The Story
of the Jaquet-Droz

1721
1721

Founding

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
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1758

The journey to Spain

Firmly established in his profession, he married Marianne Sandoz in 1750. Soon after the birth of his two children, Julie in 1751 and Henri-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.

Calèche
Horloge et Cadre
1773
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Automate 1
1773

Automata

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 Henri-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.

Automate 1
1774
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Montres de poches
1774

London and China

In 1774, Pierre Jaquet-Droz decided to set up a workshop in London, a hub for industry and trade, under the management of his son Henri-Louis. Obliged to travel extensively, the latter was compelled to delegate some of his duties and entrusted management of the London operation to Jean-Frédéric Leschot. One of Leschot's responsibilities was to oversee the business relationship with the prominent trading company James Cox London, whose agents in Canton opened up the Far Eastern market for the Jaquet Droz Company and for many years represented it in China, India and Japan. In the heart of 18th-century Beijing, the emperor himself and the Mandarins at the Imperial Court collected masterpieces by Pierre Jaquet-Droz. Qianlong, the fifth emperor of the Qing Dinasty, was engrossed by his interest in European mechanical clocks and automata. He set up his own national office with hundreds of employees to import and trade these watches and automata from Europe.

James Cox London worked closely with the Qing Dynasty on the shipment of many Jaquet Droz masterpieces from the London workshop to the Forbidden City. It was the first clockmaking brand to be imported there and many Jaquet Droz automata and pocket watches are still carefully preserved in what is now known as the Palace Museum.

Orders continued to flow in from all over the world. Pierre Jaquet-Droz set up a team of the best watchmakers to be found in the Neuchâtel Mountains. Starting in 1783, management of the London operation, installed in the Bartlett's Building, was turned over to a new business partner, Henri Maillardet. The Jaquet-Drozes, father and son, supervised the work of a long manufacturing chain (clockmakers, chasers, jewelers, enamellers, painters and musicians) and handled administration and the commercial side of all of their businesses.

1784
1784

GENEVA

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 Henri-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 Henri-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, 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.

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1788

The peak of the Jaquet-Drozs

In 1784, Pierre and Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz headed three production and profit centers: one in La Chaux-de-Fonds, a second in London as well as a third in Geneva dedicated to low-volume horological production. After moving to Geneva, Jaquet-Droz & Leschot specialized in the manufacture and export of luxury watches featuring automata, musical mechanisms or other complications, in the meantime developing their production of singing birds. Sales were handled by agents in France for the most part, but also in London and Canton.

In 1788, the success and prosperity of Jaquet-Droz & Leschot peaked, but this period was of short duration. In 1790, drafts made on their principal correspondent in China came back unpaid and their principal client in London failed, putting the company in the red. The partnership with Henri Maillardet had to be liquidated.

These misfortunes darkened Pierre Jaquet-Droz's final years. He left Geneva to live in Bienne, Switzerland, where he died in 1790. His son died the following year during a trip to Naples with his wife. He was only 39 years old. Given the disastrous economic repercussions of the French Revolution in 1789 and the conflicts that arose as a result, the business, now headed by Jean-Frédéric Leschot, ran into serious financial difficulties. He continued to make high-priced watches, snuffboxes and bird cages containing singing birds, but had to show great prudence: customers were notified that he now preferred to be paid cash on delivery and would no longer sell on faraway markets.

The Napoleonic Wars that pitted France against nearly every other nation of Europe put an end to prosperity for the nobility and well-to-do bourgeoisie. The Continental Blockade decreed by Napoleon in 1806 killed off any remaining market for very luxurious objects and greatly inhibited trade with England. For Jaquet-Droz & Leschot, this was the end of a period of great creativity and prosperity.

L'apogée des Jaquet Droz
2000
2000

Never-ending expertise

Since the brand was acquired in 2000 by the Swatch Group, it has returned to its town of origin, La Chaux-de-Fonds and moved into its new Atelier de Haute Horlogerie in the summer of 2010.
The new premises, occupying 2,500 m2, will provide further incentive to grow and succeed. Like Jaquet-Droz timepieces, they reflect consummate expertise and craftsmanship enriched by the distinctive spirit of the house. Today, the brand is well equipped to respond to strong market demand and the aspirations of its clientele.

2000

Never-ending expertise

Since the brand was acquired in 2000 by the Swatch Group, it has returned to its town of origin, La Chaux-de-Fonds and moved into its new Atelier de Haute Horlogerie in the summer of 2010.
The new premises, occupying 2,500 m2, will provide further incentive to grow and succeed.
Like Jaquet-Droz timepieces, they reflect consummate expertise and craftsmanship enriched by the distinctive spirit of the house. Today, the brand is well equipped to respond to strong market demand and the aspirations of its clientele.

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2002
2002

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
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L'Eclipse
Marc G. Hayek
2010

Launch of The Eclipse

Marc A. Hayek

2010

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.

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
The Bird Repeater - Détails
The Bird Repeater
2012

The Bird Repeater

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.

2012

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.

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