Jaquet Droz ? a brand made famous by its eponym’s venture into automata production during the mid-to-late 1700s ? isn’t one to follow a trend. That’s why the decision to release the brand’s first skeletonized watch was a surprise highlight for many of my colleagues and myself at this year’s Baselworld fair. Since its revival by the Swatch Group in 2000, Jaquet Droz has leaned toward the conservative side of Swiss watchmaking. There is nothing wrong with that; in fact, its ability to captivate the industry through the continued use and development of automata, and time-only dress watches, creating a fascinating play between the worlds of horology and craftsmanship as a whole. And it’s not like the watches weren’t distinct in their own right, the off-centered dials of the large Grande Seconde line were a recognizable Jaquet Droz creation. So, as you might expect, if CEO Christian Lattmann had decided to move forward with a skeletonized watch, it was going to have to be a showstopper.
The Grande Seconde Skelet-One keeps the same dual-dial structure that the line is known for. There’s a medium-sized dial displaying hours and minutes (Roman numerals) starting around where 12 o’clock would be on a normal dial layout and stopping around the center of the dial. A larger subdial shows the seconds and runs slightly over the hours/minutes dial. This seconds dial is made from sapphire and is actually totally transparent other than ...