Jaquet Droz GRANDE SECONDE Watches

History of Jaquet Droz

Pierre Jaquet Droz and his sons had mastered Horology in the 1700s, which led them to design precision-defined watches. Their brand was famous for delivering jewelled timepieces that combined mechanics with music. They pioneered the technology of automation, which led them to create top-notch automatons for a niche group. Having devoted himself to watchmaking, he crafted some unique longcase clocks, with sophisticated movements, unlike anything available in those times. The company furthered its audience by moving to Spain. It entered the noble courts of the country and influenced its affluent people to purchase their clocks and watches. The Royal Palace of Madrid and Villaviciosa were their most famed customers.

After gaining mastery in watchmaking, and by keeping the success of the company in mind, Jaquet Droz took his first step towards automata movements. After his son became a partner, the duo kept reinventing, refining and nurturing the calibre to ensure perfectly articulated and sophisticated mechanisms for their customers. Their three best pieces included The Writer, The Draughtsman and The Musician. With these three watches, they gave birth to new movements and set a higher benchmark for watchmaking. Along with refining jewelled watches, they also forayed into new markets during this time. London was an especially enthralling market for them, where luxury watches were in great demand. A lot of watchmakers were eyeing this space, and Jaquet Droz was one of them.

Jean Fredric Leschot was in charge of handling the trade and operations for Jaquet in London. The combination of song, birds, mechanics and clocks was indeed fascinating and impressed the Chinese and British markets. Every piece including the watches, clocks, the boxes and the automata transcribed music, which was patented by the brand.

Apart from drawing inspiration from the current technologies and watchmaking trends, the brand also set up a team of excellent watchmakers to convert their vision into reality. While the Jaquet Droz family looked after the administration and overall management of the brand, they hired different people to look after the operations. However, things changed after the demise of both the father and son. The brand started to stagnate and went into hibernation. There was no sign of its existence for quite a long time.

There was a brief revival of the brand in 1963. However, the period of this revival existed for 20 years, after which the company had to shut down their operations. The brand was in the headlines after it was taken over by the Swatch Group. At this point, the luxury brand also began crafting new designs while keeping the traditions of the original watchmakers at its core.

Jaquet Droz, in the revival stage, was cornered owing to the presence of new and current-age luxury watch brands. However, they marked their niche with their emphasis on the mechanics of watchmaking combined with the use of current technology.

On the other hand, Jaquet Droz is doing pretty well in terms of production and sales. The acquisition by Swatch Group has given birth to exceptionally tech-driven watches that come with a top-notch production and distribution system. Even today, you can see a hint of the Jaquet Droz expertise and amalgamation of tech and art in their watches. The present watch collection by the brand is both classic and valuable. They come with artful designs combined with the traditional enamel method, which sets them apart from the rest.

The Arrival of GRAND SECONDE

With their second innings in the luxury watch segment, Jaquet Droz launched the GRANDE SECONDE watches. The design for the timepiece was inspired by a collection prevalent in 1785. The mechanics used to design these watches was the self-winding movement. As the name suggests, the watches come with a prominent sub-dial for the second hand. You will notice enamelled art within, which also makes the watch appear impressive. Apart from being unique, they are also quite large, as they offer more space to the second hand. Most of the timepieces come with a 43mm diameter. Recently, the brand announced a new collection that comes with a 41mm diameter.

The GRAND SECONDE collection has several models. Currently, there are 4 models that come in a red-gold color, which has been the metal color for this collection. Three other models come in matte black, sandblasted titanium grey and silver dial. The prices are set at approximately $20000 for the red gold models, while it is $9000 for the other three. All the pieces in the edition have their origins in the brand’s principles. The aim was to combine their horological expertise with unique craftsmanship.

The Red Gold Edition: These watches come with a black jade dial in a classic red gold case. Most of the timepieces in this edition offer a good 68 hours of reserve power. They come with a self-winding movement, silicon balance spring and pallet horns, which ensure greater precision in timekeeping. You can get the classic red-gold edition with black straps or steel straps.

The Chronograph: The brand designed a mono-pusher chronograph packed inside a stainless steel case. The pointer styled date display along with the 30-minute subdial is the highlight of this watch. It comes with a 40-hour power reserve.

Why Own a GRANDE SECONDE from Jaquet Droz?

The brilliant design, the awe-inspiring mechanisms, and the core principles of watchmaking are the reasons whyyou should have a GRANDE SECONDE from Jaquet Droz in your collection. Each new model has closed the gaps in the previous models and comes with new colors and brilliance. If you love luxury watches and are completely traditional when it comes to mechanisms, then GRAND SECONDE is your kind of timepiece. Thanks to the new variants and refined collection, you might find the one that meets your mood and budget perfectly.