WHAT A CHARMER!
The brand today rests on three main pillars: its Grande Seconde collection, which is based on a 1785 Jaquet Droz pocket watch with two subdials shaped like a figure 8; its atelier d’art, where artistic crafts such as enamelling and engraving keep its founder’s artistic legacy alive; and its automatons. All three pillars coalesce into one another—take for instance the enamelled dials of the Grande Seconde timepieces, or the miniature painting upon the Bird Repeater watches. These workshop collaborations are best demonstrated in the Charming Bird automaton timepiece, introduced in 2013. The automata function was more than three years in the making, and features a series of cams inspired by the traditional automatons made by Pierre himself, along with 21st-century updates to enhance its performance. Upon the click of a button, the feathered creature flaps its wings, rotates its body, moves its head and tail, and opens its beak to sing. A series of cams, measuring a mere 0.4mm each, operates this mechanism, while a system of bellows and sapphire tubes produce different notes and chirps emitted by the bird. So far, the manufacture has hired two craftsmen who specialise in the making of the automatons for the maison; there are two automata currently in production, the Charming Bird and the Lady 8 Flower. It takes them three to four weeks to work on the Charming Bird, after which it is sent to the metiers d’art workshop to be beautified. The automaton function and the timekeeping mechanism operate independently from one another, and the latter is just as impressive: the self-winding calibre 615 features a platinum rotor and offers 38 hours of autonomy. Only 28 Charming Bird automatons will be produced. As far as tributes go, the Charming Bird beautifully encapsulates the spirit of the maison’s founder, while taking the brand resolutely into the 21st century.