Tokyo 2014: Jaquet Droz is about to unveil its first collection dedicated to the art of dance

Switzerland marks the 150th anniversary of the first trade and friendship agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the Taikun (the 14th shogun of Japan), which saw the start of commercial relations between the two countries. At the same time, Jaquet Droz pays exceptional tribute to a nation it holds in special affection. Since its creation in the Age of Enlightenment, the La Chaux-de-Fonds Manufacture has consistently maintained a unique relationship with Japan. Artistic and creative parallels, a shared taste for arts and crafts and highly skilled work produced by hand have always been matched by a common fascination for mechanical challenges. Jaquet Droz watches, exported to Japan in the 18th century via the London agent James Cox, embody this bond based on a reciprocal sense of wonder. Comparisons can also be drawn between the android automata - among the most staggering of Jaquet Droz's areas of expertise - and karakuri ningyo, the mechanized dolls that were being manufactured at the same time in this part of the Far East. Thus, for almost three centuries, Jaquet Droz and Japan have continued to forge special ties, founded on mutual admiration and awe.

When Maurice Béjart presented his ballet set to Beethoven's 9th symphony in 1964, it very soon became one of the masterpieces of his repertoire: an unprecedented achievement and a paean to human fellowship and the intimate fusion of the body and music. In honor of the work, the brand is unveiling two timepieces in Tokyo inspired by Maurice Béjart’s most emblematic choreographies. The two powerfully evocative timepieces epitomize a marriage of music, dance, art and grace in movement. Discover the pieces Monday, November 10th.