It’s always a good idea to step outside the cavernous halls of Baselworld every so often see the sunlight and hear the birds singing. But if one is lucky enough to visit the Jaquet Droz stand while travelling through the massive show’s artificially lit horosphere, he or she could be lucky to hear beautiful bird songs without venturing out of doors. The Swiss watchmaker’s lifelike automata-for-the-wrist carries on the late-eighteenth century work of its eponymous founder.
This year’s version of the Jaquet Droz Charming Bird, first heard three years ago with a contemporary open-dial layout, features an entirely hand-decorated movement underneath a hand-painted and engraved mother-of-pearl dial that evokes the landscape of the Swiss countryside, a historic Jaquet Droz motif. The traditional technique of paper cutting inspired this representation.
The 47mm gold watch requires two different mechanisms. The song continues to be generated by air compression, just as it was during the 18th century as well as in the previous version of the Charming Bird.A piston-driven bellows powers the singing. As it chirps the bird also dances, opens and closes its beak, and flaps its wings. The pistons are situated within three-minute sapphire crystal tubes. Air enters the first tube, then is stored inside the second and finally pushed into the third, thus regulating the melody according to the volume of air and the speed of the piston.
And it’s not just din-weary Baselworld show attendees who smile when they hear the ethereal tones of this Jaquet Droz animation. The watchmaker’s peers voted the earlier version of the Ateliers d’Art Charming Bird the winner of Mechanical Exception prize at the 2015 Geneva Watchmaking Grand Prix (Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève).
Also within the Jaquet Droz stand lucky visitors were treated to the music of a genuine 18th century singing bird, which is considerably larger than its 2016 counterpart. The song of the vintage chirping bird music box was equally welcome to ears as the modern wrist-borne model. Its music, like time itself, hasn’t changed in two-and-a-half centuries.
Specifications:
Singing bird automaton movement, hand-winding mechanical movement and push-button automaton triggering mechanism. Sapphire whistle system. Hand-engraved platinum.
Movement:Jaquet Droz 615, self-winding mechanical movement, silicon balance spring and pallet horns, platinum oscillating weight.
Power reserve of 38 hours.
Dial:Hand-engraved and hand-painted white mother-of-pearl dial, white gold ring, onyx hours and minutes subdial
Limited edition of eight in both red gold and white gold.
Price: $450,500.