Watchmaker Jacob Arabo spotted wearing a Jacob & Co

At a high-profile gala event, Jacob Arabo — the Tashkent-born designer who built Jacob & Co. into one of the most recognizable names in haute horlogerie and gem-set watchmaking — was spotted on the carpet wearing one of his own rarest creations: the Jacob & Co. Rasputin Tourbillon Baguette Emeralds in 18k white gold, limited to just five examples worldwide.

The 48mm case is constructed entirely in 18k white gold and smothered in baguette-cut diamonds across the bezel, case flanks, lugs, and dial — a surface coverage that reportedly accounts for several hundred individual stones. The centerpiece of the dial is an artistic engraving depicting the figure of Rasputin, rendered in green tsavorite garnets and emeralds with remarkable depth and relief. A flying tourbillon occupies the upper register, its rotating cage visible beneath the gem-set architecture. The movement is a manually wound caliber developed in-house at Jacob & Co.'s Geneva atelier, offering approximately 60 hours of power reserve.

The Rasputin Tourbillon sits within Jacob & Co.'s Art Piece collection, a line the brand reserves for its most artistically ambitious and numerically scarce references. Each dial is essentially a miniature painting executed in precious stone, requiring weeks of lapidary and setting work. With only five units in existence globally, secondary market appearances are extraordinarily rare, making auction comparables nearly impossible to establish with precision.

For Arabo personally, wearing this piece is a statement of authorship. Having founded Jacob & Co. in New York in 1986 after emigrating from the Soviet Union, he built the brand's reputation first through bespoke jewelry commissions for hip-hop artists and athletes before pivoting into serious watchmaking in the 2000s. Today, Jacob & Co. competes directly with traditional Swiss maisons at the ultra-high end of complications and gem-set horology.

At an official retail price of $1,000,000 USD, the Rasputin Tourbillon Baguette Emeralds is not a watch that trades on the grey market in any conventional sense. Its value is defined entirely by rarity, craftsmanship, and provenance — and seeing the founder himself wearing one on his wrist is perhaps the most compelling provenance story of all.