We all know legendary Bird Repeater by Jaquet Droz, originally introduced in 2012. Now, Swiss luxury watch brand has extended this automaton watch collection with a limited-edition model inspired by a tropical landscape. The Tropical Bird Repeater watch, with only eight pieces available, presents the essence of the brand: its watchmaking and decorative expertise. The dial on the Jaquet Droz Tropical Bird Repeater is made of mother of pearl, hand-engraved and painted to depict a lush forest scene.
A true source of life, the waterfall offers serenity to the blooming tropical flora and fauna. At the heart of this Garden of Eden, its water flows eternally in perfect realistic fashion. In the center, a hummingbird hand-carved and hand-engraved by the Maison’s artists moves towards a shrub of bright orange birds of paradise. A one-of-a-kind animation in watchmaking history, its wings beat up to forty times a second, adding incredible realism to the scene. To the right, a peacock with intense blue feathers veritably opens and closes its tail, while a toucan emerges from the palm leaves at 3 o’clock to open its beak.
The dancing flight of three elegant dragonflies, located at 9 o’clock, adds to the magic by day or by night as their tiny SuperLuminova-coated wings glow in the dark. In all, 7 animations that may exceed twelve seconds allow for up to 4 different scenarios, all the more striking as they contrast with the suspended background of the scene.
All that theatre is enclosed in a 18 karat red gold case adorned on the sides of its lugs and on the middle band with a hand-engraved animal motif.
The watch is powered by the new Jaquet Droz RMA89 movement equipped with a virtually silent wheel regulator, as the regulation of the minute repeater’s speed is operated by the friction between small outer spring blades.
New rack springs, an extended pause between the quarter hours and minutes, and the striking of the quarter hours at major third are also part of the complication. The power reserve has been increased to 60 hours with an oscillating frequency of three hertz.
The watch comes supplied with a rolled-edge dark green alligator strap which nicely matches the flora in the depicted scene. Only 8 pieces of the Jaquet Droz Tropical Bird Repeater watch are being produced, with an asking price of $661,500 each.