Jaquet Droz – Restoration of the singing bird pendulum clock Replica Watches Free Shipping

Restoration of the singing bird pendulum clock

Other examples of aventurine stone employed in men’s watches are somewhat infrequent, but striking. We coated Blu watches back in 2009 that made abundant use of blue aventurine. As you can see, the quartz mineral works really well for that, and while it isn’t meant to seem like space on the Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Tourbillon Aventurine it will make for an excellent framework for your time and tourbillon. More so, there’s a piece of aventurine set on the rotor, visible through the sapphire crystal caseback of this watch over the automated movement.Inside that the Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Tourbillon Aventurine is the Jaquet Droz exclusive caliber 25JD automatic tourbillon, with an 18k white gold and aventurine strand. Jaquet Droz does not produce their own movements in-house, but via resources afforded to them by parent firm The Swatch Group they have a great deal of fine exclusive movements produced due to their timepieces. The 25JD works at 3Hz (21,600 bph) and has a rather long power reserve of seven days. One special feature about the tourbillon is how it is mounted.What you see isn’t a flying tourbillon, even though it kind of resembles you. It is quite a standard tourbillon with a high bridge create from translucent sapphire crystal. This gives the wearer a very clear view of the spinning tourbillon-style regulation system, with the equilibrium of a mounted tourbillon.The Jaquet Droz Grande Seconde Tourbillon Aventurine case has 1.47 carats of stones (260 indivdiual diamonds) to decorate it, along with another 0.14 carats (90 diamonds) on the dial. That is not super diamond-intensive, but you sure feel as it is, given the price of the opinion. The diamond decor doesn’t feel as female as on a few watches I have seen, but I am still on the fence as to whether or not I would choose to use this view (despite it being really lovely).

Jaquet Droz is sponsoring the restoration of the Pierre Jaquet-Droz pendulum clock, a historic local project carried out by the non-profit Association Automates & Merveilles. The timepiece, acquired in 1984 by the Watch Museum of Le Locle, is a treasure of Neuchâtel watchmaking heritage. Gifted by Napoleon to a Princess of Württemberg, the singing bird automaton is housed in a cage mounted on a mahogany French cabinet decorated with bronze Empire style motifs.

Restoration of the singing bird pendulum clock

Singing bird pendulum clock © Jaquet Droz

The Watch Museum of Le Locle (MHL) and the International Museum of Horology in La Chaux-de-Fonds (MIH) have joined forces to restore the clock to working order while honing their technical skills and deepening their historical knowledge. Master craftsmen are working together to fully revise the mechanisms and to restore the bird, the cabinet and the gilded appliques. The piece will be presented in 2018 after two years of restoration work. As the second chapter draws to a close, these experts report on the progress to date and share their findings.

Restoration of the singing bird pendulum clock

© Jaquet Droz

The grand complication movement at the heart of this piece bears a brass plaque that reads: “Pierre Jaquet-Droz à La Chaux-de-Fonds”. We entirely disassembled the movement for inspection and cleaning. The double fusee, grooves, crown wheel escapement, barrels, drums and other elements of the movement were checked and calibrated. The quadrature of the striking mechanism was also examined for the purposes of calibration. Next, we called on leading experts Gérard Vouga (from MHL), Aurélie Branchini and Masaki Kanasawa (from MIH) to perform the lengthy, painstaking task of reassembling the movement for testing.

Restoration of the singing bird pendulum clock

“Pierre Jaquet-Droz à La Chaux-de-Fonds” signature © Jaquet Droz

The canary that is perched atop this clock – the bona fide fruit of the labors of Pierre Jaquet-Droz – offers a gateway to the history of the brand known by its twin stars. Pierre-André Grimm has refreshed the bird’s plumage while respecting the original feathers. With regards to the wings, a spacing analysis found a lack of mobility in this area, contrary to the restored beak, tail and throat of the bird. Originally the serin’s glorious song could be heard on demand, or automatically on the hour, in testament to the grand complication inside the timepiece. The six melodies in its repertoire were played by a pin-barrel serinette, a feat of mechanical genius that produced sounds by air intake to its flutes.

Restoration of the singing bird pendulum clock

© Jaquet Droz

The serinette has now been restored thanks to Walter Dahler’s long-term endeavor of measuring, checking and reassembling, and some 75 hours of studying the movement. The Watchmaking unit at the CIFOM training center, under the supervision of Sylvain Varone, was tasked with creating identical reproductions of the four-link chains in the motor of the serinette and the clock. This work involves producing initial cutouts, carrying out strength testing, and testing the metals. To date, the team has produced the stamps and ordered the components for profile-turning, which is the final stage before reassembly.

On the exterior of the piece, the gilt-bronze motifs have been restored to their former excellence by Olivier Bauermeister. However new questions have been raised by the conclusion that the giltwork dates from different periods and the exterior has color discrepancies. At this stage our findings support the hypothesis that an intermediate restoration was carried out, adding Restoration-style elements to the typical Empire-style bronze motifs of sphinx, victories, Egyptian heads, beaded chains and lyres. This theory was confirmed by an analysis of the cabinet, the great enigma in this art history research project.

Restoration of the singing bird pendulum clock

Gilt-bronze motifs © Jaquet Droz

Since we first needed to date the cabinet more precisely, dendrochronologist Patrick Gassmann analyzed the growth rings on the locally sourced wood inside the cabinet. He concluded that the cabinet was indeed constructed in the first period of Pierre Jaquet-Droz’s business. However, the holes and tiny nails dotted around it remained a mystery: why was the clock wrapped in two casings? The beginnings of an answer were provided by the medical imaging center through X-rays that showed the presence of metal tips, contrasting additions, and three layers of wood. These obvious inconsistencies were confirmed by cabinet maker Christian Schouwey, who found that the pegs were poorly made, the screws and solid mahogany bars had been added at a later date, the veneers were of varying thicknesses, and certain elements had been trimmed. The conclusion was clear: while the base of the movement and the first casing do indeed date from the time of Pierre Jaquet-Droz, the second veneer was added by a skillful antiquarian in the late 19th century! Far from leaving the movement to languish in a cupboard, he capitalized on his find – realizing that both the Jaquet-Droz brand and the Egyptian-influenced cabinet were a safe bet – and crowned the clock with an imperial legend. What was at the time a strikingly coherent reproduction now serves as a valuable testimony of the renown and perspicacity of Pierre Jaquet-Droz.

Restoration of the singing bird pendulum clock

© Jaquet Droz

Under the patronage of Jaquet Droz, this long-term restoration project has shed light on an essential page in the brand’s story and in the history of watchmaking. In bridging past and present, Jaquet Droz confirms its investment in training the craftsmen of the future and in safeguarding its local heritage. The unanswered questions of the mysterious holes in the cabinet, and the feathers used for the original bird, prove that three centuries on, Jaquet-Droz pieces continue to fascinate watchmaking connoisseurs through their technical achievements and emotional appeal.