Lady 8 Flower
CASE : 18K red gold set with 114 diamond (1.40ct), waterresistant to 30m, sapphire caseback. 18K red gold petals, briolette-cut diamond (0.24ct)
SIZE : 35mm
MOVEMENT : mechanical self-winding Jaquet Droz 615 caliber, 21,600 vph, 38h power reserve, with mechanical automaton movement driving the opening of the flower
FUNCTIONS : hours, minutes
DIAL : domed, relief-engraved white mother-of-pearl, 18K red gold inner bezel ring set with 88 diamonds (0.17ct), hands and nameplate in 18K red gold
STRAP : rolled-edge hand-crafted white alligator leather, 18K red gold folding clasp set with 47 diamonds (0.47ct)
EIGHT-PIECE LIMITED EDITION
Mechanical bloom
At Jaquet Droz, the long-running history of the Maison in the realm of automatons is not confined to archives and museums. Jaquet Droz continues to create mechanical animations, but on a different scale. So what’s that got to do with this exquisitely feminine Lady 8 Flower watch ? A mere press on the 2 o’clock button causes a red gold lotus flower to bloom in the upper part of the watch – corresponding to the upper loop of the figure 8 featured on the dial. And the animation doesn’t stop there, since the petals reveal in parting a diamond that spins in one direction when the flower opens, and in the other when it closes, after about eight seconds – yet another nod to the brand’s cherished symbolic number. Alongside this automaton part of the watch, the ‘remainder’ of this creation is a vision of white mother-of-pearl, red gold and diamonds. The dial is carpeted with iridescent white flowers relief-engraved by hand, rimmed by a slim inner bezel ring set with 88 diamonds and a bezel adorned with 114 diamonds. This floral theme would doubtless have appealed to Pierre Jaquet-Droz, creator of the famous automatons in an age when naturalism was all the rage. The finishing touch is set by a white alligator leather strap and the last mention of the figure 8 refers to the limited edition. There is also a Grand Feu blue enamel dial version of this Lady 8 Flower.
