Watchatlas

Jaquet Droz / Grande Seconde

Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde

Collection profile · 2002

The Grande Seconde is Jaquet Droz’s emblematic off-center signature collection, built around the brand’s historic large seconds display and a refined two-register dial architecture that links modern haute horlogerie to Pierre Jaquet-Droz’s eighteenth-century pocket-watch heritage.

Why it matters

It is the brand’s defining collection: the one most directly associated with Jaquet Droz’s identity, design language, and historical continuity from pocket watches to contemporary wristwatches.

Key references

Grande Seconde

Grande Seconde — Official collection page describing the line as inspired by Pierre Jaquet-Droz’s 1784 pocket watch and central to the brand.

Grande Seconde Power Reserve

Grande Seconde Power Reserve — Official notice/manual page showing the family’s named variant in current documentation.

Grande Seconde Tourbillon

Grande Seconde Tourbillon — Named variant used by the maison for the Grande Seconde architecture and complication family.

Collection timeline

  • 2002 — Jaquet Droz launches the Grande Seconde, reviving the historic 18th-century pocket-watch layout as a modern signature line.
  • 2024 — The official brand site continues to describe Grande Seconde as the collection that spreads its aegis over the brand.
  • 2024 — Current official pages and manuals keep the Grande Seconde family active across multiple complications and materials.

FAQ

What defines the Grande Seconde design?

A large off-center seconds register paired with a smaller hours-and-minutes dial, rooted in Pierre Jaquet-Droz’s historical pocket-watch design language.

When did the modern Grande Seconde debut?

Jaquet Droz’s official history states it was presented in 2002.

Official collection ↗

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More from Jaquet Droz

  • Petite Heure Minute — The Petite Heure Minute is Jaquet Droz’s compact, off-centered canvas for métiers d’art, using its small hours-and-minutes architecture to showcase miniature painting, enamel, engraving, lacquer, minerals, and mother-of-pearl with strong decorative emphasis.
  • The Bird Repeater — A high-complication automata minute repeater centered on hand-engraved birds and an expressive animated dial, carrying forward Jaquet Droz’s historic bird automata language into a 47 mm contemporary wristwatch.
  • Loving Butterfly Automaton — The Loving Butterfly Automaton is Jaquet Droz’s poetic automaton-watch series that turns the Petite Heure Minute-style dial into a miniature stage, animating a cherub and butterfly through a crown-activated mechanism while showcasing the maison’s blend of métiers d’art and mechanical theater.

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