KIH
[Purist]
12044
BaselWorld 2013: Jaquet Droz (an international collaboration)
In a true Purists' spirit this
presentation of this year's Basel novelties came to fruition by
means of a globe-spanning international collaboration between
Ken (KIH) and Magnus
(Ornatus-Mundi):
Ken:
"I was fortunately
invited for preview for Jaquet
Droz boutique in the building and here are some shots of this years
novelties. I am fairly impressed with their new offerings as,
honestly, JD seems to have started re-gaining its
old-self..... Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take
pictures at other boutiques in the building. I thank Mr.
Hayashi, the boutique manager for Jaquet Droz for his
generosity. He is my old friend since he was the first manager
at Lange Ginza Boutique." Magnus:
"Getting a very small slot in JD's tight Basel
schedule proved to be great luck for me: We focussed on the complicated
pieces and I was able to admire the repeaters and automaton that so much
define the essence of the brand. Plus - a really nice surprise - I
spent some quality time with the Lady 8 which I consider to be a
defining piece for JD!"
With a view to make the number of novelties and their intricacies more comprehensible we decided to split the article into two pieces, one dealing with JD's main collection and the second one with the complicated watches and their new ladies' line Lady 8.
With a view to make the number of novelties and their intricacies more comprehensible we decided to split the article into two pieces, one dealing with JD's main collection and the second one with the complicated watches and their new ladies' line Lady 8.
Let's start with the
main line-up for
2013 -
275 years!
Most historically famous for automatons....
There are so many pics and apologies for the heavy thread
Enjoy!
1. The Twelve Cities Aventurine - SS, 39mm
What is great about this model is its dial - MOP inside, and Aventurine Stone surrounding it is perfectly cut and fitted to each other - MOP cutting must be pretty hard, with this precision. Jumping hour, and with pusher at 2h, you can change the city. SS, nice size.
Just size for my smallish wrist.
275 years!
Most historically famous for automatons....
There are so many pics and apologies for the heavy thread
Enjoy!
1. The Twelve Cities Aventurine - SS, 39mm
What is great about this model is its dial - MOP inside, and Aventurine Stone surrounding it is perfectly cut and fitted to each other - MOP cutting must be pretty hard, with this precision. Jumping hour, and with pusher at 2h, you can change the city. SS, nice size.
Just size for my smallish wrist.
Typical
J*D profile.
A few pics
taken in JD's home country, Switzerland...
2. Grande Heure GMT: Red Gold Ivory Enamel 43mm
Beautiful fluent lines, a real piece of art!
Switching between GMT and non-GMT watch, easy and without any clutter on the dial - perfect!
43 mm as
well:
3. Les Ateliers d'Art: Petite Heure Minute Carps Painting on Enamel - Red Gold, Ivory Enamel, 39mm
Petite Heure Minute White Crane - Red Gold, Ivory Enamel, 43mm
4.
Les Ateliers d'Art:
Petite Heure Minute Paillonnée
Same watch technology as above, but here with an outstanding
paillonnée enamel dial
Note the translucent blue grand feu enamel with the guilloché base plate below:
5. Les Ateliers d'Art: Petite Heure Minute Relief Seasons - Spring
Now this is impressive. MOP dial, Gold birds, painted with Enamel.
With 272 diamonds on the case.
41mm
They even paint enamel on MOP dial.....
They even paint enamel on MOP dial.....
Red
gold:
Same watch but in a red gold case with a patinated dial and
bird sculpture:
Its such a
lively execution of the scene that you imagine hearing the birds singing
(we come that that in part II of this report ;-))...
The detail work is truly impressive:
The rotor is fashioned like a wing - a very apt transformation of the ornithological theme to the movement's power wing:
6. The Eclipse Series: Ivory Enamel
New is the 39mm version of
this watch, here in red gold...
Perfect for smaller wrists:
Perfect for smaller wrists:
In comparison
to the 43mm model of this very same watch you see that the dwarfing
exercise had a good effect on the proportions of the
timepiece:
39mm Mother-of-Pearl (18-carat white gold, set with 248 diamonds (1.62 carats)):
39mm
7. Perpetual Calendar Eclipse: Ivory Enamel
As usual, eight (8) stars!
43mm
Black Enamel
There are not many brands that can produce so many black enamel models.
43mm
8. Grande Seconde: Quantieme Stainless Steel
I like this model very much - Côtes de Genève on the dial. This is single plate dial and the index part and date part which seem to be the second level is simply made by cutting and pressing, then color opaline ring has been applied. The red tip of the date hand and "31" on the date dial is good accent, IMHO. All in SS case.
Blue
The overall
design combining reduced elegant case lines with the straight lines of
the dial gives a good impression of depth and
wideness.
Typical JD fashion of the Piguet 1150:
43mm
Brown
43mm
Silver
Nice blue hands
AND 39mm.... Also,
blue
dates.....
Nice size!
Black
Oh, this model is by far so my favorite....
9. Pocket Watch:
Now this is not a novelty,
but just
want to show the J*D DNA....
See? Again, the profile is almost the same across the line-up.
Thank you!
Good job, J*D, and thanks again, Mr. Hayashi, Manager at Jaquet Droz boutique GInza.
Ken and Magnus
See? Again, the profile is almost the same across the line-up.
Thank you!
Good job, J*D, and thanks again, Mr. Hayashi, Manager at Jaquet Droz boutique GInza.
Ken and Magnus
This message has been edited by Ornatus-Mundi on 2013-07-12 08:06:30 This message has been edited by KIH on 2013-07-12 17:35:26 This message has been edited by MTF on 2013-07-15 18:48:10
More posts:
BaselWorld 2013: Jaquet Droz (an international collaboration)
In a true Purists' spirit this presentation of this year's Basel novelties came to fruition by means of a globe-spanning international collaboration between Ken (KIH) and Magnus (Ornatus-Mundi): Ken: "I was fortunately invited for preview for Jaquet Droz ...
Baselworld 2013: Jaquet Droz - the Complicated Pieces and the Lady 8
The second part of the article will focus on two fascinating, exceptional offerings: a new line for the ladies and complicated pieces! 10. Lady 8 series: '8' is the common theme of the watch. See even the buckle is '8' shaped. The stone above the dial is ...
Fascinating...
I was at a watch showing in D.C. where JD was presenting. They did not have the chiming bird watch yet, but their pieces were beautiful. Thank you for the excellent report. Eric
The Charming Bird ...only if I had the money !!!
This will be the first watch I will buy ... only if I had the money !!!
You still have time to save...
its just a (functional) prototype at the moment ;-) Magnus
Here's my Eclipse
Just wanted to share a pic of my Eclipse that I picked up a short while ago. It wears very comfortably on the wrist. I just found a "new" brand" I admire and will follow closely. ...
Wonderful piece, IMO...
... The moonphase is very interesting, and eight starts.... Very nice. Ken
Thank you both for the wonderful report. It has been a long time since a comprehesive J*D
review. I think the recent automaton watches are great works. They show a link to the original Pierre Jaquet Droz and they demonstrate that the modern J*D can continue the tradition of mastering micromechanics. But I don't think these were made for the 'a...
Long time...
since Basel 2012, right? How times have changed on PPro... ;-) I also think the Grande Heure GMT is a fantastic watch. I admire the expertise and skill behind the creation of such comparatively simple pieces a lot, particularly since with JD there is a st...
Love the ss
Especially and exclusively the silver dial one,I'm a blue dial person however w I fel short from loving their ss version... The brown seems integrating ... I believe checking them live would yield a different opinion. Thanks for the report . Faisal
Yes, seeing is believing...
.. depending on your preference for size, I would still recommend to try black one, though... :-) My personal taste.... and YMMV! Thank you for the comment! Ken
