The 1681 is Jeanrichard’s top-tier luxury watch. It comes with an in-house movement developed at the Sowind manufacture, the same atelier where the movements for Girard-Perregaux watches are produced. This one, however, is an exclusive engine used only by Jeanrichard. Caliber JR1000 is a modern, self-winding movement that ticks at 4 hz (28,800 vph) and boasts 48 hours of power reserve. It may be a simple three-hands-and-date movement but it adds a layer of exclusivity to this watch, as few of the competitors in its price range can take pride in having an in-house movement. For that reason, it is the only JeanRichard watch with a see-through caseback. Considering the price, don’t expect the same level of finish as on a Girard-Perregaux. However, the view is quite pleasant and clean, with straight Geneva stripes and polished, bevelled angles on the bridges.
The case of the new Jeanrichard 1681 is in the typical cushion shape found in the rest of the JeanRichard collection, including the Aquascope and Terrascope we reviewed recently on Monochrome Watches. However, in this edition, the 44-mm case is slimmer and adorned with more rounded shapes. This autumn edition comes with a “Chestnut Brown” PVD coating, a sanded and textured finish on the case, and a matte black dial with applied numbers and indexes. The hands are also coated in black and filled with beige Super-LumiNova.
The JeanRichard 1681, in this very distinctive autumn color scheme, is available for $7,100. A beige-dial edition of the watch is also available.
The Aeroscope is not new in the Jeanrichard Collection, but it usually comes with a chronograph complication. From now, this aviation-inspired watch is also available with a simpler three-hand-and-date movement. We don’t have any official statement about the movement, but the brand has been known to use the self-winding Sellita SW200, an ETA clone that will perform its duties without issues. It has 42 hours of power reserve, a quick date and a hacking seconds mechanism. It is a reliable and simple movement that fits perfectly for this type of “tool watch.”
The Jeanrichard Aeroscope 3-Hand uses the same 44-mm sandwich-style case as the chronograph version, with its fixed 60-minute bezel, a specific feature of the pilot watches that inspired it. For the autumnal season, it comes in two different executions: a sanded titanium case with a dark gray dial and a black-PVD titanium case with a military green dial. We applaud JeanRichard for using this material, as we found the steel Aquascope we recently tested to be a bit too heavy on the wrist.
On both versions, we can find large and highly legible indexes and skeletonized hands. All of them are made out of Billight, a mixture of resin and Super-LumiNova that gives a lucid effect to the entire index, not just to its upper surface.
The JeanRichard Aquascope 3-Hand is priced at $3,450 in titanium with a gray dial and $4,250 in black-PVD titanium with green dial.
