SpotlightMapping A Father’s Wish: Jacob & Co ‘The World Is Yours’ Dual Time Zone

“Thou art the sky and thou art the nest as well.” This line is from Song Offerings (1912)—the English translation of poems originally titled Gitanjali, written by the Bengali bard Rabindranath Tagore. The sentence is indicative of the macrocosm-microcosm analogy, which finds structural similarities between the universe and the individual or the world at large and the home at heart. American jewellery and watch designer of Jacob & Co, Jacob Arabo, first spotted such a dualism on a Wakmann timepiece; with two sub-dials for different time zones figured in between a gold-plated world map, with Europe on the left, and the Americas on the right. His father Nison Arabov had gifted this watch to a 13-year-old Jacob when they lived in the USSR-ruled Uzbekistan, before they migrated to the US. For Jacob, his father’s gift represented borderless dreams, that the world is your oyster, and that any goal can be reached and conquered. Forty-five years later, Nison, Jacob and the third generation Arabov, Benjamin, have unveiled the new Jacob & Co The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone, a 999-piece limited-run timepiece as the brand’s entrant for Geneva Watch Days 2023.

The World Is Yours Across Generations And Oceans

The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone embodies the sentiments of the Arabov patriarch and design composition of the original Wakmann timepiece—for a succinct read, the timepiece will henceforth be referred to as ‘The Gift’. It was The Gift that made Jacob besotted with the art of watchmaking. Later, on US shores, he availed on a jewellery course meant to equip immigrants with a life skill, followed by $125 a week job, which together lend him the expertise to design his own watches.

Between the dial and the caseback of The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone, the whole world rests. Using a high precision laser, the outlines of the Northern, Central and Southern America were engraved on the west, while Africa, Europe and the western-most parts of Asia are mapped on the east. With a purpose-built, high-accuracy mold, the surfaces of these continents were stamped using an 18-karat rose gold finish. Engraved on the caseback is the rest of the world, from Europe to Japan, depicting all of Africa and Asia.

For Jacob Arabo, his father’s gift of this Wakmann dual time zone represented borderless dreams, that the world is your oyster, and that any goal can be reached and conquered

The three generations reunited: from left, Benjamin Arabov, Jacob Arabo, and Nison Arabov

Jacob & Co. The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone

₹59,00,000

Check Our Selling Price

A rich tone of cobalt blue lacquer covers the areas earmarked as oceans; a process entirely done by hand to ensure a delicate finish. As if floating in this ‘ocean’ are three centrally located sub-dials arranged in a vertical row; double two-handed time zones at 12 o’clock and six o’clock with their independent Roman and Arabic hour and minute markers and tracks stamped in rose gold like the continents.

Indeed, The World Is Yours 

At the coaxial, heart of the dial, right under the highest point of the domed sapphire crystal, sits windrose compass; a four-armed wonder, with one red-tipped arm acting as the direction marker. Ethically speaking, this feature exuding a ‘maritime touch’ can be perceived as a moral compass, showing the owner the way to conquer the world against all odds; symbolic of the direction the senior Arabov patriarch lent to his son, and now grandson. While ‘The Gift’ had two pushers on the rightside of the case to operate the sub-dials, the new iteration makes do with one chunky fluted crown; rounded and polished. This way, the wearer situated in countries with unconventional UTC time offset, can wind the crown to adjust the sub-dials to indicate the home time and a second time zone.

Ethically speaking, the central windrose compass can be perceived as a moral compass, showing the owner the way to conquer the world against all odds

Engraved on the caseback is the rest of the world, from Europe to Japan, depicting all of Africa and Asia

Jacob & Co. The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone

₹59,00,000

Check Our Selling Price

Framing the 43mm 18-karat rose gold case is an ultra-slim bezel, stepped and rounded to support a domed, sapphire crystal glass standing 3.7mm tall with antireflective coating for superior legibility; curved to resemble the globular Earth.

Made from 206 components and 33 jewels, the in-house JCAA11 calibre powers the new iteration that beats at 28,880vph and offers 42 hours of power reserve. The self-winding movement—29.50mm in diameter and 6.80mm in height— is responsible for operating the dual time zone sub-dials with their respective hours and minutes, and the small seconds windrose compass. The watch comes attached to a blue alligator leather strap, secured to an 18-karat rose gold pin buckle.

As the formal title goes, ‘The World Is Yours’ can ring as a sweet affirmation for those searching for their life’s purpose or waylaid travellers who prefer to keep their pride than ask for directions. It also makes for a befitting gift for anyone holed up in any part of the world.