Swiss luxury watch maker Jaquet Droz revisits the timeless art of Paillonné Enameling by launching three exclusive, limited edition models showcase the virtuoso technique of this ancient art, perfected by the artist craftsmen of the manufacture.
Paillonné enameling is a marriage of azure and gold, a design of infinite delicacy, a work born of incredibly high standards. The Jaquet Droz artisans have excelled in this ornamental technique since the 18th century, and to this day they continue to make dials with the same extraordinarily meticulous care using the Grand Feu enamel process. This involves several firings at temperatures that can approach 1000 °C. Only the trained eye can detect when the color is perfectly consistent and when the motif, picked out in gold paillons placed with surgical precision, has set under the translucent enamel fondant.
Three new models – a 39 mm Petite Heure Minute, a 50 mm pocket watch and a 43 mm Grande Seconde – pay tribute to an art that has endured for three centuries. The motif has been reinvented on each timepiece and plays with yet more circular forms to evoke the floral theme favored by Jaquet Droz. The blued steel hands echo the ultramarine dial, while the light in the red gold case, on a blue or black alligator leather strap, seems to reflect the gleaming paillons. Each of the three models is a limited edition of 8.
The Pocket Watch Paillonnée
Numerus Clausus of 8/ Reference: J080033040
Case
18-carat red gold, 50 mm diameter
Height 12.07 mm
Individual limited serial number engraved on the case-back
Water resistance: No
Dial
Blue Grand Feu paillonné-enameled
18-carat red gold ring
Hands: Blued steel
Chain
18-carat red gold
Movement
Jaquet Droz 2615, hand-winding mechanical movement
Indications: Off-centered hours and minutes, large seconds subdial
Jewelling: 20 jewels
Power reserve: 40 hours
Frequency: 21,600 v.p.h
Petite Heure Minute Paillonnée
Numerus Clausus of 8/ Reference: J005013240
Case
18-carat red gold, 39 mm diameter
Height 11.52 mm
Individual limited serial number engraved on the case-back
Water resistance: 3 bar (30 meters)
Dial
Blue Grand Feu paillonné-enameled
18-carat red gold ring and plate
Hands: Blued steel
Indications
Off-centered hours and minutes
Strap
Rolled-edge hand-made black alligator leather strap
Buckle: 18-carat red gold ardillon
Movement
Jaquet Droz 2653
Self-winding mechanical movement
Double barrel
22-carat white gold oscillating weight
Jewelling: 30 jewels
Power reserve: 68 hours
Frequency: 28,800 v.p.h
Grande Seconde Paillonnée
Numerus Clausus of 8/ Reference: J003033391
Case
18-carat red gold, 43 mm diameter
Height 11.48 mm
Individual limited serial number engraved on the case-back
Water resistance: 3 bar (30 meters)
Dial
Blue Grand Feu paillonné-enameled
18-carat red gold ring
Hands: Blued steel
Indications
Off-centered hours and minutes, large seconds subdial
Strap
Rolled-edge hand-made black alligator leather strap
Buckle: 18-carat red gold ardillon
Movement
Jaquet Droz 2663
Self-winding mechanical movement
Double barrel
22-carat white gold oscillating weight
Jewelling: 30 jewels
Power reserve: 68 hours
Frequency: 28,800 v.p.h
