Perpetual Calendar Eclipse by Jaquet Droz

In its essence, the Enlightenment was a movement that flourished in 18^th-century Europe to counter what was perceived as an irrational system inherited from the past "Dark Ages." It grew out of important real and theoretical advances in science, notably a new, mechanistic or natural concept of the world driven by the likes of Isaac Newton and John Locke. This world-view rejected pure faith in the divine and increasingly placed the human being in the spotlight. An ostensibly small step, in fact, but one that shook every area of human society of the time, from the political field, to jurisprudence, and design was no exception.

Historical legacy, watchmaking and automata

Pierre Jaquet-Droz was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1721, just as this ebullient period was hitting its stride.It was only natural then that he should be open to the literary, technological, philosophical and scientific influences of the era. It's what attracted him to becoming first a mechanic and then a watchmaker. Equipped with this extensive technical background,  he started adding chiming mechanisms and flutes to ordinary clocks. He also invented a pendulum without a winding mechanism that relied on the combination of two unequally dilatable metals. Although born in the Neuchâtel mountains, Jaquet-Droz lived in Paris, London and Geneva most of his life. It was in the latter city that he designed and manufactured mechanical dolls – automata – and mechanical birds.

His fame, in fact, rests squarely on these automata. Between 1768 and 1774, he worked with his son Henri-Louis and Jean-Frédéric Leschot. Among their creations we find the “Ecrivain” (the Writer, 6,000 pieces), the “Musicienne” (the Musician, 2,500 pieces) and the “Dessinateur” (the Artist, 2,000 pieces). His astonishing mechanisms fascinated the most illustrious figures of his time, kings and emperors of Europe, China, India and Japan.

Jaquet Droz’s automata are also regarded as some of the best solutions for solving the problem of making mechanically driven human forms.

The Neuchâtel Museum of Art and History (Switzerland) owns three fairly complicated examples of automata and some functioning dolls, now also known as Jaquet Droz automata.

Poetry and technicality

Today, the brand has pursued the Jaquet Droz watchmaking path, producing a host of highly original novelties and true technical and esthetic wonders. What makes this brand so special is that manages to integrate the automata’s mechanical aspects and the technical virtuosity of mechanical watches. This dual poetic, creative and technical language is found in practically all Jaquet Droz timepieces.

This year, Jaquet Droz decided to pair the moon phase complication with the perpetual calendar. This combining of two displays gave breathed some new life into the two complications. However, in order to avoid creating yet another perpetual calendar punctuated with a series of more or less readable dials, the craftsmen at Jaquet Droz chose a different approach, mixing technicality and elegance, while reminding us of the fundamental values of the brand through the design of the display.

The Perpetual Calendar Eclipse is an amazing creation, which shows that we can still be in awe of the known entities. And that may well be the aim of the company. The brand is proceeding serenely, by offering a different way of appreciating luxurious creations to a whole range of horology fans. Bit by bit, this strategy should bear fruits, particularly with younger clients who are on the lookout for high-end, elegant and original watches that do not bear any resemblance to the luxury of generations past.