Jaquet Droz Shows It All With New Grande Seconde Skelet-One Tourbillon

Jaquet Droz Shows It All With New Grande Seconde Skelet-One Tourbillon

Martin Green
By Martin Green July 21, 2021

In the world of Jaquet Droz, aesthetics are everything. While they love complex and refined movements, the brand does not consider them complete when a sense of beauty is absent. Especially in the last couple of years, Jaquet Droz has successfully merged the past with the present. While they honor crafts with a century-long history, they employ them in a forward-thinking way. The Grande Seconde is the perfect example of this, but even more so, the Grande Seconde Skelet-One. Here there is nothing to hide, as this watch represents the next generations of skeleton watches: high-tech and highly-refined with an avant-garde design. The next chapter for Jaquet Droz in this story is the Grande Seconde Skelet-One Tourbillon.

J013523242_GRANDE SECONDE SKELET-ONE TOURBILLON_FRONTWhile this watch follows the same design principles as the Grande Seconde Skelet-One, there are a few differences that go beyond adding a tourbillon. The subdial for the seconds and that for the hour and minute hand, swap places, and sizes. The reason for this is that the watch features its tourbillon at the top part of the movement, similar to that of the Grande Seconde Tourbillon that we already know from the collection of Jaquet Droz. Housed in a 41mm large case of red gold, does it remain an elegant watch, but just not a classic one. The brand paid particular attention to making it as symmetrical as possible and succeeds in this with flying colors.

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Yet it is not only looks in which this watch represents forward-thinking. The tourbillon is fitted within a titanium frame and features a silicon balance spring and pallet horns to reduce friction. It is powered by a red gold oscillating weight, which is also skeletonized. The power reserve of the movement, when fully wound, is a very generous seven days. Where most skeleton watches are difficult to read, Jaquet Droz overcomes this by giving the Grande Seconde Skelet-One Tourbillon two overlapping dials made from a single piece of smoky quartz, which originates from Switzerland. This provides the watch with not only more depth but also even more refinement, making it a true representative of the next generation of skeleton watches.