Jaquet Droz introduced the fully-skeletonized Grande Seconde Skelet-One timepiece back in 2018, releasing it in three different versions of red gold, white gold, and ceramic. For 2020, the watchmaker has announced two new variants of the see-through flagship that arrives with several aesthetic updates giving the classic watch a more contemporary appeal. The new and improved Grande Seconde Skelet-One retains the same case dimensions of 41.5 mm x 12.48 mm along with the overall architecture and the same in-house made Jaquet Droz caliber 2663 SQ movement. The off-centered sapphire dial and oversized seconds display below intersect to form a figure “8” – an aesthetic arrangement at the very core of the identity of Jaquet Droz. While previously the hours and minutes dial had Roman numerals and Arabic numerals for the seconds display, the new versions replace it with applied indices for the hours and minutes and a train track chapter ring with no numerals in the subdial below it.
The two new case materials introduced for the 2020 Skelet-One are plasma ceramic and red gold. While the red gold is relatively close to the original version launched in 2018, the plasma ceramic is unique with metallic properties fused with the qualities of ceramic. The official release by Jaquet Droz states: “This plasma is made by transforming white ceramic with gas heated to 20,000°C, giving it a unique metallic glow without adding any metal fragments to the process. This core modification maintains all the inherent properties of ceramic. It is just as hard, lightweight and scratch-resistant as high-tech ceramic, a material that has widely stood the test of time.” The red gold version is paired a rolled edge alligator strap and the ceramic variant gets rolled-edge hand made gray fabric strap. The former is priced at CHF 32,000 (about $33,000 USD) and the ceramic version carries a more affordable price tag of CHF 22,500 (roughly $23,000).
[Via: Professional Watches]
