Jaquet Droz

[matrignano]

Anyone know a bit about the brand?

I like some of their watches and in particular the use of various stones and enamel as dial materials.

However it seems they are hugely discounted from new (grey dealers) and I have a nagging feeling they very much cater for the Middle East and Far East market, judging by where many of those watches are sold from on Chrono 24.

Also not sure if there's real merit to the manufacture or if it's just a bit of a "brand exercise" from Swatch to revive an old brand and stick modified ETAs in there, can't get clarity whether the calibres are bespoke or reworked ETAs.

Any thoughts?

Edited by matrignano on Thursday 13th April 15:50

[LordGrover]

They're member of Swatch Group, so maybe ETA or modified - having said that - they look kinda fancy (and expensive).

[matrignano]

LordGrover said:

They're member of Swatch Group, so maybe ETA or modified - having said that - they look kinda fancy (and expensive).

For me that's quite crucial - I'm not spending £10k+ on a ETA, modified or not!
Yes I am a snob

[nikaiyo2]

matrignano said:

For me that's quite crucial - I'm not spending £10k+ on a ETA, modified or not!
Yes I am a snob

Genuine question why not?

[matrignano]

Because you can get a very decent ETA watch for a grand or so, paying 10 times as much for a brand and a different case doesn’t seem money well spend

[GilletteFan]

They used to cater towards the dress watch market with thin small cases and subdial layouts. Then they went for the larger case size trend, thanks to the strong demand in wrist RE size, and lost their way. They ended up in a market that was going away. I rated them at a similar level to Omega's occasional dress pieces. If you paid over half retail, you were begging to lose money. Personally, don't like the brand and I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few hodlers out there trying to sell their deadstock while the whole industry is in a forced craze to stay relevant.

[nikaiyo2]

matrignano said:

Because you can get a very decent ETA watch for a grand or so, paying 10 times as much for a brand and a different case doesn’t seem money well spend

I thought swatch had stopped selling ETA movements to most ? Would the £1000 watch have the same grade, or adjustment as a watch costing x10 that?

Jacquet Droz make some lovely watches, the hotel I used to stay in vegas had them in one of the jewellery shops.

Edited by nikaiyo2 on Friday 14th April 19:13

[matrignano]

Well I ended up bottling it at the auction but then bought another Jaquet Droz watch on Chrono 24 the next day

Hopefully I won't get burned too much having paid £6700 for a white gold brand new box and papers watch!

Keep an eye out on the Incoming thread next week!