Jacob & Co: The Art of Impossible Time

2 January 2025 Luxfanzine

In the world of luxury watches, some brands carry the weight of centuries-old traditions, while others are defined by meticulous restraint. Jacob & Co is neither. It operates in its own orbit, driven by a belief that timekeeping should not merely be precise but spectacular. From extravagant gem-setting to tourbillons that seem to defy physics, Jacob & Co has made a habit of turning fantasy into functional timepieces. If ever there was a brand unafraid to ask, “But what if we take it further?” – Jacob & Co has consistently answered, “Why not?”

This isn’t watchmaking as most know it. It’s theatre on the wrist, a blend of mechanical genius and creative excess. And at the centre of it all is one man, Jacob Arabo, whose journey from New York jeweller to horological provocateur is as captivating as the watches he creates.

The rise of Jacob Arabo: From jewellery to horology

Jacob Arabo didn’t inherit a centuries-old manufacture tucked away in the Swiss mountains. His path was shaped by New York’s diamond district – fast-paced, glittering, and competitive. In the late 1980s, Arabo built his reputation as a jeweller to the stars, crafting bold, extravagant pieces that seemed to reflect the spirit of the city itself. By the 1990s, his designs were draped around the necks, wrists, and fingers of celebrities, musicians, and athletes.

Arabo’s ability to blend high jewellery with unconventional designs set him apart early on. His creations were bold, reflecting the rising opulence of the 90s. Rap culture, in particular, gravitated toward Arabo’s style. His custom pendants and oversized diamond watches became essential status symbols for artists like Pharrell, 50 Cent, and Jay-Z. His jewellery wasn’t just for the red carpet; it was crafted to be worn and seen on stage, in music videos, and across media. The man himself was immortalised in lyrics, cementing his cultural footprint beyond the jewellery world.

When rappers like Jay-Z and Kanye West began name-dropping “Jacob the Jeweler” in their songs, Arabo’s status transcended jewellery – he became a cultural icon. But while his diamond-encrusted designs cemented his place in hip-hop lore, Arabo’s ambitions stretched beyond the world of fine jewellery.

In 2002, he launched his first foray into watches: the Five Time Zone. With its bright, oversized dial and bold colours, it captured the jet-set lifestyle of his clientele, allowing wearers to track multiple time zones at once. It wasn’t subtle, but subtlety wasn’t the point. The watch became an instant status symbol, adorning the wrists of everyone from Madonna to Beckham.

Yet, even as the Five Time Zone brought commercial success, Arabo had no intention of remaining in the shallow end of watch design. Over the next decade, he delved into the intricate world of Swiss haute horlogerie, assembling a team of master watchmakers capable of transforming even his most outlandish ideas into reality.

His jewellery background continued to inform his approach. Watches like the Rainbow Tourbillon and Billionaire Watch blurred the lines between haute horlogerie and fine jewellery, with gem-setting so extensive that the watch’s mechanics seemed secondary. But underneath the glitz lay serious craftsmanship. Arabo wasn’t interested in creating fashion watches – he wanted complex complications that rivalled Switzerland’s finest.

The craft of excess: Jacob & Co’s watchmaking philosophy

To understand Jacob & Co is to accept that the brand operates with a different playbook. Where traditional Swiss manufactures pride themselves on heritage and refinement, Jacob & Co thrives on imagination and spectacle. Each watch is a feat of engineering, but it’s also an artistic performance.

This is perhaps best exemplified by the Astronomia Tourbillon, a piece that redefined what a luxury watch could be. The Astronomia isn’t just a complicated watch – it’s a kinetic sculpture. Beneath its domed sapphire crystal, planets orbit, diamonds spin, and the entire movement rotates on multiple axes. The gravitational triple-axis tourbillon is not only a technical achievement but a visual one, designed to captivate anyone lucky enough to see it in motion.

What sets Jacob & Co apart is the willingness to go beyond horology’s accepted boundaries. Many brands attempt to innovate within the framework of established watchmaking traditions. Jacob & Co, however, creates watches that seem more at home in a science fiction film or a high-concept art installation. The Opera Godfather watch, for instance, doesn’t just tell time – it plays the theme from The Godfather on a miniature music box. The Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon houses a functioning W16 engine, scaled down to wrist size, complete with moving pistons.

In addition to mechanical complexity, Jacob & Co also harnesses its jeweller roots by producing some of the most diamond-heavy watches in the world. Pieces like the Billionaire watch showcase tens of millions worth of diamonds, carefully set across every millimetre of the case and bracelet. This blend of horology and high jewellery remains one of the brand’s most defining traits.

The timepieces: Jacob & Co’s greatest hits

Jacob & Co’s catalogue reads like a greatest hits album for mechanical ingenuity. While the Astronomia may be the brand’s signature piece, several other creations have earned their place in the horological hall of fame.

Astronomia Tourbillon

At the heart of the Astronomia is an unprecedented display of movement. The watch’s entire assembly orbits the dial every 10 minutes, with a triple-axis tourbillon that rotates every 60 seconds on one axis, every five minutes on another, and once around the dial. The effect is hypnotic – a cosmic ballet unfolding beneath glass.

Twin Turbo Furious

The Twin Turbo Furious takes the concept of the tourbillon to its logical extreme, incorporating two triple-axis tourbillons and pairing them with a decimal repeater – one of the rarest and most complex complications in watchmaking. It’s as much an engineering marvel as it is a visual one.

Opera Godfather

The Opera Godfather merges horology with cinema, blending high watchmaking with one of the most iconic film scores in history.

Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon

The Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon features a miniature W16 engine, mimicking the internal mechanics of Bugatti’s hypercar.

Celebrity connections and recent notables

Recent stars, including Lana Del Rey and Drake, have added Jacob & Co’s creations to their collections, reaffirming the brand’s cultural cachet. Limited editions tailored for elite collectors continue to push boundaries in watch design and gem-setting. Collaborations with the likes of Bugatti, Paramount Pictures, and others ensure the Jacob & Co legacy continues to evolve beyond traditional luxury horology.

Looking forward

Jacob & Co has proven that horology can be as extravagant as it is precise, merging the worlds of fine jewellery and complex watchmaking into something entirely its own. As the brand looks to the future, there is little doubt that Jacob Arabo will continue to blur the lines between imagination and reality. With more collaborations, ambitious complications, and jaw-dropping designs on the horizon, Jacob & Co’s greatest creation may very well still lie ahead.