Back To Black

Jaquet Droz has unveiled the Grande Seconde Off-Centered Onyx, which the brand says embodies the essential Jaquet Droz design codes, balancing a sense of history with modern elegance.

the watch displays a graphic simplic- ity, while its edgy, intense black draws on the brand’s history. the creative concept underlying the model was born in the eighteenth century, when Pierre Jaquet- Droz revolutionised watchmaking with his Grande Seconde. he conceived two barely superimposed dials, one of them off-cen- tered at 6 o’clock, and with an extra-fine hand marking the seconds. the two dials formed the figure 8.

The new watch is a variation on this concept. it features a 43mm stainless steel case for the first time. and follow- ing in the tradition of the mineral dials created by Jaquet Droz, an onyx disc has been cut and polished to form the dial of the watch.

Against this deep black are the contrasting shapes of the elegant indexes. these are cut directly into the 18-carat white gold circles of the large hours and minutes dial and the smaller seconds dial, which combine to form the figure 8.

The winding stem positioned at 4 o’clock adds a dynamic touch to the new watch, which comes in a version that teams a silvered opaline dial with an alligator leather strap.