Watch Paparazzi

Singer Rihanna spotted wearing Jacob & Co

In 2018, Rihanna was photographed wearing one of the most visually dense wristwatches in contemporary jewellery watchmaking — a bespoke Jacob & Co high jewellery bangle watch set with over 24 carats of diamonds in alternating fancy vivid yellow and white stones. The image, widely circulated on social media, showcases the piece stacked against additional diamond bracelets on her tattooed wrist, confirming her long-standing preference for jewellery-forward timepieces over conventional luxury sport watches.

The watch itself belongs to Jacob & Co's Factory Set high jewellery line, constructed in 18K white and yellow gold with a square-to-octagonal case entirely obscured by radiant and baguette-cut diamonds. The bezel is framed by large white baguette diamonds, while alternating rows of fancy yellow and white stones run the full length of the bracelet. The dial — just visible in the product shot — is itself diamond-paved with a grid-pattern surface and minimalist black hands, consistent with Jacob & Co's philosophy that the movement serves the jewel, not the reverse. The calibre is a slim quartz movement, appropriate for a case depth constrained by the gem-setting requirements.

From a collector standpoint, pieces of this specification are not catalogued with fixed reference numbers in the conventional sense. Jacob & Co produces these as bespoke or extremely limited commissions, with stones matched, graded, and set individually. The yellow diamond component is particularly significant — fancy vivid yellow radiant cuts of this size and consistency command premiums at Sotheby's and Christie's independent of their watch setting. The combination of white and yellow stones in alternating architectural rows gives the piece a graphic, almost textile quality that distinguishes it from simpler all-white diamond watches.

Rihanna has worn Jacob & Co on multiple occasions, and the brand's founder Jacob Arabo has long cultivated relationships with hip-hop and R&B artists since the early 1990s. This watch, however, exceeds the brand's typical celebrity gifting tier — at a list price of approximately $1.3 million USD, it represents a serious jewellery acquisition.

On the secondary market, bespoke Jacob & Co high jewellery pieces of this calibre rarely surface at auction. When they do, results depend almost entirely on the diamond grading certificates and provenance. A piece with documented celebrity ownership and matching GIA paperwork could reasonably exceed its original retail at the right sale.