Jaquet Droz and The Rolling Stones: A Legendary Collaboration

For anyone born after 1963, the Sun, the Moon, and the Rolling Stones hold great significance. Keith Richards, the heart-beat guitarist of the legendary rock band, perfectly captured the magnitude of the Stones phenomenon, which is planetary and immortal. Similarly, Jaquet Droz, a watchmaker with a history of touring the world, understands the importance of fame and longevity in music. 

Established in 1738, Jaquet Droz was the first watchmaker to exhibit its creations to the kings and emperors of Europe and East Asia. However, the ultimate fan, collector, and aficionado bring the Rolling Stones and Jaquet Droz to life. With its new strategy, Jaquet Droz aims to create unique, high-level timepieces for this audience. These watches will feature customizable automatons that only the collector will own, making them intimate, personal, and imbued with priceless emotional value, similar to a signed autograph by Mick Jagger or a beer shared with Ronnie Wood.

 Today, the Rolling Stones Automaton exists in a 43mm red gold case. Jaquet Droz craftsmen have painstakingly reproduced the Stones’ stage set by hand, including Ronnie Wood’s Fender Strat and double stack, Charlie Watts’ minimalist drums, and Keith Richard’s famous five-string guitar. Six iconic Stones albums from 1971 to the present day are represented on rotating discs, and collectors can choose the album covers that will be reproduced by hand by the craftsmen of Jaquet Droz.

The power reserve is indicated at 8 o’clock, and the iconic Stones logo moves up and down as the tongue moves left and right. Jaquet Droz has employed its creative treasures to bring this animated scene to life. The guitars and their amps are shaped by hand from blocks of red gold, engraved, and painted. The cymbals are made of a slightly curved gold disc, and their stands are represented by white gold threads.

The various drum toms, made of white and red gold threads with diameters from 1.2 to 2.3mm, are also carefully crafted. Every detail, including the exact color tone of each instrument and the smallest reflection, is painted by hand.

Even Mick Jagger’s harmonica is reproduced in a block of gold that does not exceed a few 1/10th millimeters. The red gold oscillating weight on the sapphire caseback is engraved with the name of the chosen album by the collector, among the 23 available, leading to a unique piece duly engraved “1/1.”