When it comes to the creation of magnificent and highly detailed automaton wristwatches, no star shines as bright above the skies of the Swiss haute horlogerie scene as the one of Jaquet Droz. The latest bravura piece, a unique artistic oeuvre, pays a precision-mechanical musical tribute to The Rolling Stones.
The release is the first in a series of 23 unique timepieces that retrace the world of the iconic band through motion. In a miniature world beneath the onyx subdial we find Ronnie Wood’s Fender Strat and double stack, the minimalist drums of the late Charlie Watts, and Keith Richard’s famous five-string guitar, which has carved the most legendary grooves in rock and roll.
These mythical grooves are also represented, with their original cover, in the form of six iconic albums from 1971 to present day. Each collector will be able to choose the covers of these albums. They will be reproduced by hand by the craftsmen of Jaquet Droz on a disc that can rotate on demand around the central stage. The rotation lasts about thirty seconds and can be operated eight consecutive times via the push-piece inserted into the crown. But that’s not all: the power reserve is indicated at 8 o’clock by a cam restoring the articulated arm and the diamond of a vinyl record player. Just below, the iconic Stones logo moves up and down as the tongue simultaneously moves left and right.
Faithful to its traditions, Jaquet Droz has pulled out all the stops to bring this animated scene to life. The guitars and their amps are individually shaped by hand from a block of red gold, engraved, and then painted. The cymbals are made of a slightly curved gold disc in order to reproduce the precise curvature. Their stand is represented by a white gold thread. The various drum toms, also made of white and red gold threads, have a minute diameter from 1.2 to 2.3 mm. The exact color tone of each instrument, the tweed finish of the amp, the pick guard of the guitars, the tolex of the loudspeakers: every tiny detail, the slightest imperceptible reflection, is painted by hand. Even Mick Jagger’s harmonica is reproduced alongside his microphone.
This magnificent show is orchestrated by Jaquet Droz’s 2653 AT2 self-winding mechanical movement, which is equipped with a silicon balance spring and pallet horns, a double barrel for a power reserve of 68 hours and an hand-engraved 18-karat red gold oscillating weight. The beautifully adorned caliber ticks inside the red gold case that has a diameter of 43mm and a height of 16.96mm.
Pricing for The Rolling Stones Automaton by Jaquet Droz is available upon request.
To learn more, visit Jaquet Droz, here.
Curious is The Rolling Stones watch a one off?