Watch Paparazzi

Watchmaker Jacob Arabo spotted wearing Jacob & Co

There are celebrity watch sightings, and then there is the founder of a haute horlogerie manufacture photographed wearing his own most extraordinary creation. At a formal event, Jacob Arabo — the Tashkent-born, New York-raised jeweler and watchmaker who built Jacob & Co into one of the most visually recognizable luxury watch brands on the planet — was spotted wearing the Astronomia Sky Celestial Panorama Gravitational Triple Axis Tourbillon in rose gold, limited to 18 pieces globally.

The Astronomia Sky represents the apex of Jacob & Co's in-house engineering ambition. Powered by the JCAM09 hand-wound movement, the watch features a gravitational triple-axis tourbillon that rotates on three independent axes simultaneously — once every 60 seconds on the primary axis — effectively neutralizing gravitational error across all positions. A hand-painted miniature celestial globe, finished in deep sapphire blue, dominates the upper arm of the four-arm carousel, which itself completes one full revolution every 10 minutes. A Jacob-cut diamond sits on a dedicated arm, catching light at every angle. The movement consists of 288 components and delivers approximately 60 hours of power reserve.

The case — visible in rose gold with a domed sapphire crystal providing an unobstructed panoramic view — measures 47mm and exemplifies the brand's philosophy of treating watchmaking and jewelry as a single discipline. The blue dial architecture, with its month-ring chapter on the periphery and open-worked mechanical architecture, is immediately identifiable in the image and consistent with the Astronomia Sky reference.

For collectors, the Astronomia Sky occupies a singular position. With only 18 examples produced, it is among the most tightly allocated contemporary complications. Its triple-axis tourbillon rivals complications from established Swiss maisons at a fraction of the typical Swiss haute horlogerie production run. The watch has cultivated serious collector interest beyond Jacob & Co's traditional celebrity clientele.

Arabo's wearing of his own creation is not a styling choice — it is a statement of craft confidence. At a UK list price of £515,000, the Astronomia Sky Celestial Panorama commands serious grey-market premiums, with transaction prices regularly exceeding list due to extreme scarcity. This sighting, with Arabo and Adrien Brody, underscores the watch's dual identity: genuine mechanical achievement and undeniable cultural currency.