When it comes to watch cases, precious metals have always been a welcome option; who can argue against the warmth of red or yellow gold, each with its own distinctive flavor? Construct the case in good ol’ steel, however, and the material costs of the watch plunges while its technical and design details remain intact. For a manufacture that’s seeking more broad-based appeal, it is a very attractive option, especially given the negligible costs associated with maintaining a few new references within a collection. Jaquet Droz has done exactly that with the Grande Seconde Off-Centered watch this year, by introducing two new variants in steel.

The BaselWorld release of the Grande Seconde Off-Centered timepiece features a slightly busier silver opaline dial, in contrast to its sibling with an onyx dial, which was unveiled a month before. Aesthetically, this makes it less austere and arguably more versatile, although the general design details remain the same – compared to the Grande Seconde collection, movements in the watches here appear to have been rotated within their cases by about 40 degrees clockwise. The crown is thus positioned at four o’clock, while the sub-dials forming the figure “8” are now offset and asymmetric. This quirk in the sub-dials’ positioning is matched by other minutiae, such as how the hour indexes are rendered in Arabic rather than Roman numerals where the two counters overlap.

On the technical front, the new references remain identical to the rest of the collection’s watches. A self-winding movement powers each Grande Seconde Off-Centered timepiece, with two barrels to provide a going time of 68 hours to ensure that the watch is still ticking even after being unworn over the weekend. The balance spring and pallet fork of the movement are made of silicon, and thus impervious to magnetism and temperature fluctuations. For the latter, friction is also reduced with the use of this material.

Specs

• Dimensions: 43mm
• Power Reserve: 68 hours
• Movement: Self-winding Jacquet Droz 2663A.P calibre
• Case: Steel
• Water Resistance: 30 meters
• Strap: Black alligator with steel deployant buckle

• This story was first published in World of Watches Magazine.