1721
The Story of the Jaquet Drozs
1721
FOUNDING
The Story of the Jaquet Drozs
Pierre Jaquet Droz was born in 1721 on a small farm (La Ferme de Sur le Pont) in La Chaux-de-Fonds. He began to take a serious interest in clockmaking and precision mechanics under the tutelage of older relatives from the Brandt-di-Grieurin, Sandoz and Robert families. It proved to be a true revelation for him.
1738
1738
The First Workshop
From 1738 to 1747, Pierre Jaquet Droz devoted himself entirely to clockmaking. He produced a series of longcase (or "grandfather") clocks whose increasingly sophisticated movements outclassed anything that had been produced earlier. His manual dexterity, meticulous nature and serious approach to his craft, as well as the reasoned application of mechanical principles, led him to add music and automata to his movements, which came rapidly to the attention of a wealthy and demanding clientele.
1758
Firmly established in his profession, he married Marianne Sandoz in 1750. Soon after the birth of his two children, Julie in 1751 and Henry-Louis in 1752, Pierre Jaquet Droz lost his wife and then his daughter in 1755. He never remarried, devoting himself entirely to clockmaking. In an encounter that would change the course of his life and prove decisive to his international career, he met George Keith, Lord Marischal, governor of the principality of Neuchâtel, who advised him to present his creations abroad, especially in Spain where he could help introduce him to the court. With this support, Pierre Jaquet Droz, his father-in-law and a young hired hand named Jaques Gevril, built a special carriage designed to carry six clocks and left for Spain in 1758.
49 days later, they were received in Madrid by Don Jacinto Jovert, a Spanish nobleman. After a wait of several months, Pierre Jaquet Droz presented his clocks to King Ferdinand VI of Spain. The presentation was a triumph; the monarch and his court were dumbfounded at the sight of a clock that could strike on request without needing manual intervention. A few days later, the clockmaker received 2,000 gold pistoles in payment for all of the timepieces that he had brought to Spain, all of which were purchased for the royal palaces of Madrid and Villaviciosa.
1758
The journey to Spain
1773
Upon his return to La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1759, the large sum of money brought back from Spain enabled Pierre Jaquet Droz to concentrate exclusively on making watches, clocks and automata destined to become famous. He set to work, assisted by his son Henry-Louis and a neighbor's son, Jean-Frédéric Leschot, whom he took in after the boy's mother died and thought of as his own. This was the beginning of a close and fruitful partnership.
From 1773 onward, Jaquet Droz and Leschot perfected and marketed increasingly sophisticated automata. Their work culminated with the three humanoid automata: The Writer, The Draughtsman and The Musician, presented in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1774. These three masterpieces, admired by connoisseurs from all over the world, consolidated the reputation of Pierre Jaquet Droz and the success of the business. Encouraged by this success, the Jaquet Drozes took to the road to exhibit these fabulous creations. They took them from La Chaux-de-Fonds to Geneva and then, in 1775, to Paris where they were presented to Louis XVI and his queen, Marie-Antoinette. They were shown in the most prominent courts of Europe, with visits to London, the Low Countries and Flanders in 1780/1781 as well as northern France. They returned to Paris in 1782 and 1783, and exhibited in Lyon in 1784. The automata also travelled to the Russian court in Kazan and to Madrid.
1773
Automata
1774
1774
London and China
Array
1784
1784
GENEVA
Trade for Jaquet Droz in the 18th century
For some ten years, the company continued to expand. It sold clocks, automata, watches and singing birds all over the world, especially in China. But the harsh climate of La Chaux-de-Fonds and the insidious London fog was detrimental to Henry-Louis' precarious state of health. In 1784, he decided to move to Geneva, finding its artistic and literary life to his taste. Jean-Frédéric Leschot soon joined him and they decided to open the city's first clockmaking manufacture, one year before Vacheron Constantin set up shop, simultaneously introducing the production of timekeepers with major complications. The talent and interest shown by Henry-Louis Jaquet Droz and Jean-Frédéric Leschot in the civic life of Geneva was quickly noted and approved. The City of Geneva presented both of them with the coveted Bourgeois d'Honneur Award, and welcomed their involvement in municipal activities. Jaquet Droz was admitted to the newly reinstated Société des Arts, which was very active in the advancement of technical training. He helped set up a factory-school in Geneva to make cadratures for repeater watches, and developed many projects bearing on watchmaking technique and was an advocate for the professions associated with watchmaking. Pierre Jaquet Droz moved into the house of a clockmaker named Dental, at the corner of rue Molard and rue du Rhône, which housed the workshops and his son's apartment.
1788
1788
The peak of the Jaquet Drozs
Array
2000
2000
Never-ending expertise
2002
2002
The Grande Seconde
Launch of the Grande Seconde, inspired by a pocket watch created in the 18th century. A Jaquet Droz timeless classic, this timepiece features an elegant demonstration of the art of Grand Feu enameling on its dial, on which the hours and minutes counter off-centered at 12 o’clock embraces the seconds counter positioned at 6 o’clock.
2009
Nicolas G. Hayek
takes over the reins of Montres Jaquet Droz.
2010
2010
Launch of The Eclipse
Launch of The Eclipse, a magnificent timepiece featuring eight stars – the company’s favorite number – and an engraved moon that evolves each day, gradually changing shape with each new dawn. Inspired by the 18th century, the design reflects the company’s heritage as well as its penchant for the decorative arts that dates back to the Enlightenment.
2010
Marc A. Hayek
takes over the management of Montres Jaquet-Droz, charged with the mission of cultivating a culture of excellence and innovation while continuing to convey the notions of sentiment and lyricism.
2011
2011
Jaquet-Droz moves production of Les Ateliers d’Art collection
to its Haute Horology Workshop (Atelier de Haute Horlogerie) and, in so doing, ensures the preservation of the age-old craftsmanship that is the brand’s hallmark. A selection of magnificent timepieces in the Jaquet-Droz collection showcase the arts of miniature painting, sculpture and engraving, or paillonné enameling, in a tribute to the exacting skill of the watchmaker’s artisans.
2012
2012
Exhibition “Automates et merveilles”
Staging of the exhibition, “Automates et merveilles” (Automata and Marvels) in collaboration with Montres Jaquet-Droz to celebrate the shared genius of the Jaquet-Droz father and son team, and Leschot. An impressive number of pieces and quantity of information go on display for the first time in three museums in the Neuchâtel region: The Musée d’art et d’histoire of Neuchâtel, the Musée d’horlogerie of Le Locle and the Musée international d’horlogerie of La Chaux-de-Fonds.
2012
THE BIRD REPEATER
,a product of the imagination of the artisans at Jaquet Droz epitomizing the company’s heritage, prowess and creativity, is unveiled in November 2012. This impressive masterpiece featuring an authentic automaton incorporates the full range of decorative crafts.