See full version: Jacob and co astronomia most expensive
By the way, I love the fact that literally the entire watch crown is a diamond. In fact, so little of what you can see is the actual white gold case, that most of what you experience with the Jacob & Co. Billionaire watch outside of the dial is just diamonds. [links]
I am going to talk about a patently lavish, intentionally outrageous, and easily offensive timepiece covered in diamonds that I am kind of into. This totally one-of-a-kind creation is new for 2015 and is the Jacob & Co. Billionaire watch that founder Jacob Arabo produced in collaboration with Italian Flavio Briatore’s Billionaire fashion label. I first wrote about the Jacob & Co. Billionare Watch with more background information here. here
I can understand how some people would be intimidated by a watch like the Jacob & Co. Billionaire. It does take a degree of bravery (not just financially) to consider even putting it on the wrist. Not everyone is comfortable with the type of attention and persona that it will convey. That is a major responsibility, and items such as this which exude decadence and luxury are the closest things to magical items that exist in the real world. There is a very real magical effect that the power of the Jacob & Co. Billionaire watch will have on all the people around you – whether or not that is light magic or dark magic. more
Let me be rather clear that I am not the type of person who Jacob & Co. thinks will be able to purchase this watch. For one thing, I don’t have a spare 18,000,000 Swiss Francs laying around, and if I did, I would likely have other things to do with it. Let’s put that number into perspective a bit. In most parts of the world, 18,000,000 Swiss Francs (which usually turns out to be a bit more in US dollars, given typical currency exchange rates) can buy you a really nice home (or mansion, villa, etc…). You can also buy a really nice Yacht, and perhaps a cool plane or two. Let me put it a different way that might make more sense to people who aren’t in the yacht-buying mood that often. more
If you invest 18,000,000 Swiss Francs rather conservatively and make only… say, 7% per year on it, that is 1,260,000 Swiss Francs per year. That is about $1.3 million dollars at the current exchange. Meaning that if you spend all of the interest income per year, the price of the Jacob & Co. Billionaire watch will let you live on $1.3 million dollars per year (give or take) for ostensibly the rest of your life. Sure, there are taxes involved in that, but that is a really nice way to live for the majority of people on this planet. Being set for life… or this assortment of 260 carats of large, baguette-cut diamonds on what apparently is my too-small wrist to wear and enjoy; this ultimate reminder that you can buy and sell people without giving it much thought. That’s sort of the brand Jacob & Co. is, in case you haven’t been paying attention.
Hublot introduced 10 watches in this anniversary collection, each priced at $1 million, and continues to update the collection. It's the diamonds that rocket the prices up. The white-diamond version, for instance, has 653 baguette diamonds totaling 40.02 carats. [links]
You may not expect this almost sporty-looking watch from Harry Winston, whose brand is usually associated with ornate jewels. But look closer and there are, indeed, jewels — 84 of them, along with 500 components in an 18k white-gold case. The big technological development is the introduction of two biaxial tourbillons, which required "extraordinary technical intensity." here
MB&F HM6 Sapphire Vision @mbandf #sihh A photo posted by @professionalwatches on Jan 20, 2016 at 6:39am PST Jan 20, 2016 at 6:39am PST more
Greubel Forsey created a $2 million "Art Piece" watch in 2014, but its latest creation is much more reasonably priced — and a striking piece of art. The half-revealed timepiece has, among many other innovations, two angled balance wheels. Together, they ensure absolutely perfect timekeeping. more
This newest model of the iconic Grandmaster Chime line, released in March, has streamlined the classically ornate surface design for a smooth, white-gold facing. It's the most complicated watch that Patek Philippe makes, with two dials, five striking chimes, 20 complications, and 1,580 components. Last year's engraved yellow-gold version — seen above, and of which only seven were produced — retailed for $2.5 million. While this one has the same technical specs, the simpler exterior makes for a lower price.
So, the idea was to develop special works of art to put inside the Astronomia Tourbillon, using its sapphire crystal and precious metal case as a gallery, while still showcasing the incredible Astronomia tourbillon movement. The brand started with dragons, octopi, spiders, horses and more. Incredibly successful, Jacob & Co. has expanded the Astronomia Tourbillon Art Collection every year since. Now comes the Astronomia Art Phoenix.
The Astronomia Art Collection has become an icon within the brand and collectors look to Jacob & Co. to see what's coming next. The Astronomia Art is a showcase of Jacob & Co.'s commitment to using traditional métiers d'art in a modern way.
Iconic gravitational double-axis tourbillon here
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.
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. here
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.
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.
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.
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. [links]