Different watch companies are identified by collectors with different kinds of watchmaking for different reasons; if there's one company that is identified with horological enameling ?one of the most high-stress, small-batch, nail-biting of all horological crafts ?it's probably Jaquet Droz. There are certainly other characteristic traits of Jaquet Droz watches but they're justly famous for their enamel work, including enamel miniature painting. We have looked before at Jaquet Droz and one particular technique ?that of paillonnée ?and we thought you'd enjoy a look at one absolutely amazing example of a Jaquet Droz unique piece with some very, very finely detailed and finely done enamel work, as a way of getting acquainted with what this sort of work looks like up close and personal ?especially as it's not so easy to get to see this sort of work up close and personal.
The watch is almost minimalist in design; minimalism is something that Jaquet Droz does extremely well, as many of their designs demonstrate.
I often feel that Jaquet Droz doesn't get enough credit for its movements, which are lovely pieces of work. The movement in this watch is the Jaquet Droz caliber JD24D53, which has a very nice pedigree, having begun life in the 1980s as the F. Piguet caliber 1151. This movement was also used by Blancpain, but with the automatic winding system removed, as the caliber 1106; in other words, a very nicely finished and historically interesting automatic caliber.
However, if people identify Jaquet Droz with enameling, it's for a reason. This particular watch is not a showpiece for a wide range of exuberant colors but the absence of a peacock's palette is more than made up for by the level of fine detail; it's an almost grisaille approach, except of course for the vivid red ?and if you get really up close you'll see some surprisingly varied color details. If you're interested in seeing it on your wrist on a regular basis, you can contact the Tourbillon Boutique in San Francisco (415-362-1525). Takes about a week of what I can only assume is fairly concentrated work for Jaquet Droz' artist to create the dial, and it's priced at $37,300; case is 43 mm red gold. Have fun looking, we did.
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Jaquet-droz Grand-feu-enamel Enamel-dial A Unique Roger Smith A Breitling Raquel Welch And An Unusual Angelus Repeater 1253