Swiss luxury watch maker Jaquet Droz gives a makeover for their Grande Seconde by incorporating a silicon balance spring in the escapement of its movement and rethinking its aesthetic aspect.
The Grande SecondeQuantième, launched in 2011 and inspired by one of the brand’s legendary models, reveals a new face and movement this year, reenergizing the conventions upheld by Jaquet Droz and reaffirming its excellence as a watchmaker.
For the first time, major changes have been made to the movement with the addition of a silicon balance spring and inversed horns on the pallets fork. Silicon is a highly flexible material that only a small number of watchmaking brands have mastered how to use. It can withstand shock and variations in temperature and pressure, and its properties allow it to remain unaffected by magnetic fields, maintaining perfect stability over time.
As with all its movements, Jaquet Droz plays with a range of fine finishing techniques: the plates are circular-grained above and below, the wheels are chamfered, shaped and circular-grained, the steel parts are chamfered and softened, and there are patterns of straight lines and hand-polished angles. All these features compose a unique aesthetic signature, visible through the watch’s transparent case-back.
The new Grande Seconde Quantième Ivory Enamel’s movement is further embellished with fanned Côtes de Genève decoration, which reinforces the brand’s identity. The enlarged bridges and the finishes with tones of gray and black give this model a more contemporary feel, all the while integrating perfectly with the brand’s decorative signature.
In tandem with these significant changes, the Grande Seconde Quantième Ivory Enamel’s dial, available in two versions – red or white gold with a diameter of 39 or 43 millimeters – has also undergone an aesthetic evolution. It has been double enameled using the historic Grand Feu enamel technique, peculiar to Jaquet Droz. This gives a lower subdial of increased depth that accentuates the beautiful balance between the two subdials as they describe a figure eight, the brand’s lucky number.
Technical details
Movement
Jaquet Droz 2660Q2.P, self-winding mechanical movement, silicon balance, double barrel, flat bridges, white gold oscillating weight
Jewelling: 30 jewels
Power reserve: 68 hours
Frequency: 28,800 v.p.h
Indications
Off-centered hours and minutes, large seconds subdial
Pointer-type date display at 6 o’clock
Models
Reference J007034200
Case: White gold, 43 mm diameter
Height 12.21 mm
Individual serial number engraved on the case-back
Water resistance: 3 bar (30 meters)
Dial: Ivory Grand Feu enamel, double level
Hands: Hours, minutes, seconds and dates in blued steel
Date hand with red varnished tip
Strap: Rolled-edge hand-made black alligator leather strap
Buckle: White gold ardillon
Reference J007033200
Case: Red gold, 43 mm diameter
Height 12.21 mm
Individual serial number engraved on the case-back
Water resistance: 3 bar (30 meters)
Dial: Ivory Grand Feu enamel, double level
Hands: Hours, minutes, seconds and dates in red gold
Date hand with red varnished tip
Strap: Rolled-edge hand-made black alligator leather strap
Buckle: Red gold ardillon
Reference J007014200
Case: White gold, 39 mm diameter
Height 12.13 mm
Individual serial number engraved on the case-back
Water resistance: 3 bar (30 meters)
Dial: Ivory Grand Feu enamel, double level
Hands: Hours, minutes, seconds and dates in blued steel
Date with red varnished tip
Strap: Rolled-edge hand-made black alligator leather strap
Buckle: White gold ardillon
Reference J007013200
Case: Red gold, 39 mm diameter
Height 12.13 mm
Individual serial number engraved on the case-back
Water resistance: 3 bar (30 meters)
Dial: Ivory Grand Feu enamel, double level
Hands: Hours, minutes, seconds and dates in red gold
Date hand with red varnished tip
Strap: Rolled-edge hand-made black alligator leather strap
Buckle: Red gold ardillon
