Grande Seconde Off-Centered Onyx

This timepiece, with its refined appearance, belongs to the grand tradition of watchmaking by Jaquet Droz. It originates with the Grande Seconde, made by Pierre Jaquet-Droz himself in the eighteenth century. His idea of two overlapping dials, one showing seconds at 6 o'clock to create a figure eight, gave rise to a completely new form of mechanism as well as an original aesthetic. Jaquet Droz has now made the figure eight its signature and the inspiration for new interpretations. First the seconds dial was slightly offset at 7 o'clock to form an oblique axis with the hours and minutes. This evolution continues in 2016 with a new version having a 43-mm steel case with a deep black onyx dial. The choice of discreet and elegant hands inside two 18k white gold rings adds further to this studied sobriety, confirmed by the thoughtful positioning of the crown at 4 o'clock.