It was 1978. Elvis had been dead for a year. Rock ‘n’ roll had long since crossed the Atlantic and landed on British shores. There, some broke, scruffy kids had picked up bits of it and, for the past 15 years, been distilling an alluring, irreverent, lascivious and provocative brand of rock. The “Glimmer Twins,” as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were known, were now dressing their music in disco and funk, and themselves in sequins and tight Lycra.
This all culminated in the release of ‘Some Girls’ on June 9th, 1978. The album cover mirrored the vibrant music inside: ultra-colourful, propelling portraits of the past into a psychedelic pop universe where genders and identities are cheerfully merged. This iconic album artwork featured some of the most beautiful women of the 20th century – hence the record’s title – including Brigitte Bardot, Claudia Cardinale, Raquel Welch and Marilyn Monroe.
It didn’t take long for lawsuits over “violation of image rights” to start pouring in, with the Stones taken to court – and losing almost every case. Cornered, the band was forced to redo the cover, but they didn’t miss the chance for a cheeky riposte (not for the first time*): the new cover showed the Rolling Stones themselves, dressed as women in place of the original faces, which had been cut out. It caused yet another scandal, but this time was legally unassailable.
Publicly presented for the first time last week, Jaquet Droz’s Rolling Stones ‘Some Girls’ Automaton embraces this controversial episode in rock history. And like all the creations from the La Chaux-de-Fonds atelier today, it is a unique piece.
The watch features three concentric circles encapsulated within a 43mm red gold case. At its centre, a pop-art portrait of Jagger unfolds beneath the hour and minute hands.
Below that, a second circle displays the Stones' stage instruments: Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards' guitars, Charlie Watts’ drum kit and Jagger’s microphone and harmonica – the latter measuring just a few tenths of a millimetre. Each instrument is hand-sculpted from a block of raw gold and the entire iconography is meticulously created with miniature painting, reproducing the finest details of the original cover.
The third circle is animated by an automaton. Its surface features the grooves of an old vinyl record, just like the original ‘Some Girls’ LP, engraved on a brass surface.
The record spins round in 30 seconds with a press of the coaxial pusher on the crown at 3 o’clock. The automaton’s power reserve allows for up to four minutes of animation (eight full rotations). The Stones' tongue logo at 9 o’clock moves up and down and wiggles, while the record player’s arm rises and falls to indicate the power reserve.
This one-of-a-kind piece was already privately shown by the brand during Geneva Watch Days and is probably already on the wrist of a collector!
*When the Rolling Stones wanted to leave their first label, Decca, the company reminded them that they owed one final track before being released from their contract. Jagger and Richards quickly recorded a song for the occasion, which they titled "Cocksucker Blues”. Decca, of course, could do nothing with it.
