Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde watches

The Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde is a dress watch built around one dial layout: a small hours-and-minutes dial above a larger seconds dial, the two circles overlapping in a figure 8, the brand's lucky number. Jaquet Droz takes the layout from a pocket watch Pierre Jaquet-Droz made in 1784, and revived the Grande Seconde in a new collection in 2002.

The models covered in the press run on Jaquet Droz's automatic 2663 calibre family, which derives from the double-barrel Frédéric Piguet 1150. It beats at 28,800 vph and stores 68 hours of power reserve.

The classic Grande Seconde comes in red or white gold at 39 or 43 mm, and most of its character is in the dial: ivory or black enamel, onyx, meteorite, aventurine, lapis lazuli, sunstone, bronzite, mother of pearl or Côtes de Genève, several also set with diamonds. Ceramic versions grow to 44 mm, one of them adding a power reserve display. In 2016 Jaquet Droz added the Grande Seconde Off-Centered, a 43 mm stainless steel watch with the seconds dial shifted towards 7 o'clock; it also comes in red gold with an ivory enamel dial.

The Paillonnée editions use an 18th-century enamelling technique that Pierre Jaquet-Droz himself used: small gold-leaf motifs, or paillons, fired under transparent enamel. The first Grande Seconde Paillonnée, in 2004, had a dial by the enameller Anita Porchet. The later blue, grey and violet Paillonnée models, in 43 mm red gold, are limited to eight pieces each, and several of the enamel and stone dials come in runs of 88.