Category: Jacob & Co. Watches

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Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon

Last year in 2014, Jacob & Co. debuted a very interesting watch with an extravagant movement they called the Astronomia Tourbillon (debuted here). I didn’t get a chance to personally see the piece when they debuted it, and I am not sure if the original Astronomia Tourbillon case style (check the link above) was even actually delivered, since according to these new 2015 Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon pictures, there is a totally new case design. The sheer complexity of the movement in the watch requires a lot of tweaking to make it work and years of effort. For 2015, however, it looks like the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon is back with a new case design as well as a very much “Jacob & Co.” version called the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon Baguette that comes with a lot of diamonds.

Below, you can see a video from last year of the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon in action. Much of the movement is placed on a series of four arms that rotate around the entire dial each 20 minutes. Those arms also move to create other actions such as keeping the dial to indicate the time in the proper orientation, as well as operating the tourbillon. Taken together, the entire ballet of gear work in the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon is almost hard to believe. More so, as much as you may like or be ambivalent to what Jacob & Co. produces, you have to give it to them that they understand showmanship is an important part of the luxury watch industry.
Compared to the large sapphire crystal bubble dome over the initial Astronomia design, this new 2015 case makes a bit more sense. We are still looking at computer renders, but I am confident that the smaller pieces of sapphire crystal (which are now divided into a series of windows and one large one over the top) with the additional metal makes for a more plausible, wearable design. According to the brand, the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon is 50mm wide and 25mm thick. The case is in 18k rose gold, and there is a version with and without diamonds.

Notice the lack of crowns or pushers on the case? The movement is actually set and would via two “bow-style” fold out crowns on the rear of the case. The movement, which is, of course, the most interesting element of the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon, is the exclusive to Jacob & Co. caliber JCEM01, with 48 hours of power reserve and a tourbillon that operates at 2.5Hz. Surprisingly, the movement is produced from just 235 parts – which seems very efficient given the complexity of the concept.
Technically, because the tourbillon moves around the entire dial each 20 minutes, it is a triple axis tourbillon. The other axis is the normal spinning you see from a tourbillon cage, as well as being spun in its connection arm. It sits opposite the dial for telling the time to help balance out the weight. The other two arms have a small hand-painted titanium representation of earth, and its opposite arm has a rotating disco ball that makes one full rotation each 60 seconds.
Really, disco ball? Well, that is what I am calling it. Jacob & Co. claims that the spherically cut diamond uses an exclusive cutting process debuted by Jacob & Co to cut a diamond with 288 facets. This round diamond is supposed to represent the moon – which makes me wonder what “night life” would be like on your planet if our moon was actually a large disco ball too. While the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon movement looks and sort of feels like it offers astronomical complications – it really only does so in concept. This is really a movement made for viewing pleasure, versus strict functionality – and in that, it succeeds.
If the “standard” Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon isn’t enough, you can opt for the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon Baguette, which replaces the watch face’s night/space sky with baguette-cut diamonds. The diamonds are invisibly-set on the dial and lugs, totaling 342 stones weighting 16 carats. While I personally can’t see myself as a buying customer of a Jacob & Co. Astronomia the fact that there might be a few people out there who can enjoy this sort of wrist-worn mechanical entertainment delights me. Once again, Jacob & Co. set out to shock, amuse, and please… which is exactly what I feel that Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon is all about.

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Jacob & Co. Twin Turbo Furious

As far as statement timepieces go, few brands do a better job than Jacob & Co., which was founded in 1986 initially as a jewelry outfit and started making watches in 2002. There is nothing conventional about Jacob & Co.’s watches, as evidenced by pieces such as the Astronomia Solar and the Epic SF 24. This year, the brand unveiled what could be one of its most elaborate and outrageous watches yet, the Twin Turbo Furious. The name hints at the velocity at which its twin tourbillons rotate, but what it doesn’t tell you is that the twin tourbillons are actually triple-axis variants, and that it also contains a decimal repeater, monopusher chronograph, and an unusual complication called the reference time differential. Let’s take a closer look at the Jacob & Co. Twin Turbo Furious .
The Jacob & Co. Twin Turbo Furious is a follow up to the Twin Turbo Twin Triple Axis Tourbillon Minute Repeater (Yes, that’s the name. It doesn’t roll off the tongue, does it?) watch from 2016. Like the Twin Turbo, the Twin Turbo Furious comes in a modern rectangular case that measures a whopping 57mm wide, 52mm from lug to lug, and 17mm thick. The watch looks even larger than what the specifications suggest because much of it is actually a large, curved sapphire crystal. People will notice the watch, I guarantee it.
The most unusual aspect of the case has got to be the crown and the accompanying crank-handle. The crank handle can be detached from the case and it makes winding the watch easy and fun. On the opposite side of the case is the activator for the decimal minute repeater. The decimal minute repeater is different from traditional minute repeaters because it chimes the tens of minutes rather than the quarter hours. This makes it easier to ‘hear’ the time.
The expansive dial is a cacophony of colors, dials, and hands. The main dial itself is actually a piece of smoked sapphire crystal with the Jacob & Co. logo. Around the periphery is a red neoralithe ring with white Super-LumiNova hour indexes and the seconds. Working our way in, we have the Pit Board, which is part of the reference time differential. This complication is used in conjunction with the chronograph to quickly indicate how many seconds faster or slower the elapsed time was in comparison to the reference time. The reference time is set using the crown and can be set up to 5 minutes and 59 seconds, which is indicated by the aperture at 6 o’clock on the main timekeeping dial. In the image above, the reference time is set to 1 minute and 56 seconds. Once the chronograph is stopped, owners can quickly see how much slower or faster the elapsed time was by reading the chronograph seconds hand off Pit Board wheel.
Moving on to the rest of the dial, we have the usual running seconds sub-dial at 9 o’clock and the chronograph minute counter at 3 o’clock. Below the timekeeping dial are the two triple-axis tourbillons that are connected by a differential, so that the rates of each tourbillon are actually averaged. These tourbillons spin very quickly, hence the name Twin Turbo Furious. The first axis makes a revolution every 24 seconds, while the second axis makes a revolution every 8 seconds, and finally, the third axis makes a revolution in 30 seconds. The end result is quite stunning as the tourbillon is in constant “furious” motion. In between the two tourbillons is a power reserve indicator.
Contrary to what you might think, the dial is actually quite easy to read. Admittedly, it is quite cluttered but the large red hour and minute hands painted with red tips and white Super-LumiNova help greatly with legibility. The bigger issue is trying not to be mesmerized by those two fast-spinning tourbillons.
The movement within is the Jacob & Co. caliber JCFM05 and it is visible through a sapphire display caseback. It is a beast of a movement with a staggering 832 components and an unusual architecture. Up top are the hammers for the decimal minute repeater, and working our way down is the column wheel for the chronograph. Dominating the bottom of the movement are two gold skeletonized wheels for the tourbillons.

The movement is highly decorated too, with hand beveled and polished plates and bridges, black polishing on numerous surfaces, circular graining on wheels, barrels, and plates, and polished jewel countersinks. Speaking of jewels, the movement has 75 jewels in all.
The Jacob & Co. Twin Turbo Furious is one heck of a statement piece. The styling is bold and the technicalities of the watch itself more than match its styling. Despite what you might think about its looks, there is no denying that this is one hell of a complicated watch with some interesting complications. Making a decimal minute repeater is hard enough, but combining it with two triple-axis tourbillons, a chronograph, and a reference time differential is unheard of. Unfortunately, the price for all of this is equally outrageous.

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Jacob & Co. Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon Baguette

The latest bespoke timepiece from Jacob & Co. is an update of the company’s Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon. After inking a partnership deal with luxurious automobile company Bugatti in 2019, Jacob & Co. has released a number of delectable watches based on various Bugatti’s.

The bedazzled Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon Baguette Black and Orange is inspired by the iconic Bugatti 16-cylinder engine. A revamp of the original watch released last year, this updated version is powered by a 578-component manually wound movement designed to replicate the Bugatti’s two turbochargers. The movement appears to be floating in mid-air (it’s suspended in four spots) while the engine block animation is “one of the smallest and most complicated watch parts ever manufactured,” according to Jacob & Co.
Along with the intricate movement, the Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon is adjourned with precious stones. The 18K white gold case is detailed with 190 baguette white diamonds, 109 baguette black sapphires, and 42 baguette orange sapphires. There’s also an additional 60 black sapphire baguettes in the crowns and pushers.

It’s another masterful creation from Jacob & Co. that’s sure to be seen on the wrist of a movie star or athlete in the coming weeks. Jacob & Co. haven’t released a price, but if you think you can afford this enigmatic wristwatch, you can hit up the watchmaker themselves.
Sometimes owning a multi-million-dollar supercar isn’t enough. Some folks also need a diamond-encrusted replica of the engine mounted on their wrist as well. This is why Jacob & Co.’s Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon Baguette Black and Orange Sapphires watch exists.
Sometimes owning a multi-million-dollar supercar isn’t enough. Some folks also need a diamond-encrusted replica of the engine mounted on their wrist as well. This is why Jacob & Co.’s Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon Baguette Black and Orange Sapphires watch exists.

Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon Specs
In partnership with Bugatti, noted luxury watch brand Jacob & Co. has just released a highly technical watch inspired by the absurdly powerful Bugatti Chiron. The tourbillon houses a blinged-out miniature reproduction of the Chiron’s W16-cylinder engine.

Sporting 190 baguette white diamonds, 169 baguette black sapphires, and 42 baguette orange sapphires invisibly set in an 18k white gold case. To properly fix the stones in the case, Jacob & Co. stated that the get-setters used new proprietary techniques and advanced technologies.

The 55mm by 44mm case sports the similar flowing lines of the Chiron and a few Bugatti logos to make the watch’s inspiration clear. Inside the case is a replica of the Chiron’s 1,500 horsepower 8.0-liter 16-cylinder engine, with 16 tiny pistons and a steel crankshaft that actually move as they do in the real engine. To complete the illusion, two turbochargers spin in tandem with the cylinders (two less than the actual car, but likely two more superchargers than you’re wearing right now). Framing the engine are two “exhausts” which complete the theme.
It’s equipped with Jacob and Co.’s 578-component JCAM37 manual winding movement, which is suspended in four places with parts reminiscent of the Chiron’s automobile shocks. The shocks are visible through the sapphire crystal window and provide a 60-hour power reserve that’s indicated by the gas pump symbol on the side of the gauge (because why not).

Even the crowns pay homage to the famed supercar. Set into the back of the case like exhaust pipes, the left crown sets the time, the middle crown winds both the movement and the engine animation, and the right-hand crown starts the animation.
Yes, it is an extremely gaudy and intricate timepiece, but if you’re a Bugatti fan, subtlety is probably not your thing anyway. While most people aren’t in the market for a watch in this price range, it is a beautiful example of artwork, engineering, and design. Just like the car that serves as its inspiration.

If black and orange sapphires aren’t your thing, the watch is also available in black, blue, or grey titanium, rose gold, and diamond baguette versions as well as one with a case made entirely out of a single block of sapphire crystal.

Jacob & Co.’s Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon Baguette Black and Orange Sapphires is going for $560,000, which is a steal compared to the 3 million dollar supercar on which it’s based. Good thing you loaded up on all that Dogecoin.

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Jacob & Co. Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon

The Jacob & Co. Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon is the most recent exercise in extreme automotive engineering from Jacob & Co. Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon , and for car lovers, it seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it proposition. I had an opportunity to experience the Veyron when it first came out, and although I am pretty sure I am as far from its target demographic as it is possible to be and still be a member of the species H. sapiens, I thought it was a ton (well, two tons and change, to be more exact) of fun, and I am glad that it exists.
I feel the same way about watchmaking from Jacob & Co. The company continues to practice a kind of watchmaking which at one point many were attempting and at which few succeeded: Maximalist, irrepressibly over-the-top timepieces which were time-telling instruments only incidentally. These were and are wrist-mounted mechanical fantasies that have, perhaps, more in common with mechanical entertainments like automatons than with conventional watches.

The recent partnership between Bugatti and Jacob & Co. has just given birth to one of the most exuberantly diverting watches I have seen in a long while: the Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon. The Chiron is an exercise in pure excess – the centerpiece of the car is its huge, mid-chassis mounted 8-liter W16 engine, which puts out – hold onto your knickers, Gertrude – 1,479 horsepower and easily propels the car to its electronically limited top speed of 261 miles per hour. (HODINKEE’s James Stacey has driven the Veyron and tells me it could find 200kph in fourth gear “on any on-ramp, no exaggeration.”)
The Jacob & Co. Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon, natürlich, is also an exercise in pure excess. Albert Einstein’s theory of Special Relativity came about from asking a very simple but penetrating question: “What would the world look like if you rode on a beam of light?” The Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon, likewise, came about from asking an equally simple and penetrating question: “What would you get if you made a miniature, working mechanical model of the W16 engine in the Bugatti Chiron, and put it in a watch, oh, and we should probably throw a tourbillon in there, and don’t forget the turbochargers?” What you get is the Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon.
As the saying goes, “Just What It Says On The Tin.” This is indeed a tourbillon watch, of Brobdingnagian heft and Herculean impact – 54mm x 44mm. But then, the basic dimensions dwindle into insignificance when considered next to the actual watch. The case is occupied by the caliber JCAM37, hand-wound, with a tourbillon regulator and an honest-to-Betsy working W16 engine inside, which takes up at least half the volume of the case. You push an actuator on the side of the case, and the crankshaft turns, pistons move, and miniature turbochargers begin to rotate.
If there were ever a watch that demanded to be seen in action to be appreciated, this is it. It is a truism that you can only go so far judging a watch from a photograph without seeing it in the metal; it is absolutely true that to get a sense of the impact of this watch, you have to see it doing its thing.
There is a famous line in the movie Jurassic Park, in which the chaos mathematician Ian Malcolm reproves the dinosaur-maker, shouting, “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should!” Of course, the fact of the matter is, the moment you see the T. rex, you’re on the side of the dinosaur makers – institutional ethics review boards be damned, making a dinosaur is cool. I kind of feel the same way about this watch. Certainly, there is no reason for it to exist; inarguably it is as damnably indefensible a way to blow a quarter of a million bucks as the Chiron is to blow four (or more, at that point, though, who’s counting?).
It is also, however, a firmly upright middle finger in the face of the sort of lack of imagination and timid incrementalism that characterizes so much of high-end watchmaking from Switzerland. Okay, bien sûr, it is a car-themed watch that costs $280,000; so what? Overpriced car-themed watches are a dime a dozen, and we all know what most of them are like. A little carbon fiber here, some rubber there, a perforated strap with colored stitching and voila, a car-themed watch. To actually be so single-minded as to produce a miniature working engine – with a solid synthetic sapphire engine block, by the way – sets a new high bar for making a car-adjacent timepiece. I shall never ever own a Chiron or this watch, but I can’t clap hard enough for the combination of imagination and sheer bullheadedness it must have taken to make it happen.