Jaquet Droz

Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde SW Red Gold Watch

Not a lot of innovation from our friends at Jaquet Droz these days as the brand is sort of lacking in directorship at the moment. I look forward to when a new person steps in to lead the high-potential brand. Though their Grande Seconde SW (Sport Watch) gets an all gold treatment that is quite flattering to the design. The large case is now in 18k rose gold - and the automatic movement has a white gold rotor. The luxury feel of the smooth, polished golden lines of this less than mainstream faux sport watch are undeniable. It has a designer flair with a name that speaks to a different client than the majority of brands that offer such pieces. Of amusement is the original name of the watch which was "SUW" - which was meant to stand for "Sport Utility Watch." Amusing indeed. I wrote more extensively about this piece here, and (at least in steel) it comes in a chronograph version as well. Look for this 18k red gold version of the Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde SW watch soon. Price is $26,000.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: gold, grande seconde, jaquet droz, watch

Jaquet Droz l'Heure Celeste Watch Hands-On

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Jaquet Droz watches are rare enough, but highly limited high-jewelry pieces from the brand are much more rare. I got to get some hands-on treatment with a limited edition of just 8 pieces version of the l'Heure Celeste ("Celestial Hour") watch. The piece is pretty, but strange. In a large for a women's wrist 41mm wide white gold case has a domed sapphire crystal and a glimmering mother-of-pear dial. The watch dial itself is off-centered and pretty easy to read. The rest of the watch is filled with jewel covered "celestial orbs." They come in a few colors, and are covered in 35 yellow sapphires, 154 blue sapphires, 51 pink sapphires, 22 orange sapphires, and 46 tsavorites. Other versions include gold orbs and diamonds. The quirky dial is interesting to me, but I wonder how other people perceive it who don't see super luxury watches all the time.

Inside the watch is an automatic Jaquet Droz caliber 2653 movement with a 22k white gold rotor. Finally, we see some diamonds on the white satin strap buckle - where you'll find 24 diamonds as decoration. A fascinating piece with more than likely an astronomical price.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Jaquet Droz l Heure Celeste watch

Tags: J005024531, Jaquet Droz, jewelry, lHeure Celeste, sapphires, tsavorite, watch

Jaquet Droz SW Chronograph Watch Hands-On

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

This year's new watch collection from Jaquet Droz was a bit fumbled. Some where clearly Jaquet Droz watches, while others were nice, but without a lot of brand character. One of the cooler models was this sports watch that continues the tradition of the Jaquet Droz Grande Second SUW watch. "SUW" standing for the highly unluxury sounding "sport utility watch." The new chronograph model for this year removes the "utility" part of the name just being the SW Chronograph. Probably not the most fitting name for a watch this cool. Albeit too pricey, the watch is really attractive, and made nicely. It combines a certain science fiction look with that polished old world Jaquet Droz character. One of the nicest design elements is the polished flange ring that has the hash markers applied to it, I've never seen anything like that.

In steel, the watch case is 45mm wide, with the requisite "claws" around the bezel. The indicators and metal sections on the dial are applied really nicely, and have a great level of polish. I am also happy that the watch, while unorthodox in appearance, is very easy to read. The 30 minute chronograph is accompanied by a big date indicator, as part of the automatic Jaquet Droz caliber 6885-S movement with a column wheel and a 22k white gold automatic rotor. The crown and pushers have rubber in them to match the high quality rubber strap. Jaquet Droz impresses me with their Sport Watch collection even though I have a feeling that sales will be a bit tough for these cool models given the ambiguity of the brand and lack other sport pieces in the collection. Look for the new SW Chronograph watch soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Jaquet Droz SW Chronograph Watch

Tags: 2010, Chronograph, Jaquet Droz, Sport Watch, SW, watch

Jaquet Droz President Manuel Emch Resigns

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Just as I anticipated, the stream of fallen luxury watch company heads continues. This time it is not from the Richemont Group, but from Swatch Group's boutique luxury brand Jaquet Droz. No one is particularly happy about this news, and I am sure Maunel Emch himself suffered for long enough before calling it quits.

Why the departure? Sources seems to indicate that new company for Swatch Group (acquired in 2000) president struggled with the heavy hand of conservative and old school thinkers who simply could not conceive the needs of the modern watch market landscape. Emch is 37, while the average age of a watch company executive is much older. The poor economy likely resulted in a slew of bitterness and resentment, not to mention oppressive and unnecessary micromanagement when it was undue. Emch is well regarded as the one who made the Jaquet Droz brand as interesting as it is, but I must disagree with the giant plastic glasses. He took some risks, but overall made the brand what it is today. Despite what looked like success for the brand, the pressure on Emch was apparently too much. We can add his name to list of recent watch company casualties. Who will be next?

Via Business Montres (in French).

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: jaquet droz, JaquetDroz, maniel emch, ManielEmch, president, resign, swatch group, SwatchGroup

Jaquet Droz L'Heure Céleste Gold And Diamonds Ladies Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

The latest Jaquet Droz watches have been a real departure from the tradition line. Bubbles of gold and diamonds inhabit the the dial of this Jaquet Droz L'Heure Celeste Gold and Diamonds watch as part of its Hommage Paris 1785 collection. I would say that the actual watch dial is a bit dull, but the rest of the watch is really not. Perhaps that is intentional so that there is a contrast between the functional and decorative parts of the timepiece.

You'll notice a lot of interesting angles and curves on this watch, with the theme of gold being well done, even taking over the diamonds that usually hold spotlight well. The timepiece apparently has some special crystal to help light play off the edges and enter the dial of the watch. I believe that the watch has a mechanical movement as well, and the strap appears to be brown satin.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: diamonds, gold, J005023520, jaquet droz, JaquetDroz, lheure celeste, LheureCeleste

Jaquet Droz Quantième Perpétuel Céramique Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

This year has seen Jaquet Droz slowly supplementing their standard Grande Seconds figure 8 watch design style with more traditional watch layout designs. It almost feels odd seeing a Jaquet Droz watch with standard hands. While this Jaquet Droz Quantième Perpétuel Céramique watch does have a standard hour and minute hands layout, the rest of the watch is rather unique. No doubt with assistance from their corporate parent the Swatch Group, they developed this well conceived perpetual calendar watch. The case is ceramic, which is ideal as the curves are gentle and allow for a very good use of the material. Some surfaces appear to be in a matte finish while others are polished.

Two retrograde hands flank the middle of the watch with day of the week and date indicators. The upper subsidiary dial indicates the month, while a small window inside indicates the leap year cycle. In the lower middle of the dial is a subsidiary seconds dial using Jaquet Droz's typically shaped seconds hand with ringed counter-weight. The design overall is very satisfying to the eye. Small elements prevent it from being as legible as it could be. I would have liked the hour and minute hand to be in a different color than the other hands as to make them stand out and be more legible. Also, the layout on the retrograde date indicator will require some mental calculation to determine the date as you'll need to stare at it a bit longer than you'd like to determine the information. Regardless, these are minor points as buyers of watches such as this aren't usually too concerned with factors such as precise legibility. The watch looks very nice, and that is what is important to the target market.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: calendar, ceramique, jaquet droz, JaquetDroz, perpertual, perpetuel, quantieme, watch

Jaquet Droz Tourbillon Reserve de Marche Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

jaquet droz tourbillon reserve de marche watch

This is like no other Jaquet Droz watch I have ever seen. The luxury watch maker has made a true departure from their classic number "8" dial look with this new Tourbillon Reserve de Marche watch. No longer does the design emphasize the seconds dial, but rather an overall architectural theme. The watch starts with a Jaquet Droz JD3 manually-wound tourbillon movement that includes the time, date, and a power reserve indicator (with a power reserve of 88 hours). This is housed in the large 47mm wide 18k rose gold case.

Black opaline bathes the dial of the watch, which is sectioned-off nicely to feature the various areas of visual interest. At the bottom is the tourbillon carriage with a vertically aligned bridge (complimented by vertical finishing on that portion of the opaline dial). A brushed gold partition with exposed screws makes way for the white watch dial cut by the date and power reserve indicator. The contrast of the modern design elements and the classically styled Roman numeral dial is interesting. Despite the complexity of the design, the watch eases your eyes beyond the dial with a soft case design comprised of concentric gold circles. The Jaquet Droz Reserve de Marche will be offered in a limited edition of just 28 pieces, and is attached to a hand-stitched alligator leather strap. Price is likely to exceed $100,000.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: J028033201, Jaquet Droz, JaquetDroz, limited edition, LimitedEdition, power reserve, PowerReserve, Reserve de Marche, ReserveDeMarche, timepiece, Tourbillon, watch

Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde M�dium Saint-Valentin Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Those familiar with Jaquet Droz will recognize the brand's consistent use of its figure-eight styled dial layout in this new women's watch for Valentine's Day. I've always liked this dial design for its emphasis on the seconds hand subsidiary dial (which is obviously larger than the hour and minute subdial) that adds an increased level of visual movement to the watch face. Not to be out done by Piaget who consistently releases a new Valentine's day watch each year, Jaquet Droz will offer something more subtle that the standard Piaget jewelry watch fare for 2009. The Grande Seconde Medium Saint-Valentin watch comes in a limited edition of just eight pieces, and has pink in all the right places - with pink hued hands and a pink toned hand stitched alligator strap.

The 18k white gold case is 39mm wide and thin, with Jaquet Droz's caliber 2663 automatic mechanical movement with a sapphire caseback window revealing a decorated 22k white gold rotor. The watch face is ivory colored enamel with painted dials and number markers. Don't miss the gentle heart situated at the end tip of the seconds hand completing this Valentine's day horological treat. Price is almost $24,000 for eight lucky ladies.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: grande seconde, GrandeSeconde, Jaquet Droz, JaquetDroz, valentines day, ValentinesDay

Jaquet Droz

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