Horological Meandering - BaselWorld 2013: Jaquet Droz (an international collaboration)

BaselWorld 2013: Jaquet Droz (an international collaboration)

In a true Purists' spirit this presentation of this year's Basel novelties came to fruition by means of a globe-spanning international collaboration between Ken (KIH) and Magnus (Ornatus-Mundi):

Ken:

"I was fortunately invited for preview for Jaquet Droz boutique in the building and here are some shots of this years novelties. I am fairly impressed with their new offerings as, honestly, JD seems to have started re-gaining its old-self..... Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures at other boutiques in the building. I thank Mr. Hayashi, the boutique manager for Jaquet Droz for his generosity. He is my old friend since he was the first manager at Lange Ginza Boutique."

Magnus:

"Getting a very small slot in JD's tight Basel schedule proved to be great luck for me: We focussed on the complicated pieces and I was able to admire the repeaters and automaton that so much define the essence of the brand. Plus - a really nice surprise - I spent some quality time with the Lady 8 which I consider to be a defining piece for JD!"

With a view to make the number of novelties and their intricacies more comprehensible we decided to split the article into two pieces, one dealing with JD's main collection and the second one with the complicated watches and their new ladies' line Lady 8.

Let's start with the main line-up for 2013 -

275 years!

Most historically famous for automatons....

There are so many pics and apologies for the heavy thread

Enjoy!

1. The Twelve Cities Aventurine - SS, 39mm

What is great about this model is its dial - MOP inside, and Aventurine Stone surrounding it is perfectly cut and fitted to each other - MOP cutting must be pretty hard, with this precision. Jumping hour, and with pusher at 2h, you can change the city. SS, nice size.

Just size for my smallish wrist.

Typical J*D profile.

A few pics taken in JD's home country, Switzerland...

2. Grande Heure GMT: Red Gold Ivory Enamel 43mm

Beautiful fluent lines, a real piece of art!

Switching between GMT and non-GMT watch, easy and without any clutter on the dial - perfect!

43 mm as well:

3. Les Ateliers d'Art: Petite Heure Minute Carps Painting on Enamel - Red Gold, Ivory Enamel, 39mm

Petite Heure Minute White Crane - Red Gold, Ivory Enamel, 43mm

4. Les Ateliers d'Art: Petite Heure Minute Paillonnée

Same watch technology as above, but here with an outstanding paillonnée enamel dial

Note the translucent blue grand feu enamel with the guilloché base plate below:

5. Les Ateliers d'Art: Petite Heure Minute Relief Seasons - Spring

Now this is impressive. MOP dial, Gold birds, painted with Enamel.

With 272 diamonds on the case.

41mm

They even paint enamel on MOP dial.....

Red gold:

Same watch but in a red gold case with a patinated dial and bird sculpture:

Its such a lively execution of the scene that you imagine hearing the birds singing (we come that that in part II of this report ;-))...

The detail work is truly impressive:

The rotor is fashioned like a wing - a very apt transformation of the ornithological theme to the movement's power wing:

6. The Eclipse Series: Ivory Enamel

New is the 39mm version of this watch, here in red gold...

Perfect for smaller wrists:

In comparison to the 43mm model of this very same watch you see that the dwarfing exercise had a good effect on the proportions of the timepiece:

39mm Mother-of-Pearl (18-carat white gold, set with 248 diamonds (1.62 carats)):

39mm

7. Perpetual Calendar Eclipse: Ivory Enamel

As usual, eight (8) stars!

43mm

Black Enamel

There are not many brands that can produce so many black enamel models.

43mm

8. Grande Seconde: Quantieme Stainless Steel

I like this model very much - Côtes de Genève on the dial. This is single plate dial and the index part and date part which seem to be the second level is simply made by cutting and pressing, then color opaline ring has been applied. The red tip of the date hand and "31" on the date dial is good accent, IMHO. All in SS case.

Blue

The overall design combining reduced elegant case lines with the straight lines of the dial gives a good impression of depth and wideness.

Typical JD fashion of the Piguet 1150:

43mm

Brown

43mm

Silver
Nice blue hands

AND 39mm.... Also, blue dates.....

Nice size!

Black
Oh, this model is by far so my favorite....

9. Pocket Watch:

Now this is not a novelty, but just want to show the J*D DNA....

See? Again, the profile is almost the same across the line-up.

Thank you!
Good job, J*D, and thanks again, Mr. Hayashi, Manager at Jaquet Droz boutique GInza.

Ken and Magnus

This message has been edited by Ornatus-Mundi on 2013-07-12 08:06:30 This message has been edited by KIH on 2013-07-12 17:35:26 This message has been edited by MTF on 2013-07-15 18:48:10

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Baselworld 2013: Jaquet Droz - the Complicated Pieces and the Lady 8

By: Ornatus-Mundi : July 12th, 2013-07:28

The second part of the article will focus on two fascinating, exceptional offerings: a new line for the ladies and complicated pieces! 10. Lady 8 series: '8' is the common theme of the watch. See even the buckle is '8' shaped. The stone above the dial is ...

Fascinating...

By: EJames : July 13th, 2013-12:24

I was at a watch showing in D.C. where JD was presenting. They did not have the chiming bird watch yet, but their pieces were beautiful. Thank you for the excellent report. Eric

The Charming Bird ...only if I had the money !!!

By: brevetplus : July 16th, 2013-15:18

This will be the first watch I will buy ... only if I had the money !!!

You still have time to save...

By: Ornatus-Mundi : July 17th, 2013-02:41

its just a (functional) prototype at the moment ;-) Magnus

Here's my Eclipse

By: Frederick : July 12th, 2013-10:58

Just wanted to share a pic of my Eclipse that I picked up a short while ago. It wears very comfortably on the wrist. I just found a "new" brand" I admire and will follow closely. ...

Charming piece

By: Ares501 - Mr Green : July 12th, 2013-12:25

Congratulations Frederick Very nice and unusual choice Best Damjan

Wonderful piece, IMO...

By: KIH : July 12th, 2013-18:30

... The moonphase is very interesting, and eight starts.... Very nice. Ken

Thank you both for the wonderful report. It has been a long time since a comprehesive J*D

By: mkt33 : July 14th, 2013-04:09

review. I think the recent automaton watches are great works. They show a link to the original Pierre Jaquet Droz and they demonstrate that the modern J*D can continue the tradition of mastering micromechanics. But I don't think these were made for the 'a...

Long time...

By: Ornatus-Mundi : July 15th, 2013-12:59

since Basel 2012, right? How times have changed on PPro... ;-) I also think the Grande Heure GMT is a fantastic watch. I admire the expertise and skill behind the creation of such comparatively simple pieces a lot, particularly since with JD there is a st...

Love the ss

By: aldossari_faisal : July 14th, 2013-08:06

Especially and exclusively the silver dial one,I'm a blue dial person however w I fel short from loving their ss version... The brown seems integrating ... I believe checking them live would yield a different opinion. Thanks for the report . Faisal

Yes, seeing is believing...

By: KIH : July 14th, 2013-18:33

.. depending on your preference for size, I would still recommend to try black one, though... :-) My personal taste.... and YMMV! Thank you for the comment! Ken