Jaquet Droz is celebrating Chinese New Year for the first time with six unique pieces that pair together.
The brand has said that each one takes an artistic approach to represent the Tiger’s iconic attributes.
Each of the three compositions features the legendary animal portrayed differently and uses different symbolism and techniques to demonstrate the quintessence of Jaquet Droz and allude to the brand’s personal history of duo watches.
The duo watches were developed in particular for the Chinese Empire where the brand was, from 1774, one of the most important Swiss watchmaking houses.
In a ten year period, 600 pieces were sold, including a large number to the Emperor himself).
A few weeks ago, an auction confirmed the heritage value of the duo watches, sold for five times their initial estimate.
The two pieces that were sold came from the same batch as those intended for the Emperor of China 250 years ago.
Automaton Tiger Opal, J032834270, Ambiance
In the first set, the two pieces embody the iconic expertise of the Jaquet Droz art of the automaton.
A tiger nestles in the gentle curves of a gold-rimmed onyx dial, above a vast expanse of water made of opal in which a carp floats about.
In the first piece, the Tiger dozes on a bed of foliage, seeming to want to touch the carp circling him with the tip of his paw.
In the second, the Tiger stands, on the lookout – not for the carp, with who he lives in harmony, but instead surveying his environment for prey of which he is one of the most feared hunters.
Relief Petite Heure Minute Tiger, J005023300, J005024288, Ambiance Duo
The next set features two cases, in red gold and white gold, the latter set with 143 baguette-cut diamonds.
On the same Australian opal background, this 41 mm Petite Heure Minute Relief depicts the Tiger’s two sides: power and protection, a dual symbol of the Tiger’s value and virtue.
Relief Petite Heure Minute Tiger, J005023301, Ambiance
Within the same cases (41 mm, set white gold or red gold, hour dial in onyx), two complementary interpretations of the Tiger are presented.
On one side, a finely chiseled Tiger in white gold, on the lookout, in its atavistic pose of a hunter. Like a mirror reflection, on the other side, the red gold feline stretches out, calm and relaxed.
By combining engraving and micro-sculpture, gold and enamel, Jaquet Droz has succeeded in creating a hyper-realistic rendering of the Tiger and its reflection.
In terms of the movement, an oscillating weight in gold and onyx reveals a Tiger dozing in the foliage.