Two Grande Seconde Moone watches celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Jaquet Droz's founder

Jaquet Droz has released two anniversary models to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of Pierre Jaquet-Droz, the brand's founder. The dial design depicting the number "8" that he created has been passed down for 300 years.

Two watches that embody the founder's spirit

　Jaquet Droz has added two new models to its signature Grande Seconde collection for 2021. These new models were created to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the birth of the brand's founder, Pierre Jaquet-Droz. Born 300 years ago this year on July 28, 1721, Jaquet-Droz made a name for himself by creating numerous timepieces and complex automata.

　The distinctive dial depicting the number "8" was created over the long history of pocket watches, and displays the time in a unique configuration, with off-center hour and minute displays in a small upper circle and a large lower circle with a second hand. The new version of the Grande Seconde Moon, which was recently announced, is one of the modern interpretations of this extremely simple design. The moon phase and date displays, positioned on the same axis as the large second hand, suggest a transition to a new era.

　For the two new models, for the first time, a 41mm diameter 18KRG case has been produced. Until now, the Grande Seconde Moon has been available in diameters of 43mm and 39mm, but by adopting a size that is exactly in between, the aim was to create a case that would fit comfortably on the wrist of both men and women.

The Grande Seconde Ivory Enamel features a high-temperature fired enamel dial, a traditional feature of the Maison. The design, featuring Roman numerals for the hours and minutes and Arabic numerals for the seconds, retains the original design.

　On the other hand, the Grande Seconde Moon Matte Black features a deep black dial without Arabic or Roman numerals. In contrast to the former, it has a clean, modern design. The red gold applied indexes give the entire dial a three-dimensional impression.

　What's particularly noteworthy about the moon phase mounted on this movement is that it only needs to be corrected once every 122 years. It uses a mechanism called "Mechanism 135," which brings the lunar orbital period (29 days, 12 hours, 45 minutes) as close as possible to the actual lunar orbital period (29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 2.8 seconds). While most moon discs have 59 teeth, this mechanism has more than double that, at 135, and adjustments are made by pressing a button on the side of the case with a push-pen.

　To celebrate the 300th anniversary of the birth of the brand's founder, the case back of this model is hand-engraved with the words "Pierre Jaquet-Droz, 300th Anniversary," giving it a special feel that is different from the regular model.