Review: Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Chronograph

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Jaquet Droz’s offering is impressive this year See our Time to Move coverage here And one of the most interesting watches unveiled is the Grande Seconde Chronograph we are reviewing here.

The Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Chronograph in stainless steel case and a sand blasted blue.

Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Chronograph

The chronograph is an interesting chronograph to incorporate into the very clean, simple lines of the Grande Seconde collection On first imagination, it would seem that the counters and multiple hands will complicate the dial layout, and mess with the beautiful clarity of the Grande Seconde But yet, the aesthetic designers at Jaquet Droz did an excellent job, and created a beautiful chronograph.

The perfect figure 8 proportions of the Grande Seconde remain intact, and the date hand is not impeded by the central shaft of the seconds hand.Available in two versions – one in red gold with a symmetrical arrangement, and in stainless steel with three dial options in a layout which is off centered

The case, dial and hands

The case of of all the versions is 43mm in diameter with a height of 14.83mm Though the tale of the tape may suggest a huge watch, the actual timepiece looks rather svelte due to the graceful lines of the case, and it wears rather comfortably on a 75″ wrist

The dial layout is clean and highly legible.

The top subdial is used to indicate the hours and minutes, and the large second subdial is equipped with two hands arranged co-axially – one being the chronograph counter, the other showing the date The large seconds hand of the Grande Seconde becomes the chronograph seconds hand The chronograph is activated via a co-axially arranged monopusher on the crown.

Pressure to start/stop/reset is light but with a positive feel

The lugs curve rather strongly downwards, allowing the case to hug the wrist, and making it comfortable to wear for the average sized wrist

The red gold edition also features a red gold hour, minute and date hands, while the chronograph seconds and minute hands are in blued steel.

The minute and second displays on the chronograph are in blue Petit Feu enamel to maximize the readability of the time And the retrograde date indicated by a red-tipped gold hand also illustrates the intent to enhance the aesthetic with the technical.

As indicated earlier, the dial on the red gold version is more traditional and arranged symmetrical, with the crown at 3 This red gold version is limited to 88 pieces.

This version also sports a grand feu enamel dial with an ivory hue Arabic and Roman numerals are used in fine, even strokes are executed in petit feu enamel.

The stainless steel versions come in three dial colours – sand-blasted silver, blue or taupe gray The SS version differ from the red gold in the dial is off-centered dial, achieved by turning the movement 30° clockwise.

As a result, the crown is now at 4.

These dials are finished by hand using a dry sand-blasting []

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