Launched in 2011, the Grande Seconde Quantième was inspired by one of the brand's legendary models. For the first time, major changes have been made to the movement with the addition of a silicon balance spring and inversed horns on the pallets fork. Silicon is a highly flexible material that only a small number of watchmaking brands have mastered how to use. It can withstand shock and variations in temperature and pressure, and its properties allow it to remain unaffected by magnetic fields, maintaining perfect stability over time.
Jaquet Droz plays with a range of fine finishing techniques: the plates are circular-grained above and below, the wheels are chamfered, shaped and circular-grained, the steel parts are chamfered and softened, and there are patterns of straight lines and hand-polished angles. All these features compose a unique aesthetic signature, visible through the watch's transparent case-back. For the launch of the new Grande Seconde Quantième Ivory Enamel, the movement is further embellished with fanned Côtes de Genève decoration, which reinforces the brand's identity.
Such modernity, however, is executed with state of the art perfection. The enlarged bridges and the finishes that bring together tones of gray and black give this model a more contemporary feel, all the while integrating perfectly with the brand's decorative signature.
In tandem with these significant changes, the Grande Seconde Quantième Ivory Enamel's dial, available in two versions - red or white gold with a diameter of 39 or 43 millimeters - has also undergone an aesthetic evolution. It has been double enameled using the historic Grand Feu enamel technique, peculiar to Jaquet Droz. This gives a lower subdial of increased depth that accentuates the beautiful balance between the two subdials as they describe a figure eight, the brand's lucky number.