Watch Paparazzi

Watchmaker Jacob Arabo spotted wearing Jacob & Co

Jacob Arabo, founder of Jacob & Co, was photographed holding the brand's Twin Turbo Tourbillon Minute Repeater — one of the most technically ambitious watches his Geneva manufacture has ever produced. The image captures Arabo with evident pride, and for good reason: this is a watch that represents the full vertical integration of the Jacob & Co manufacture, combining three of haute horlogerie's most demanding complications in a single case limited to just 18 numbered pieces.

The Twin Turbo Tourbillon Minute Repeater features two independent flying tourbillons visible through an open-worked dial, alongside a cathedral gong minute repeater that chimes hours, quarter hours, and minutes on demand. The skeletonized movement is housed in a tonneau-adjacent case rendered in DLC-coated titanium, with a signature automotive aesthetic — textured rubber strap, red accents, and the bold 'TWIN TURBO' engraving on the caseback — that immediately communicates Jacob & Co's design language. The case numbering '01/18' visible on the dial of the reference image confirms the extreme exclusivity of the production run.

From a collector's standpoint, the Twin Turbo Tourbillon Minute Repeater occupies a rare category: a grand complication that is simultaneously a design statement. Where many minute repeaters lean on classical architecture, Jacob & Co deliberately engineered a watch that looks as aggressive as a supercar engine — the twin tourbillon cages functioning almost as visual pistons. The movement's architecture requires extraordinary skill in acoustic engineering to ensure repeater clarity within a fully skeletonized structure, a challenge that very few manufactures attempt.

Arabo's presence in this image is particularly meaningful. Unlike most luxury brand owners who commission complications externally, Arabo has invested heavily in the Jacob & Co Atelier in Geneva to develop in-house calibers at this level. His hands-on involvement in the creative direction of pieces like this — from the motorsport visual cues to the grand complication mechanics — reflects a genuine commitment to technical watchmaking that goes beyond marketing.

With a UK list price of approximately £280,000, the Twin Turbo Tourbillon Minute Repeater sits firmly in the ultra-high-complication tier alongside Patek Philippe and A. Lange & Söhne. On the secondary market, numbered examples from this 18-piece run command significant premiums, particularly low-numbered references, as collectors recognise the combination of rarity, complication depth, and provenance.