High watchmaking and philanthropic ambition often intersect in extraordinary ways, and the latest creation from Jaquet Droz is a striking testament to this enduring partnership. Designed specifically for the upcoming TimeForArt charity auction, the new Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Les Volumes du Temps stands out as a singular masterpiece of contemporary horology. Merging traditional high-craft decorative techniques with forward-thinking design, the watch owes its captivating aesthetic to an unexpected collaborator: Fiona Djukanovic, a talented student artist studying at the prestigious Académie de Meuron in Neuchâtel.
Rather than relying on conventional hands pinned to a flat central axis, this unique timepiece breaks new ground for the brand by utilizing dragging hour and minute discs. Set within a sculptural, highly dimensional dial architecture, these rotating discs depart sharply from the familiar formatting traditionally associated with Jaquet Droz timepieces. The result is an avant-garde composition that marries the house’s centuries-old mastery of métiers d’art—most notably grand feu enameling—with a fresh, youthful perspective on architectural volume and geometric abstraction.
Initial Thoughts and Artistic Vision
At first glance, the Petite Heure Minute Les Volumes du Temps immediately signals a departure from the brand’s classic design language while fiercely retaining its core DNA of artistic excellence. The collaboration with Fiona Djukanovic brings a distinct architectural rhythm to the timepiece, framing the dial through an X-shaped composition. This intricate layout reveals two distinct apertures: one dedicated to the dragging hours and another positioned to display the dragging minutes.
The underlying functionality of this unusual display traces its lineage back to the innovative Ophidian Hour introduced by the brand in previous years. Fitted with a specialized module attached to a variant of the trusted Jaquet Droz calibre JD2653, the mechanism ensures that both the hour and minute discs advance in a smooth, continuous, dragging motion rather than snapping abruptly between numerals. Beneath the visible dial work lies a robust mechanical foundation that descends directly from the legendary Frédéric Piguet calibre 1150. This twin-barrel architecture has proven its reliability and performance across the high-end watchmaking industry for nearly four decades, serving prestigious maisons such as Blancpain and Urban Jürgensen with unwavering precision.
Beyond its mechanical ingenuity, Ms. Djukanovic’s design language relies heavily on a sophisticated interplay of deep blue shades. By combining champlevé and flinqué enamel techniques directly over hand-engraved surfaces, the dial achieves a remarkable sense of depth, shadow, and architectural volume. Despite the undeniable complexity of its decorative elements, the overall visual presentation maintains a surprising degree of restraint. It feels almost minimalist when measured against Jaquet Droz’s historical penchant for elaborate, hyper-representational creations, favoring clean abstract geometry over the whimsical automatons and figurative animal motifs that often define the brand’s catalog.
The Mastery of Enamel and Dimensional Architecture
The true triumph of the Petite Heure Minute Les Volumes du Temps lies in its intricate dial construction, where the enamel work follows the dramatic contours of the metal canvas. Color and light are manipulated to accentuate the varying heights of the dial architecture, drawing the eye across multiple planes. This spatial dynamism is particularly emphasized by two raised triangular plates that slope gracefully from their central peaks outward toward the periphery of the dial.
These prominent plates are meticulously framed by chamfered and brushed edges, adding sharp contrast to the soft reflections of the enamel. Furthermore, the surfaces beneath these raised sectors are hand-engraved with a delicate sunray motif before being coated in rich layers of enamel. Nestled below and around these elevated structures sit forty distinct parallelepipeds—meticulously crafted block-like shapes that form a tiled geometric pattern framing the display discs. Following the firing process, these blocks are polished completely flush with the surrounding raised borders, creating a mirror-smooth finish where vibrant, indelible colors seem to glow from within.
The display discs themselves are not overlooked in this grand exercise of finishing; they too receive a hand-applied sunray finish. As the discs rotate to track the passage of time, they catch and scatter light differently across the various levels of the dial, ensuring that the watch presents a constantly shifting visual landscape to whoever wears it. Housed inside an 18-karat white gold case measuring 41 millimeters in diameter and 13.78 millimeters in thickness, the watch balances substantial wrist presence with refined proportions. The sapphire crystal protects the intricate dial from above, while the 30-meter water resistance rating rounds out the practical specifications of this delicate art piece.
Supporting Young Artists Through TimeForArt
The creation of the Petite Heure Minute Les Volumes du Temps is driven by a higher purpose, serving as Jaquet Droz’s contribution to the third edition of TimeForArt. As a pioneering philanthropic initiative, TimeForArt gathers unique, one-of-a-kind timepieces donated by leading watch manufacturers to be featured in high-profile charity auctions. For this cycle, the curated selection of exceptional lots will go under the hammer at Phillips during The New York Watch Auction XV, scheduled to take place on December 5, 2026.
This year’s auction brings together 26 participating brands, with each house contributing a single unique creation designed specifically for the event. All proceeds generated from the sale of these timepieces are directed toward supporting young, emerging artists through the philanthropic efforts of the Swiss Institute, bridging the worlds of contemporary art and haute horlogerie. Given its unique provenance, the collaborative design effort with the Académie de Meuron, and the intense level of hand-craftsmanship involved, the Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minute Les Volumes du Temps carries a pre-sale auction estimate of CHF 100,000 to CHF 150,000.
Key Facts and Price
Jaquet Droz Petite Heure Minutes Les Volumes Du Temps
Diameter: 41 mm
Height: 13.78 mm
Material: 18k white gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m
Movement: Cal. JD2653.SI
Functions: Hours and minutes
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 68 hours
Strap: Patterned leather with 18k red gold folding clasp
Limited edition: Unique piece
Availability: To be auctioned at TimeForArt on December 5, 2026
Auction estimate: CHF 100,000–150,000
