Explore Jaquet Droz

A small hours-and-minutes dial above an expansive seconds display: the Grande Seconde makes Jaquet Droz recognizable without a name on the dial. Its overlapping circles form a figure eight, leaving generous space around the indications. On versions with grand feu enamel dials, that spare arrangement gives the material itself room to speak.

Pierre Jaquet-Droz began his watchmaking work in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1738. He also became celebrated for automata—mechanical figures capable of writing, drawing, and playing music. That fascination with lifelike movement still informs the watches: the Bird Repeater pairs a minute repeater with animated birds, turning the dial into a miniature mechanical scene.

The quieter side deserves equal attention. The Petite Heure Minute places its time display off-center, freeing much of the dial for miniature painting, engraving, or other decorative work. Meanwhile, the Grande Seconde Quantième adds a date within the lower seconds display. These collections offer two distinct pleasures: following intricate craftsmanship up close, and enjoying a dial whose proportions remain unusually calm.