Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Quantieme Owner Review : Baroque, eternal and eccentric

This purchase wasn't planned at all. This manufacturer was a dream of mine, but its pricing "positioning" never made me consider purchasing one of its models. For me, Jaquet Droz was above all the "8," which marked the brand's identity, and which, oddly enough, for a manufacturer founded in 1738 and specializing in automatons and artistic crafts, conveyed a certain modernity. Acquired by Swatch, the manufacturer was rising from the ashes; in my opinion, this was part of the Swatch group's overall strategy regarding its three luxury brands: Blancpain is betting everything on its Fifty Phatoms, while Breguet remains the flagship, which the group has apparently decided to relaunch, quite aggressively lately. Then there's Jaquet Droz. We were seeing less and less of it. I had finally forgotten about it. But while wandering around my favorite city, I stumbled upon this superb red gold model with an enameled dial, limited to fewer than 100 pieces worldwide (information provided by the manufacturer). At this point, I should point out that the price offered was for this new model, more than three times lower than the list price. Enough to accelerate my buying impulse... Putting a legendary model on my wrist (for a long time), in what I believe to be its most elegant livery, became a possibility... an obvious choice, and a reality less than 30 minutes later. First, the very warm red gold case, much more convincing to my taste than rose gold, which I often find rather bland. Combined with the parchment beige enameled dial, it exudes a kind of quiet strength that exudes a great deal of serenity. The chunky lugs, the domed crystal, and all that gold... In fact, it's the polar opposite of the models in the classic collection from Breguet's big sister, which I also adore. Here, there's much less preciousness and "flatness" than with Breguet, and much, much more gold. The lugs are massive, confident, and curved (thank you). The crown is very pleasant to turn, easy to grip, it doesn't hurt the fingers, and its cute little nipple is very pleasant to look at, and to stroke... Make way for the famous "8": here again, hyper-classicism becomes almost avant-garde. At the top, the hour-minute dial, subtly smaller, is all rigor: gold dauphine hands, Roman numerals, hyper-legible. The lower dial, subtly larger, is also much crazier, with details that make all the difference and give the watch its identity. The seconds and date are united in the same subdial, the large seconds hand trots all around the miniature railway, giving the impression that it's the one tracing the circle. The tip of the date hand and the 31st of the month are red for a touch of whimsy. Finally, this watch is unlike any other: it doesn't say "Swiss made," but rather, the most charming: "manufacturée en suisse." The caseback is also very well decorated; I particularly appreciate the relief of the characters that constitute the brand name on the oscillating weight. This model is no longer in the catalog; it seems to me that the survival of Jaquet Droz today depends solely on exceptional models, most of which are made in very small series or custom-made. This seems to be JD's positioning to differentiate itself from Breguet and Blancpain. I am all the more delighted to have been able to get my hands on this last of the Mohicans.