According to Keith Richards: “For anyone born after 1963, there is the Sun, the Moon. And the Rolling Stones”.
Agreeing with that sentiment, Jaquet Droz once a watchmaker to kings and emperors is now looking to rock and roll royalty for inspiration.
Known for its haute horlogerie automatons, Jaquet Droz creations usually feature more traditional scenes, including the watchmaker’s famed Bird Repeaters, Magic Lotus and the Loving Butterfly that depicts the unification of love and nature.
But Jaquet Droz’ latest timepiece is the Rolling Stones Automaton – a 43mm red-gold timepiece with a dial bearing a miniaturised version of the rock band’s stage set.
The brand’s tribute to the Rolling Stones was first seen earlier this year, and again when its contribution to this year’s Only Watch charity auction was revealed earlier in the summer. And, like that piece, all 23 versions of the production model are unique.
Ronnie Wood’s Fender Strat Charlie Watts’ drum kit, Mick Jagger’s harmonica and Keith Richard’s five-string are all represented in hand-painted red gold and sit among six reproductions of album covers.
Everything is presented on a disc that rotates around the central stage on demand by pressing the pusher in the crown.
The watch is powered by the Jaquet Droz 2653 AT2 self-winding mechanical movement with twin barrels providing a 68-hour power reserve, silicon balance spring and pallet horns and hand-engraved winding rotor.
The sapphire caseback reveals the red-gold oscillating weight, engraved with the name of the album chosen by the buyer to illustrate the image under the central stage (chosen by the buyer and taken from the 23 albums released between 1971 and the present day) with its release date and the name of the studio where it was recorded.
Each one-of-a-kind piece is engraved “1/1”.
