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Jacob the Jeweller
Jacob Arabo founded Jacob & Co. in 1986 as a high-jewellery brand. Known by his clients as ‘Jacob the Jeweller’, Arabo created high-end jewellery for celebrities such as Jay Z, Madonna, Rihanna, and Elton John.
Jacob marked his presence with exquisite jewellery but soon switched to the arena of fine watchmaking in 2002.
Jacob the Fine Watchmaker
Mr Arabo’s fascination with the world of horology started when his father presented him with a world timer at the age of 13. Soon after migrating from the USSR to America in the 70s, Jacob began working as an apprentice with a local watchmaker.
After becoming a trained jeweller, Arabo decided to craft jewellery that was far from the mass-produced pieces that were prevalent in the market. This led to a distinguished list of clients that helped Jacob pave way for finer things.
After a successful stint in the jewellery industry, Arabo decided to shift his focus toward watchmaking. He moved to Switzerland and started a process of sourcing for his newfound watchmaking journey. Rejected by the Swiss watchmakers, Arabo decided to proceed with a non-Swiss quartz movement and created a timepiece with five time zones. With supermodel Naomi Campbell flaunting that timepiece, Jacob & Co. gained substantial traction as a serious watchmaker in 2002.
Arabo again tried to garner some Swiss vendors and this time he was successful. In 2007, Jacob created the world’s first timepiece with a vertical tourbillon that offered a power reserve of 31 days. The watch was named ‘Quentinn’, after the Inglourious Basterds famed director, Quentin Tarantino.
Since then, Jacob & Co. has come up with timepieces that have defied the norms of the watchmaking industry with its over-the-top designs and complex movements.
Collaborations
Jacob & Co. has an affinity to collaborate with equal-minded brands. In 2019, the brand joined hands with the high-performance car manufacturer, Bugatti. These two powerhouses share the same ideology of crafting mechanically superior yet artistically rich pieces. The limited edition Epic X Chrono Bugatti was released to celebrate the 110th anniversary of Bugatti’s inception.
Whereas, the Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon features a W16 engine that powers the exuberant Chiron. Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon is the first watch to feature a W16 engine on a wristwatch.
Apart from Bugatti, Jacob & Co. has also collaborated with various film studios such as Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures.
With Paramount, Jacob & Co. launched the limited edition Opera Godfather timepieces commemorating the iconic The Godfather movie. What sets them apart is the minute repeater function that plays the thematic music of the movie instead of the basic chimes. A similar timepiece was released in association with Universal Pictures celebrating the Scarface movie.
Jacob & Co. has also collaborated with sports personalities such as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Lionel Messi, with brands such as Supreme, and street artists such as Alec Monopoly.
The Astronomia
Back when Jacob Arabo was trying to establish himself as a serious watchmaker, Arabo decided to collaborate with the Swiss watchmaker, Luca Soprana. Soprana decided to take up the project of creating a triple-axis tourbillon that rotates both vertically and horizontally. This unique movement is featured in various iterations such as Astronomia Casino, Astronomia Art, or the Astronomia Maestro.
The Twin Turbo
The Jacob & Co. The Twin Turbo collection is a brilliantly complex set of timepieces. With two triple-axis tourbillons and a decimal minute repeater, the Twin Turbo reflects the mechanical acumen of the brand. Apart from the twin-tourbillons doubling as twin-turbos, the decimal minute repeater chimes on demand, making it one of the rarest complications.
The Caligula
It is in the finer things one tends to find the exotic. Similarly, with the Jacob & Co. Caligula, the art of fine watchmaking is coupled with the art of erotica. Featuring a manually wound automaton, the collection features erotic artwork on the dial that can be viewed by rotating the window with a crown placed at the four o’clock marker. The automaton is designed by the artist Andre Martinez.