The fruit of the Atelier d'Art's unique expertise, twin sets of Petite Heure Minute models are dedicated to the elegance of the butterfly, that fragile, romantic creature embodying the beauty of time. 

An angel passes, drawn along by a butterfly, and time seems to hold its breath in a moment of pure poetry. This motif, discovered in an old book devoted to Jaquet Droz, has been depicted just once before, in the Age of Enlightenment, by one of the legendary automata created by Pierre Jaquet-Droz. In 2013, it was given pride of place on "The Loving Butterfly" a watch paying tribute to putti - sculptures of children used to decorate some of Italian architecture's most beautiful buildings as well as the cultural treasures of Renaissance and Baroque Europe. 

This year, the butterfly returns to the center of the watchmaking stage, taking a form that is unprecedented and spectacular in equal measure: two sets of Petite Heure Minute models comprising eight pieces each are like the chapters of a horological novel presented in its entirety. The subject of the novel is ephemerality, with eight scenes describing a butterfly's flight, thus reviving the brand's passion for 18th century naturalism. 

Following this narrative thread - the beauty of nature, its fragility and the transitory quality of each moment - the Jaquet Droz artisans dreamt up two complementary stories. 

The dials are as blank pages, given over to the artistic imagination of painters and engravers. Within a 43 mm-diameter red gold case, on the lower part of the dial, a spray of feijoa flowers features a butterfly placed at random and sculpted by hand in a red gold to contrast with its intensely blue champlevé wings. This poetically tropical scene echoes the one portrayed in a white gold case of the same size but set with 264 diamonds extending right up to the lugs. Here, we have an invitation to journey through Asia, where a butterfly in white gold flutters between pale pink peonies, the flower symbolizing love. The relief of the butterflies, their champlevé enameled wings, the fine patina on their slender bodies, the striking colors of the floral decor - every minute detail contributes to the arresting beauty of the scene. A decorative challenge achieved through a combination of the brand's expertise and the virtuosity of the craftsman's hand, the Butterfly Journey timepieces are also a testament to the attention Jaquet Droz never fails to pay to the splendor inherent in the most fleeting instants and the fugitive magic of nature, its creatures and plants.