Doctor Adel Quttainah spotted wearing a Jacob & Co

Spotted in what appears to be a clinical or office setting, Kuwaiti plastic surgeon Dr. Adel Quttainah is wearing one of the most singular timepieces on earth — a Jacob & Co Astronomia Skull crafted as a Piece Unique, numbered 1/1, and priced at $880,000. The watch is immediately recognizable on the wrist, its 50mm rose gold case projecting well beyond the cuff even beneath a tailored navy blazer. The close-up reference image confirms every extraordinary detail.

The Jacob & Co Astronomia Skull is built on the brand's signature Astronomia architecture, a proprietary triple-axis tourbillon movement that rotates the entire dial structure once every 10 minutes around a central vertical axis. In the Skull variant, the four satellites of the standard Astronomia — typically a time display, a spinning Jacob-cut diamond, a rotating Earth sphere, and the tourbillon — are reimagined as sculpted 18K rose gold skulls, each set with ruby cabochon eyes. The blue lapis lazuli sphere referencing Earth is retained, providing a memento mori counterpoint to the cosmic scale of the movement. The manually wound calibre JCAM37 beats at 21,600 vph and offers approximately 60 hours of power reserve.

This Piece Unique takes the standard Astronomia Skull formula further with baguette-cut diamond-set lugs running the full length of each lug bar — a detail clearly visible in the product shot — alongside a deep blue alligator strap that echoes the lapis sphere. As a 1/1 commission, the piece carries customizations that place it entirely outside any standard production reference numbering, making it the rarest configuration of an already limited model.

The collector significance is considerable. Jacob & Co Astronomia references regularly clear seven figures at auction; the Astronomia Tourbillon Baguette sold above $600,000 at Phillips. A Piece Unique Skull commission at $880,000 retail represents a logical ceiling for the series, and the skull motif — executed in precious metal rather than applied decoration — resonates deeply in contemporary collector culture.

For Dr. Quttainah, the thematic alignment is striking: a plastic surgeon whose daily work involves the architecture of the human body wearing a watch where that same architecture becomes the mechanism. It is the kind of personal narrative that makes Piece Unique commissions compelling beyond their price tags.