This year Swatch Group did not attend Baselworld in March. Swatch Group for a good reason decided to leave the world watch and jewelry show and to create an own format how to present its novelties. Today is the 28th of May 2019 and two weeks ago I have been spending three days in Switzerland to finally discover the novelties of the luxury brands of Swatch Group. Among them of course Jaquet Droz!
I invite you to discover this exceptionally long animation that runs to more than four minutes…
Jaquet Droz Magic Lotus Automaton – a ticking Zen garden
Jaquet Droz says: “Some watches tell time. Some tell a story.” So true!
Four flowers represent the four seasons or, for some, the stages of a life. A mother-of-pearl button at 3 o’clock symbolizes the unopened Lotus bud. In relief upon a corolla of gold petals, it evokes the first season: spring. To its left, a Lotus flower in full bloom symbolizes summer. This simple miniature incorporates a number of Jaquet Droz decorative techniques. The petals are carved from mother-of-pearl, and finished with a thin coat of translucent paint that accentuates the relief. At its heart a yellow sapphire with gold prongs represents the pistil and stamens, poised to fly away and give life in turn to new Lotus flowers. By its side, a Lotus flower fallen onto the water represents the third season, fall, carried away by the current. Finally, winter is marked at 6 o’clock by the seed pod of the aquatic plant. In this season the pod sinks to the bottom of the water to be naturally buried, thus protecting the precious seeds that will foster new Lotus flowers the following spring. Jaquet Droz sets the pod with seven diamonds that represent the seeds – visible symbols of the life glittering within.
The Jaquet Droz Magic Lotus Automaton measures 43 mm in diameter and is available in a choice of red gold or white gold (limited series of 28 pieces of each). Turning over the timepiece, the bridges and oscillating weight are hand-engraved with exclusive naturalist motifs, with carp and Lotus flowers echoing the carvings on the dial side. The non-engraved elements on the movement are also decorated (circular graining, drawn strokes) and chamfered by hand. This new automaton is the subject of four patents pending. It features the most sophisticated dial ever produced by Jaquet Droz. The movement contains more than 500 components. The development phase alone took over three years.
Please stay tuned since this sis only one of the first Jaquet Droz videos going online. In the next days I will continue my presentation and show you selected new luxury timepieces of Blancpain, Breguet, Glashütte Original, Harry Winston and Omega.
Please do use the comment section of YouTube and let me know what you think and/or write me if you have any questions. I am curious to read your comments and more than happy to get back to you and answer your questions.
