On October 18^th, Royal Jewelers hosted an exclusive dinner for Boston area Jaquet Droz enthusiasts.  This wonderful evening of companionship, food, wine, and watches was held at the Landham Club in Andover, Massachusetts. 

 

 

 

The Lanam Club Property, formerly known as “Orlando,” has graced the Shawsheen landscape for more than eighty years.  Built in 1916 on a luxuriant hillside overlooking the winding Shawsheen River below, the original house mirrored the vision and spirit of its owner, William M Wood, late president of the American Woolen Company.

In 1957, the estate was purchased by a group of Greater Lawrence business and professional men, who formed the Lanam Club.  For the past fifty years, the club has been recognized as the finest business and social club in the area.

 

 

 

 

 

Inside the club over seventy guests mingled and enjoyed mouthwatering appetizers.  Long time J*D PuristS and new friends bonded over wine and eager anticipation of the main dining room to open.

 

 

 

 

Meanwhile how many times have you seen the CEO of a major brand roll up his sleeves to help get everything ready! 

 

 

After much effort the main dining room of the Lanam Club was transformed from this

 

 

 to this.

 

 

 

 

Honored guests include Mr. Manuel Emch and officials from SWATCH North America, Mr. William Loi (Publisher of Men’s Vogue magazine; not photographed), and Mr. Nick F. (Head master watchmaker of SWATCH prestige group).

 

 

 

The Watches

 

This La Fleur Du Temps graced the wrist of a long time forum member! 

 

 

Only one other watch was as beautiful and it preoccupied this PuristS’ mind during the entire event.  The Coral Grande Seconde in the diamond case.

 

Last year a few  PuristS visited J*D and we all fell in love with Pietersite.  Finally here is the first piece unique made with this wonderful stone.  It is from the same mineral family as Tiger’s eye and blue is the rarest color it is found in. 

 

 

You’ll never see this combination again.  The white gold Jade Grande Date piece unique together with the white gold Petrified Dinosaur Bone Grande Date piece unique.

 

 

If that pair didn’t excite you how about the Aventurine Grande Date next to the Heart of Ruby Les Lunes?  It was so hard to capture the sparkle of the Aventurine dial on film in the dim light but in the metal it was quite noticeable.

 

 

A Spectrolite Perpetual sitting proudly by itself in the display case

 

A pair of grande feu Noire Absolu enamel dials side by side, the Decentree and the new Ceramic GS!

 

 

And saving the best for last, the Royal Edition Grande Seconde in rose gold.  At this point I’ve pretty much decided that my next J*D will have to be in a rose gold case.  I can’t explain it but the color of the J*D rose gold is very captivating.  I’ll let other PuristS who own rose gold models elaborate on this.

 

 

The best part of the evening for me was the opportunity to talk with and learn from Nick.  Who would have guessed that the head watchmaker for SWATCH prestige brands was a jazz saxophonist who used to play for the Four Tops? His enthusiasm for watch making was infectious and I loved his candor.  In today’s horological world where marketing departments can run amok one has to respect the opinion of a watchmaker who can see past all the fluff by examining the movements naked.  Don’t worry, he had incredibly nice things to say about J*D and not because he is an employee of SWATCH but because he is a watch enthusiast like everyone else.

 

 

 

So I spent a lot of time looking under the microscope and examined as many parts that I could. 

 

 

 

Here is the complete Monopoussouir movement and the rotors. 

 

 

 

For those who want to know about the quality of the finish, it is superb.  Here is the baseplate and it is finished and decorated with perlage on both sides. 

 

 

Most of the small parts were equally well finished.  Notice the two different types of finish on different sides of the same wheel!  I have to admit there were a few small pieces that lack the decorative finish but they totaled less than 5% of the components that I examined randomly.

 

 

 

Nick told me that most J*Ds have to be returned to Switzerland for servicing because the dials are so delicate.  For owners of the Bombe dial, this is the reason why your watch is so special and fragile.

 

 

The sapphire crystal close up.  This started as a square block a centimeter thick which had to be cut down and polished to achieve a domed shape.

 

 

Royal Jewelers and the kitchen staff had a wonderful meal prepared for the guests.

 

 

 

 Unfortuately I was so busy enjoying the watches and the conversation with dinner guests at that I forgot to take pictures of all the courses. I also didn’t want to be rude by whipping the large SLR out and disrupting the ambience at the dinner table. To tempt your taste buds though, the main course was expertly prepared.  I was told to brace myself for the wines being poured. I enjoyed the 1966 Chateau Grand Barrail Lamarzelle Figerac very much.  So much so that I called the wine importer the next day and asked them to search out a few bottles. It was deep transparent red in color and had a classic nose of forest floor, smoke, overripe black fruits, and menthol. Feminine on the palate, with moderate acidity and still some tannin remaining. The flavors of raspberry, cassis, and earth paired very well with the lamb. 

 

 

 

 

Thank you Royal Jewelers and Montres Jaquet Droz for an extremely luxurious evening.

 

 

And I still can't decide on a new color for an EOT strap!

 

 

Stayed tuned for some interesting insights from Mr. Emch!

 

Enjoy,

Mike 

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