To many, the first thing that comes to mind when they hear the name Jaquet Droz is the brand’s astounding automaton creations both old and new. Pieces like the Charming Bird and other wild — not to mention very expensive — machina are always exciting to see. However the brand also has a much softer and subtle catalog that is noteworthy in its own right. The Grande Seconde Quantieme Ivory Enamel is just one in a healthy collection of more formal dress timepieces that still retains a unique character. Priced a little north of $10,000 in white gold, it faces some stiff competition, and I was curious to see whether its visual charm would start to fade after a week on the wrist.
Design
Classic elegance is the name of the game with this timepiece. The double Grand Feu enamel dial pays great tribute to the earlier days of watchmaking, while its pair of sub dials provides a more modern appearance. A few colleagues were quick to point out loose similarities between it and grander pieces from the likes of A. Lange & Söhne and F.P. Journe, with loose being the critical word.
The case design of the Quantieme is another key component to its character. Having looked at imagery, I expected the Quantieme to be thinner. Its size is not standard for a dress watch, but Jaquet Droz is not known for abiding by any set of rules. It’s a part of their charm as watchmakers. The tapering of the case and the inward curvature of the lugs reveal the watch’s unique selling point: its architecture, not the finishing. The entire white gold case is mirror-polished, which is a detail I’m not typically fond of, but it works well with this watch.
The Quantieme’s automatic movement is beautifully decorated with radially widening Côtes de Genève stripes that center on a key detail of the in-house movement’s design — its silicon balance spring. The movement uses a pair of barrels to boast a power reserve of 68 hours.
In the Field
As mentioned above, the Quantieme reads like a fairly traditional dress watch on paper. A 39mm case, an enamel dial and blued lume-less hands would make you think its only purpose would be to wedge under a shirt cuff, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Its case design and dial configuration lends itself remarkably well to the fashion-forward. Much in the same way that the juxtaposition of modernist architecture and mid-century modern furniture works out well in interior design, the pairing of this piece complements bold fashion by Alexander McQueen, Kenzo or just some moto-inspired denim. These specific pairings would not be quite as easy with the red gold example of the Quantieme, but in white gold it really couldn’t have worked out better. For those with large wrists (or simply those who prefer a more heavy-handed wrist presence), a 43mm variant is available in both white and red gold. Given how the 39mm wears, you need to have pretty beefy wrists to comfortably rock the 43mm.
Given my propensity for strap changes, I expected the Jaquet Droz to have wound up on one of my many straps somewhere along the way, but it didn’t. I partly blame the 18mm lug width for this, but I found the Quantieme so well suited to its plain black leather strap that I wasn’t compelled to change it. This watch is all about the dial details and adding a different strap to the equation would only assist in detracting from its aesthetic appeal. I would say that a similar brown leather strap wouldn’t work with the piece. The watchmaker did a perfect job with designing every aspect of the timepiece, so I was the one who had to change my look.
Final Notes
One of the biggest takeaways from my time with the Jaquet Droz Quantieme is most certainly its versatility. The old-school guys hunting for a classic slim dress watch will be better served browsing the catalogs of Zenith and Jaeger-LeCoultre. Those willing to be a little more forward-thinking about what a dress watch can be and how they’re willing to wear it are much more likely to fit with the outside-the-box approach found in many watches from Jaquet Droz. At $19,400 for the 39mm watch and $20,000 for the 43mm, the Quantieme faces stiff competition, but depending on your taste it is an option worthy of consideration.