Jaquet Droz Delights With Stunning New Automaton

When it comes to automaton’s Jaquet Droz has a reputation to uphold, as they are the benchmark in the industry for this. While the automatons created by the brand’s founder where already mesmerizing, incorporating such technology in a wristwatch is equally challenging. For Jaquet Droz this is merely a challenge that they take on with expertise and great imagination as they proof once more with the introduction of the Magic Lotus Automaton.

This watch pays tribute to something that was already a source of inspiration to Jaquet Droz himself; nature. In this particular creation, you are looking at a Koi pond from above. In the pond, white lotus flowers grow, and Jaquet Droz shows them in all their life stages, representing the four seasons. The lotus is also part of the animation of this automaton. The white lotus flower floating in the water has as its heart as precious stone, which thanks to an ingenious system changes each time it goes under a leaf or the dial. For every full rotation it changes the stone four-times, alternating between yellow sapphire, blue sapphire and ruby. As a result of this, it never looks the same from one rotation to the next.

The white lotus flower is not the only thing that moves on this automaton. A hand carved Koi is also present on the dial, and its motion is very similar to the real animal. Not only does it moves its tail, but it also has a vertical movement, making it seem that it comes up to the surface before diving down again under the leaves or the dial. It is complemented by a hand carved, and hand painted dragonfly which serves as the power reserve indicator of the automaton, flying closer to the water as it declines.

With a diameter of 43mm is the White Lotus Automaton very wearable, and a true piece of art. This is not only because it incorporates nearly every craft that Jaquet Droz does in house, from engraving to enamel, but also because of its technical complexity.  When fully wound, the automaton runs for more than four minutes, in which it makes eight full rotations. Because the watch it fitted with two mainspring barrels, one is dedicated to the automaton, while the other supplies the movement itself with power. It comes with a very generous power reserve of 68 hours, and time is told by two elegant hands, against a backdrop of onyx. They form the finishing touches of something that can only be described as a true masterpiece, and one of which Jaquet Droz himself would have been mesmerized by.