Art Specialities

Press release

During the Enlightenment, the realism of the singing birds invented by Jaquet Droz amazed the royal courts of Europe. Drawing on this heritage and an exceptionally well preserved fund of traditional know-how, the Manufacture is presenting three models that are all, without exception, new masterpieces of decorative art.

With its figurative motifs executed in relief in patinated yellow gold and geometric patterning borrowed from ancestral tradition, the Petite Heure Minute Relief embodies excellence as practiced by Jaquet Droz. This model takes full advantage of the free space obtained by off-centering the hours and minutes dial: a colorful family of birds stands out against the black background of the onyx dial. This captivating contrast helps one truly appreciate the magic of the work in relief, crafted by hand with meticulous care.

Painted on the Petite Heure Minute Bird with the aid of a microscope, these decorative elements show up best on an ivory Grand Feu enameled dial, the "canvas" on which the "artist" – or dial-maker – expresses his talent. This rare work of art is created by applying several layers of enamel, then firing them at high temperature.

Building on three centuries of history, Jaquet Droz is celebrating the paillonné enameling technique used for the dials in the Petite Heure Minute Paillonnée range. The gleam of gold, deposited in micro-particles, heightens the luster of the blue and the density of the red, like so many chromatic unions blessed by the transparent glaze of the enamel.

From the purest of naturalism to the most prodigious abstraction, from the European courts of the Old World to today's international capitals, the legend of Jaquet Droz finds its fullest expression in these magnificent timepieces, each issued in a Limited Edition of 8.