Jaquet Droz – Petite Heure Minute shines of “Thousand Year Lights”

From the 10^th century until the 14^th century, in Asia, aristocratic ladies ordered luxurious jewelry boxes that required months of work. The “Najeon Chilgi” method was used to create them which involved the art of inlaying lacquer with mother-of-pearl. The craftsmen of Jaquet Droz looked to this ancestral Asian technique to create the flowery landscape in shimmering colors for the new version of the Petite Heure Minute, called Petite Heure Minute Thousand Year Lights. The brilliance and dazzle of the dial earned this exceptional piece its name: “Thousand Year Lights.” The timepiece sees the skills of the brand’s Ateliers d’Art come to life: enameling and miniature painting, dazzling settings, sculpting and engraving.

The center of the 35 mm or 39 mm diameter case, with an off-center subdial at 12 o’clock, offers itself to the gaze of a pastoral bouquet. The richness of colors comes to light as their tenderness is revealed with a touch of intense red, while the silver glimmer of leaves goes hand in hand with the minute details of the mother-of-pearl intaglio. The mother-of-pearl is first lacquered and polished with great care. The craftsmen engravers then bring out the minute volumes through hand painting.

The Petite Heure Minute Thousand Year Lights is available in five versions, each limited to 28 pieces, in red or white gold cases, set with diamonds or without. Equipped with a 68-hour power reserve, this timepiece is presented on a black or deep blue alligator leather strap.

By Valeria Garavaglia