As Jaquet Droz launches its new and undeniably handsome looking SW Chrono, many may be scratching their heads and thinking ‘that’s great, but who is Jaquet Droz?’
When it comes to legendary Swiss watch brands it has to be confessed that Jaquet Droz would not be top of mind for most people, but that would be to do the watchmaker a great disservice. Born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, in 1721, Pierre Jaquet Droz was a mechanical genius and a pioneer in the art of the Haute Horlogerie jewellery watch – a true living legend. He died in 1790, and had it not been for the fact that his son and heir died a year later, who knows, the brand today could be up there with Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin in terms of recall. However it is right up there in terms of design and quality.
Today, Jaquet Droz is owned by the Swatch Group, and operating in the Haute Horlogerie segment, Montres Jaquet Droz SA excels in the art of one-off and very limited-edition items. The brand has revived traditional crafts that were fast disappearing: outstanding illustrations of this include its spangled dials and those of black ’Grand Feu’ enamel. The brand’s character marks out a very special place for it in the world of prestige and luxury watchmaking.
And as for not being top of mind, all that could very soon change as the Swatch Group has recently launched Jaquet Droz boutiques in Hong Kong and Macao, and another boutique will shortly open in mainland China.
Jaquet Droz SW Chrono
So all in all the new Jaquet Droz SW Chrono is attracting all the right kind of attention. The rubber treatment of the dial, crown and push-pieces testifies to the Manufacture’s determination to offer only the most contemporary design criteria. At 45mm the SW Chrono is distinctly masculine and has excellent readability.
With steel as its principal material, the SW Chrono also offers the luxury of three-dimensional flanges and orange Super-LumiNova on the markers and the tips of the hands. On a rubber strap, the SW Chrono is water resistant to 50 metres, the movement is an in-house JD 6885-S, automatic, 37 jewels, 21,600 vph with a 40 hour power reserve. The watch will retail at US$16,000
