Jaquet Droz, architect of light

The new Tourbillon Skelet by Jaquet Droz paves the way for a new artistic horizon, breaking away from traditional designs and towards open-worked mechanics. With this sculptural, modern and powerful edition of the Tourbillon Skeleton, the iconic model is designed for connoisseurs.

The Tourbillon Skelet displays its watchmaking precision, pushing the founding principal of the skeleton movement to the extreme: a minimum amount of material for the maximum amount of rigidity and light. The skeleton structure is brand new and focuses on straight lines, angles, modernity and perfect symmetry. This very contemporary skeletonization is as technical as its highly precise tourbillon movement can be, furthering the technical and aesthetic consistency of the piece. Its bridges, finished in black, confer a powerful matte appearance. The tourbillon cage follows the geometry of the skeleton movement, with a triple cross shape which, once a minute, aligns perfectly with its bridges.

The hands, including the seconds hand that is attached to the tourbillon cage, have been redesigned to be more slender and majestic. They sweep over the two “multi-tier” dials, of which the first is crafted from sapphire and displays the seconds, minutes and hours ring, and is adorned with gold indexes.

This delicate, transparent choreography is underpinned by a second dial in Swiss smoky quartz that is almost invisible but no less essential, and which plays with light and empty spaces that contrast with the figure eight shape - the aesthetic signature of the Grande Seconde collection - and in turn enhances the hour display. Jaquet Droz takes the first steps in creating different illusions for its “multi-tier” designs by playing with the degree of transparency on the dials and reflector, from slightly smoky to completely transparent.

To support the body of the watch, the bottom plate has been completely reworked with three objectives in mind: to distribute the circulating forces around the movement, thus ensuring it is sturdy and allowing as much light to pass through as possible. It is housed in a red gold 41 mm case with the largest opening possible, offering a complete view of the movement. This new addition also reveals an aesthetic that Jaquet Droz has worked on down to the smallest detail, with special attention given to the finishes of the bridges and screws. The red gold 18K skeletonized oscillating weight, visible from the back yet invisible from the dial, provides the Skelet-One Tourbillon with a 7-day power reserve.