Lot 21
JAQUET DROZ
THE ROLLING STONES AUTOMATON - ONLY WATCH 2023
For its Rolling Stones Automaton, Jaquet Droz has designed an animation recalling children’s nightlights and spinning tops, with colours and rotating discs showcasing the legendary band’s gear – all hand-crafted.
Description
By giving a new face to its Rolling Stones Automaton, Jaquet Droz has created a fun piece evoking all the wonder of children at play. The Stones’ instruments, hand-crafted from blocks of gold, sit beneath the offset hours and minutes display on a disc coloured to resemble a vinyl LP. The scene is surrounded by a second disc that rotates when the pusher is activated, while the iconic Stones tongue rises, falls, and moves from left to right.
The power reserve is shown at nine o’clock by a cam made to look like the tonearm and stylus of a traditional record turntable. As it rotates, the brightly-coloured spiral creates an optical illusion just like a child’s spinning top, with each colour hand-painted to match the Only Watch 10th Edition palette. A second Rolling Stones tongue at the centre glows in the dark – recalling a child’s bedroom nightlight.
Specifications
Model name:
The Rolling Stones Automaton - Only Watch 2023
Ref: J0328340241
Case:
18K white gold — Hand engraved case back
Dial:
Hand painted black Onyx subdial with hand painted fluorescent mouth and fluorescent logo — Hand painted brass rotating disc — Hand painted golden static disc with hand engraved and hand painted instruments
Calibre:
Jaquet Droz 2653AT2 — Silicon balance spring and pallet horns, double barrel, flat bridges — White gold oscillating weight — Automaton: rotating disc and mouth — Power reserve: 68 hours, animation: 4 minutes
Bracelet:
Fabric strap, rubber printed pattern — White gold folding clasp
Dimensions:
Diameter: 43mm
Thickness: 16.96mm
Specificities:
Automaton with rotating dial and mouth, 4-minutes power reserve — Hand painted dials, fluorescent mouth and fluorescent Jaquet Droz logo — Gold hand engraved and painted instruments and mouth
Collaboration
To mark the sixtieth anniversary of the Rolling Stones, Jaquet Droz has teamed up with the band to create a collection of unique pieces, including an exclusive version for Only Watch. For the first time in the history of watchmaking, the essence of the legendary band has been condensed into a 43mm automaton.
The greatest Rock'n'Roll band of all time, who is highly supportive of children's charities and the invaluable Only Watch project, has given its backing to Jaquet Droz and will be actively involved alongside the brand for the auction.
Supportive of children's causes and the Only Watch project, the Stones are further supporting Jaquet Droz's commitment at the May 10 auction by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood signing the watch box for the Rolling Stones Automaton Only Watch.
The brand
Jaquet Droz
Founded in 1738, Fine Watchmakers Jaquet Droz perpetuate the ethos of the Atelier’s founder Pierre Jaquet-Droz: forward-looking aesthetic refinement. Pierre Jaquet-Droz’s clocks, automatons and animated human figures were a cultural and mechanical revolution in their day. Based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the family firm was also a pioneer in exports, with its horological pieces gracing many royal and imperial courts across Europe and Asia.
Buoyed by its new strategy (‘JD 8.0: A Disruptive Legacy’) and the global acclaim for its Ateliers d’Art models, the Maison is further developing its ambitious vision of bespoke, animated High Horology, bringing together outstanding movements and new-generation materials to deliver a unique and highly personal experience. Each unique piece is created by and for a specific collector.
Ever stronger and more firmly grounded in its distinctive identity, Jaquet Droz remains unchanged even as it enters new and surprising territories – a herald of visionary disruption.