When Jaquet Droz embarks on a project of pure creativity, the result is often a timepiece that exists outside the linear framework of horology. Such is the case with the Tourbillon Skelet Red Gold – Catrina Skull, a singular creation that blends flamboyant artistic codes with one of the most delicate regulating organs in watchmaking. A pièce unique, born in La Chaux-de-Fonds yet rooted in Mexican tradition, it carries the exuberant imagery of La Catrina into the refined world of haute horlogerie.
The dial is where the poetry reveals itself first. Forged in 18-carat white gold, its entire surface becomes a canvas for a multitude of artisanal expressions. Micro-painting, grand feu enamel, and hand engraving combine to form the figure of Catrina, her face stretching across two thirds of the dial like a vivid apparition. The painterly hues move between sharp whites, soft violets, and enigmatic shades of green, creating a play of contrasts between serenity and menace. Gold “paillons” – tiny hand-chiselled motifs captured beneath enamel – shimmer with warmth, their minute glints echoing the red gold hands. This miniature tableau resists the constraints of symmetry that so often define Swiss dials, embracing an opulent asymmetry where art dominates mechanics. And yet, at twelve o’clock, the flying tourbillon rises in her ocular orbit, its hypnotic rotations adding an unsettling vitality to the dial, as if the Calavera were gazing back at the passing hours with an eternal, unblinking stare.
The mechanism that breathes life into this singular piece is the Jaquet Droz 25JD.Si, a self-winding tourbillon calibre marrying tradition with contemporary innovation. It is distinguished by its use of a silicon balance spring and silicon anchor horns—materials chosen to resist magnetic disturbances and ensure consistent chronometric performance. The tourbillon, held aloft without an upper bridge, performs its aerial ballet at 21,600 vibrations per hour, commanding attention at the upper hemisphere of the dial. Despite this delicate architecture, the movement delivers a power reserve of seven days, drawn from barrels regulated with the restraint and elegance for which Jaquet Droz is known. The oscillating weight, executed in 18-carat red gold, is enriched with a hand-painted mother-of-pearl applique, a decorative flourish that continues the dialogue between the mechanical heart and the artistic soul of the watch. Every component of the calibre reflects the maison’s dual allegiance to craft and precision: bridges chamfered to catch the light, surfaces polished or brushed depending on the effect desired, and the whole ensemble visible through the sapphire caseback with its discreet engraving marking the uniqueness of the piece.
The case encircles this theatre of life and death in 18-carat red gold. Modestly sized at 39 millimetres in diameter, it balances refinement with presence, its proportions suiting the role of an objet d’art as much as a wristwatch. At 13.20 millimetres in height, it affords space for the flying tourbillon without sacrificing elegance. Satin and polished surfaces alternate along the contours of the case and folding clasp, amplifying the warmth of the gold. The rear side bears the engraving “Pièce unique”, a succinct acknowledgment of its singular status in the Jaquet Droz oeuvre. Water resistance is rated to 3 bar, adequate for a creation intended for admiration rather than utility. The watch is secured to the wrist by a turquoise rubber strap – an audacious chromatic decision that defies classical restraint, as bold and unconventional as the figure of Catrina herself.
The Tourbillon Skelet Red Gold – Catrina Skull is not a piece for the discreet collector. Instead, it is a provocative fusion of narrative and mechanics, a celebration of life through the imagery of death, executed with a Swiss subtlety that tempers the visual audacity. By choosing Catrina, Jaquet Droz acknowledges a culture where mortality is not feared but honoured, where memory and festivity eclipse grief. The maison envelopes this philosophy within a tourbillon, itself a machine designed to defy the passage of time by refining its measure. Together, they form a poetic paradox: a figure indifferent to hours and minutes, rendered immortal upon a dial whose sole purpose is to mark them. For the solitary collector fortunate enough to receive it, this watch will offer not only a triumph of craftsmanship but a meditation, a reminder that beauty, like life, shines brightest in its fleeting singularity.
