handicraft arts like Grand Feu enameling and exotic dial materials, rather than solely on movement exclusivity.
The 'Petit Heure Minute Relief Dragon' was a significant Baselworld 2012 novelty, showcasing Jaquet Droz's immense handicraft skills and historical importance in the Chinese market during the Year of the Dragon.
The 'Eclipse Onyx' model highlights the brand's use of magical stone colors and rhodium-plated metal elements, creating a striking aesthetic contrast.
Jaquet Droz's 'Sports Watch Grande Seconde Bracelet' represents an attempt at a sports watch, successfully blending traditional elements with new accents like a raised dial field and stark dark/light contrasts.
The 'Grande Seconde Power Reserve Ceramic' is a 44mm matte black ceramic derivative, following the trend of exotic case materials and offering surprising legibility under varying light conditions.
The 2010 'Grande Seconde' with a black onyx dial, 43mm steel case, and automatic Frédéric Piguet movement, remains a beautiful piece, evoking a poetic, dark night sky.

The Discussion

Ornatus-Mundi

Jul 9, 2012

A stand out piece from the J*D collection back in 2010 and still a beautiful watch, with the simple style and the black onyx dial. Size is 43mm, the case is steel and it has an automatic movement from J*D (developed by Frédéric Piguet). The dark onyx dial shows shades of a dark night and it somehow poetic. The bright gleam of steel (case) fits very well. The minutes counter, off-centred at 9 o’clock suggests a telescope exploring the immensity of the sky, inviting us to search the unfathomable m

Ornatus-Mundi

Jul 9, 2012

The Eclipse Onyx “The magical colour of the stone provides a marvellous foil for the bright rhodium-plated metal of the eight stars and the moon.” [Press-Kit] The watch was already introduced some years ago, but not in this version. Black onyx for the dial (dial cut from the disc of black onyx), 8 stars and 1 moon appliqués with rhodium treatment – sheer beauty and visual harmony. The “smiling” moon at 6 o’clock and the way it is presented is the key signature. It’s charming in the sense that th

Ornatus-Mundi

Jul 9, 2012

Grande Seconde Power Reserve Ceramic This is not a new watch, but the first time to handle it in ‘the metal’ – well, ceramic that is! The watch is a derivative of the Grande Seconde Power Reserve with a matte black dial wrapped into a ceramic case of 44mm diameter. It follows the trend towards exotic case material/treatments. If you worry about legibility – just change the influx of light and all ‘lights’ up suddenly – the silver surface of the exalted indices and inscriptions suddenly stands ou

Ornatus-Mundi

Jul 9, 2012

Sports Watch Grande Seconde Bracelet J*D’s attempt to a sports watch, joining the innards of a Grande Seconde with a (elaborate) rugged case. Does this work? It does because of the well-choosen blend of elements of the traditional and an accentuation of the new. The latter for example is the raised filed of the dial, creating a ‘cushion’ that seems to embrace and protect the hands. A second aspect is that the Sports collection exchanges subtle differences with bold distinctions. Look at the star

Ornatus-Mundi

Jul 9, 2012

Petit Heure Minute Relief Dragon With the beginning of the Chinese Year of the Dragon of course and particularly J*D could not miss this opportunity, with the Chinese market historically being of considerable importance. The company did so with an impressive objet d’art showcasing their immense handicraft skills: A silent ocean crafted from tranquil Mother of Pearl suddenly begins boiling and in this entire conundrum a veritable dragon emerges. This literally pushes the boundaries of this watch,

Ornatus-Mundi

Jul 9, 2012

no, not a mobile OS... Automata are a true historic specialty of J*D. Still today the company acts as custodian for these amazing artefacts and proudly displays them to a selected public. We were shown and demonstrated a very musical specimen, and this with a reason: <iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gAaFqShSYwo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> We can’t talk about what will be shown in one of the future BaselWorld shows but the following ima

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