The year was 1978 and the world believed it had seen the last of The Rolling Stones. Yet the British rockers bounced back in unexpected ways with the release of their album Some Girls which saw the band take an unexpected dive into disco on the global hit Miss You. Jaquet Droz is now taking on this icon of rock history by devoting a unique piece to a monumental work of graphic art. This creation pays a highly disruptive homage to an album that was released over 45 years ago and challenged the establishment of its time.

The cover of Some Girls became the subject of intense censorship and had to be significantly changed to align with the standards of the era. The original artwork featured the Stones alongside some of the most beautiful women of the 20th century including Brigitte Bardot, Farrah Fawcett, and Marilyn Monroe. Immediate legal actions for the unauthorized use of images forced the group to change the cover yet again. The band delivered a final joke by releasing a sleeve that showed only the band members made up like women while the faces of the Hollywood icons were cut directly out of the cover.

It is to this cult album and its graphic twists that Jaquet Droz pays tribute today. This creation steps away from the beaten track as a unique piece in line with the brand's Philosophy of the Unique which has seen the maison cease all production of series watches. The timepiece is an automaton made entirely by hand in the finest tradition of the brand and shaped by two centuries of experience. At the heart of the piece sits a portrait of Mick Jagger who has the privilege of counting the hours and minutes thanks to two hand-polished gold hands.

The composition centers on the natural habitat of the band which is the stage. The display includes a miniature engraving of all the instruments including the guitars of Ron Wood and Keith Richards alongside the minimalist drum kit of Charlie Watts. Each instrument is crafted by hand from a block of unfinished gold and sits over a reproduction of the original album cover created entirely using miniature painting. The scene is powered by an automaton that features a disc with tiny vinyl grooves engraved on the brass surface.

This horological vinyl makes one complete rotation every 30 seconds on demand by pressing the pusher on the crown. While the animation is being activated the iconic Stones tongue at 9 o'clock raises and waggles playfully. Just above this theatrical display the tonearm of the record player raises and lowers to allow the power reserve to be read. Jaquet Droz has also painted a more recent image of the group at 4 o'clock to pay tribute to the memory of founding member Charlie Watts without whom this album would never have existed.