Brighter colors have been added to the brand's skeleton collection for 2021.
Jaquet Droz introduced the first Grande Seconde Skelet-One watches to its collection in 2018, with the classic figure-eight made of two intersecting subdials on top of a surprisingly skeletonized movement. The model was met with interest at the time — the first skeleton in the portfolio of a conservative brand with a history stretching back centuries.
This unconventional model's release was timed to coincide with the brand's 280th anniversary, whose story began with Pierre Jaquet-Droz. Jaquet-Droz became famous as the creator of clocks with moving mechanical figures and musical complications in the 18th century. The use of automata remains one of the brand's most attractive features to this day.
The skeleton has spiced up conservative collections of many a classic brand, but it only made its first appearance in Jaquet Droz pieces just three years ago. The first model to reveal the modern architecture inside the automatic JD 2663 SQ caliber came in red and white gold as well as black ceramic.
Then a new version of the Grande Seconde Skeleton-One model appeared last year, made of the impressive “plasma ceramic”. The 2021 collection also includes brighter colors with shades of yellow, green and blue. The burst of color is added by the textile strap and hands. Each of the variations is limited to 28 pieces.
This is another sign of the brand's loyalty to the figure eight as its most recognizable symbol. All Jaquet Droz limited editions are released in a series of 8, 28 or 88 pieces. The figure eight is also the defining feature of the dial's design. Granted it's made of sapphire crystal in these models, but the classic design with two subdials that overlap to form the figure eight remains unchanged.
The upper disk is for the hour and minute hands, while the lower one is for the long second hand. The indexes on the hours and minutes counter are made of gold, and a railroad-style scale has been selected for the seconds, allowing for a more precise reading. The movement that keeps the hands ticking has a 68-hour power reserve, facilitated by a double barrel, with a white-gold oscillating weight enclosed in a 41.5 mm case.
The case for the sky-blue and green versions is made from black ceramic, while the yellow version uses plasma ceramic. This material's special properties and particularly shiny metallic surface have been obtained through a process of additional high-temperature firing.