For Baselworld 2017, Jaquet Droz has released the a new automaton timepiece named Loving Butterlfy. This new watch tells a story, that of genius watchmaker, Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz, who, 242 years ago, created an android automaton known as “the draughtsman“ delivering breathtaking sketches – including a cherub seated on a chariot drawn by a butterfly, celebrating love and passion. The same emotion is sparked today when, with just one push on the crown button, a world of poetry comes to life under the dial’s crystal. With grace and delicacy, the butterfly comes to life, pulling behind it a cherub in an animated chariot.
Jaquet-Droz Butterfly Automaton
The chariot’s wheel begins to turn in an exquisite optical illusion made possible by the combination of fixed and mobile spokes, a fabulous play of movements illustrating a technique well-known to automaton designers.
Everything is achieved in the tiniest details. Forty hand-engraved parts in white or red gold are assembled manually with incredible meticulousness, from the small Cupid’s arms and defiant face, to the infinitely fragile legs and antennae of the butterfly. The trees, only 0.2 millimeters thick, are individually driven like the hands of a watch, bringing watchmaking expertise to art: an innovative, patent-pending technique. The fine gold volumes contrast with the dial in onyx or Polynesian black mother-of-pearl, making the magic of this timeless scene still more hypnotic.
The exclusive automaton mechanism, for which two patents are also pending, took three years to develop. The power reserve, maintained with three barrels manually wound using the crown, allows the butterfly to delicately flutter its wings 300 times over a period of approximately two minutes. Positioned side-on, the realistic effect of the scene is even more captivating.
The hour/minute movement is equipped with an oscillating mass in 22-carat gold, featuring the pattern of the chariot’s wheel, a symbol of life. All of the codes of luxury watchmaking are present in the two models, both 43 mm in diameter, suffused with the light of gold and placed on a rolled-edge hand-made alligator leather strap. A delight to the eye and reserved for true connoisseurs, each version has a limited edition of only 28 pieces and is accompanied with a certificate of authenticity signed by the craftsmen of Jaquet Droz. Connoisseurs will succumb to the fluttering wings of the Loving Butterfly Automaton, entirely dedicated to precious time that makes us dream.
Jaquet-Droz Butterfly Automaton
