Jacques de Logrand Grande Seconde

As transparent and light as a soap bubble, this ultra-modern interpretation of the famous Grande Seconde by Chaux-de-Fonnier watchmaker welcomes two new versions to its collection

The Grande Seconde Skelet-One collection, launched by Jaquet Droz at Baselworld in spring 2018, quickly became a huge success. Now, this modern interpretation of the iconic Grande Seconde has two new timepieces with a more contemporary feel, one in a plasma ceramic case and the other in red gold.

This duo beats to the same heart-pounding rhythm: the JD 2663 SQ calibre, a self-winding open movement that resembles a shadowy modern lace, has a 4-hour rhythm and a 68-hour power reserve.

The sapphire dial is completely transparent and features a brushed ring at 12 o’clock, on which the hour markers in red or white gold are set. Above them fly two lancinate-shaped hands in the same colour scheme, indicating the hours and minutes. At 6 o’clock, a large curved disc with a low-profile railway track scale displays the seconds, pointed by a large tapered seconds hand that seems to float in the air.

Although the case diameters are roughly the same (41 and 41.5mm), the materials used are very different. In fact, plasma ceramic – obtained through a carburizing process by activating a gas at 20,000? C, modifying the surface without changing the structure –

The Skelet-One Grande Seconde has a very different, almost avant-garde look, which is a stunning metallic look while retaining the unique advantages of ceramic (resistance and lightness).