Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Deadbeat

Deadbeat seconds is an extremely rare complication first introduced in the Age of Enlightenment, the very era when Pierre Jaquet-Droz was travelling the length and breadth of Europe to present his timepieces to royal courts across the continent. This technique means that the seconds hand no longer moves in a smooth sweep, but instead in one-second jumps, thus enabling extremely precise measurements. This horological miniature marvel is now revived by Jaquet Droz, which reinvents its Grande Seconde for this purpose. The historically off-centred seconds hand now takes its place at the centre of the dial, while the space traditionally reserved for it is occupied by the retrograde date display. A brand-new calibre has been created to power this association of deadbeat seconds, date and hour/minute module. This ingenious mechanism makes ample use of innovative technologies, such as a silicon balance-spring or a cam with 10 teeth instead of 30, to ensure that the deadbeat seconds jump is a visual show in which prodigious technical sophistication is matched by aesthetic refinement. 88-piece limited edition.