Watch Paparazzi

Rapper Swizz Beats spotted wearing Jacob & Co

Swizz Beats is not a man who wears watches casually. The rapper, producer, and art world fixture has assembled one of the most serious celebrity watch collections in the business, spanning independent Haute Horlogerie to bespoke commissions — and his latest sighting confirms he has not lost his appetite for the avant-garde. He was recently photographed wearing the Jacob & Co Epic X Racing in skeletonised titanium, reference EX100.21.WR.WB.A, paired with a clean black leather strap.

The Epic X Racing is one of Jacob & Co's most technically resolved statements. The case architecture draws directly from motorsport, with exposed carbon-composite cross-struts and a bi-axial titanium structure that reduces weight while projecting aggressive visual tension. Reference EX100.21.WR.WB.A specifically presents the case in lightweight titanium with a white and black colour treatment, keeping the palette restrained relative to some of the brand's more flamboyant executions. The movement within — the JCAM37 manual-winding calibre — is skeletonised to its structural minimum, with bridges and plates sculpted to echo the X-frame of the case. Power reserve stands at approximately 48 hours.

From a collector's perspective, the Epic X Racing occupies an interesting position. Jacob & Co has long been dismissed in certain traditional circles as a celebrity jeweller playing at watchmaking, but the Epic X line represents a genuine engineering brief: the case construction alone requires precision tolerances that many mainstream Swiss manufacturers would find challenging. The skeletonised variant demands additional hours of hand-finishing on every visible surface. Collectors who follow independent horology have increasingly taken note.

Swizz Beats has been a Jacob & Co brand ambassador and genuine enthusiast for years, not merely a paid face. He has collaborated with the brand on custom projects and frequently chooses Jacob & Co pieces when other collectors his age and profile default to Patek Philippe or Audemars Piguet. His choice of the Epic X Racing, rather than the flashier Astronomia, signals a degree of technical appreciation.

The UK list price for this reference sits at approximately £20,000, translating to roughly $25,000 USD at prevailing rates. On the secondary market, titanium Epic X Racing examples trade at or slightly below retail, offering genuine entry points for collectors interested in independent watchmaking with a motorsport edge.