Les Volumes du Temps:
A unique piece for TimeForArt, a bridge between a collector and an emerging artist
Jaquet Droz has brought to life a watchmaking project undertaken with the Académie de Meuron, embodied in the work of one of its students and representing time in three-dimensional form. The feat lies in its handcrafted enamel applied across three dimensions, following the curves and contours of champlevé motifs. A unique piece auctioned at TimeForArt, with the proceeds in turn donated to support other emerging artists: a virtuous circle bringing together Jaquet Droz, art collectors and the new generation of contemporary artists.
The Académie de Meuron is a visual arts school that Jaquet Droz has been sponsoring for the past two years. The atelier, which exclusively creates unique works of art, has found a visionary partner in the Académie, driven by a new generation of disruptive talent. But in 2026, the two entities have taken their collaboration to a whole new level, brought to life at TimeForArt.
For the first time, the charity auction, held every two years in New York, will include a unique Jaquet Droz piece, conceived with the Académie de Meuron and one of its students. This unprecedented initiative perfectly embodies Jaquet Droz’s positioning as a link between contemporary art collectors and emerging creators. An even more compelling triptych, given that all proceeds from the sale will be donated to the Swiss Institute, a global incubator for Swiss art. A rare trio, 100% Swiss Made - like every Jaquet Droz creation.
Fiona Djukanovic, a student at the Academy, has conceived a unique piece with the focus on volumes. A broad “X” runs across the dial, illustrating the collaborative nature of the project: Jaquet Droz X Académie de Meuron. Her artistic language is geometric, architectural and minimalist. Jaquet Droz has brought it to life through its Métiers d’Art expertise, with generous volumes of champlevé enamel featuring gently curved profiles that balance the straight lines of the surfaces crafted in champlevé enamel.
The two central volumes intuitively guide the eye towards the hours and minutes (minutes at the top, hours at the bottom). This is a threefold tour de force: these large applied volumes, with enamelled upper surfaces, are hollow, and follow the curve of the case middle. The enamel on their surface (supported by an invisible counter-enamel) slopes downwards, a feature that made hand-polishing particularly challenging. The result is a dial conceived as a true sculpture, in which material and light engage in a balanced dialog of great purity.
With this exceptionally bold composition, the Académie and the young artist express a personal vision of time that is authentic and precious, created as a unique piece. At the crossroads of contemporary art and Haute Horlogerie, it offers a sculptural interpretation of time, in which its reading becomes secondary to emotion and form.
The 41 mm-diameter piece will be auctioned in New York on 5 December 2026. The proceeds will be donated to the Swiss Institute, which itself has a New York presence where the artistic talents of tomorrow are already being championed today.
