In-Depth The Jaquet Droz Loving Butterfly Automaton, A Legend Brought To Life

The automata are called The Writer, The Musician, and The Draughtsman, and they have been kept in working order since the Museum acquired them in the beginning of the 20th century. Distant ancestors of modern computers, they can be programmed, via a series of interchangeable cams, to perform different actions – in particular, the Writer can be programmed to write different letters and the Draughtsman, to make several different drawings.

They are eerie to watch. The Museum does a daily live show (at least, it was daily the last time I was there, which was almost three years ago, though all demonstrations are currently paused) during which you can see them perform, and look through their open backs (yes, they have display backs) at the stacks of rotating cams interacting with their levers. Their fixed, china-doll expressions are in disturbing contrast to the lifelike quality of their movements and it's easy to imagine that there is some sort of spirit trapped inside the machinery, animating them. You can understand how Pierre Jaquet-Droz narrowly escaped accusations of witchcraft.

One of the drawings that The Draughtsman can make, is a romantic little sketch showing Cupid, in a chariot drawn by a butterfly. The motif is symbolic. We have the original story from Apulius' The Golden Ass, which is the only Classical Latin novel to have come down to us in one piece. One section of the book tells the story of the  romance between Cupid, the arrow-slinging agent of love, with Psyche, who symbolizes the soul (the word "psychiatrist" is a combination of psuke, meaning soul, with iatros, doctor; a psychiatrist is literally a soul doctor). In this instance, the butterfly symbolizes Psyche, but the butterfly in general is a symbol of the soul in art and literature.

The charm of the drawing produced by the automaton is less due to its technical or artistic merits, than to how it's made; as Samuel Johnson said in another (unfortunate) context, "It is not done well, but you are surprised to see it done at all."

The modern watch company which has taken the name of the Jaquet Droz family is, like so many such brands, not directly connected to the watchmakers who originally made the name famous. However, the Swatch Group has put a lot of effort into trying to live up to the name. Since its founding in 1993, and subsequent acquisition by the Group in 2000, the company has produced both automatons (a niche and extremely expensive speciality if ever there was one) and automaton timepieces, including the Charming Bird, which is a wristwatch version of singing bird music box automata (antiquarian horologist Brittany Cox specializes in their restoration and repair). A more recent automaton wristwatch from Jaquet Droz is the Loving Butterfly. The Draughtsman creates a drawing of Cupid and Psyche; the Loving Butterfly watch brings the drawing to life.

There have been several different versions of this watch, using different dial materials – petrified wood, onyx, aventurine, and meteorite, for instance. There are also, however, two pieces with Australian opal dials (in white or red gold) which I think capture the spirit (to make a feeble joke) of the inspiring legend, to a T.

The word "opalescence" was coined to describe the shimmering, shot-silk coloration of the gemstone. Gemstones are valued for their luster, clarity, and often, their hardness. Opal is a softer gemstone – at 6 or so on the Mohs scale, much softer than diamond, although opal is still not as damage-prone and delicate as urban legend would have you think (exposure to water, for instance, won't harm an opal). Among precious materials, only mother-of-pearl approached opal for iridescence, and nothing really matches it.

The operation of the watch is straightforward. Caliber JD2653 AT1 is a self-winding movement, with silicon balance spring and lever; it is a technically very modern movement that supports a very archaic complication. Turning the crown in one direction winds the mainspring barrel that drives the timekeeping train. Turning it in the other direction winds a smaller spring barrel that drives the automaton; this is the same basic strategy you see in chiming watches. The advantage to having a separate spring for the complication – whether it's an automaton, or something like a repeater or sonnerie – is that the complication is outside the power flow of the timekeeping gear train.

Wind some power into the spring barrel for the automaton, and you're good to go. Push the button in the center of the crown, and the wheels of the chariot start to turn, while the butterfly languidly beats its wings.

The watch reminds me of nothing so much as the great stage magicians of the 19th century, and their elaborate illusions – particularly, Robert-Houdin's "The Marvellous Orange Tree," in which a spectator's handkerchief vanishes into an egg, then a lemon, then an orange, and then finally reappears inside an orange which grows on the branches of an orange tree before the eyes of the audience. (The handkerchief is revealed by two mechanical butterflies).

Behind the effect are some enormously complex mechanisms. A professional certainly would take an interest in how it's done. Magicians have been studying "The Marvellous Orange Tree," since Robert-Houdin first performed it in 1845. But for the rest of us, the magic is in, if not ignorance, then in faith – faith in the magician's artistry, or in this case, the watchmaker's.

The Jaquet Droz Loving Butterfly Automaton: as shown, case in red gold, 43mm x 16.63mm. Dial, blue opal and white mother-of-pearl, with red gold appliques and automaton figures of Cupid and Psyche, as a butterfly. Movement, caliber JD2653 AT1, automatic with red gold oscillating weight, silicon lever and balance springs, with two spring barrels. Separate barrel for the automatons, with speed regulator. 68-hour power reserve. Strap, dark blue alligator with red gold folding clasp. $199,500. See more at Jaquet-Droz.com.

All photos, Tiffany Wade. Video, David Aujero.

The HODINKEE shop is an authorized retailer of Jaquet Droz watches; explore our collection here.