For the first time, Jaquet Droz presents not a finished unique piece for a collector, but a concept that each can make their own and shape according to their own individual journey. A bold, innovative design that rises above the rest.
We often speak of life paths, personal journeys, climbing ladders and reaching summits. Why not take these common expressions literally - at face value? Where design and drawing converge, Jaquet Droz creates a unique piece that represents the journey of life.
The idea came from a discussion held by the workshop with members of the Supercar Owners Circle (SOC), which brings together private collectors of sports cars and with which Jaquet Droz maintains close ties. Every year, the SOC meets at the Oberalp Pass and the Furka Pass. Some 70 supercars take to the winding roads, revered for their technical bends and breathtaking views, at an altitude of up to 2044 meters. The route stretches over 11 km of road, which is closed especially for the occasion. Above, the Alpine summits. Below, the green plain. An idyllic setting unfolding in three dimensions, just like it might once have appeared in a topographical survey. Jaquet Droz proposes the world’s first horological representation of it.
The dial of the 41 mm Petite Heure Minute serves as a backdrop. This is where the Jaquet Droz artisans express themselves, reproducing its reliefs, valleys, peaks and slopes. The Topographie captures in three dimensions the exact route taken by SOC members in the Andermatt region. Jaquet Droz has named it Golden Road. It runs from 4 o’clock to 9 o’clock, winding and tortuous. Hand-engraved deeply into the gold base of the dial, it is then manually reworked to create varying reflections, like the sweep of asphalt alternating between shadow and light. Each bend must be taken unflinchingly. To reproduce the Oberalp plain, the workshop chose a base in cloisonné enamel with gold wire. Green and white depict the Alpine landscape of rocks and fir trees.
The summit elevations are arranged according to the topographical layout. Beneath its 4 mm sapphire crystal, the Petite Heure Minute has more than enough space to simulate a wide range of altitudes. Each mountain is hand-sculpted from a block of gold segmented into layers, exactly as they appeared in the surveys in which Switzerland was a pioneer (its Federal Topographic Office, founded in 1838, was the first in the world). In watchmaking, art and cartography alike, this creation pays a moving tribute to authentic local craftsmanship: that of maps, surveys and unique hand-crafted Haute Horlogerie pieces.
From now on, the Topographie concept will give each collector the freedom to create their own piece. The depiction could be of a road, but not necessarily: a transatlantic sailing route, a journey by air, a marathon feat or, without any visible path, the contours of one’s own native region, the topography of one’s village, the mountains of one’s childhood or any other landscape. Everything that stretches from sea level to the celestial vault. The sky is the limit, as the saying goes.
