Watch Paparazzi

Model Ksenia Tsaritsina spotted wearing Jacob & Co

Spotted against the Dubai skyline during what appears to be a formal editorial or event shoot, former Miss Russia Ksenia Tsaritsina is wearing one of the more technically ambitious pieces in Jacob & Co's Brilliant collection — the Brilliant Skeleton Northern Lights in rose gold, presented on a white alligator strap. The colour coordination with her deep red gown is deliberate and effective, the watch's scarlet sapphire dial plane echoing the dress almost exactly.

The Jacob & Co Brilliant Skeleton Northern Lights is built around a 44mm rose gold case set with 323 brilliant-cut diamonds across two concentric bezel rows and the crown. The defining specification is the dial construction: rather than conventional metal bridges, the movement is sandwiched between and displayed through a plate of red sapphire crystal. This material — essentially single-crystal corundum tinted during the growth process — is extraordinarily hard, optically clear, and allows a direct, unobstructed view of the manually wound tourbillon movement running beneath. The bridges themselves are also skeletonised and finished in matching red PVD, creating a monochromatic depth that photographs exceptionally well.

The Brilliant Skeleton Northern Lights sits at the intersection of high jewellery watchmaking and complications horology — a space Jacob & Co has occupied credibly since the brand pivoted from pure jewellery toward serious manufacture-level movements in the early 2010s. The tourbillon complication, while primarily decorative at this case size, is executed in-house and contributes meaningfully to the reference's collector appeal. The sapphire dial treatment, however, is the genuine talking point; coloured sapphire plates remain uncommon even among GPHG-level independent houses.

Ksenia Tsaritsina, who won Miss Russia in 2016 and has built a significant social media presence in the luxury lifestyle space, has been associated with Jacob & Co previously. The brand's aesthetic — maximum visual impact, unapologetic scale, technically substantive movements — aligns naturally with a talent whose audience responds to bold, considered luxury.

At a retail price of $58,500 USD, the Brilliant Skeleton Northern Lights occupies the lower tier of Jacob & Co's tourbillon offerings — the Astronomia and Epic X range considerably higher — but represents strong value for a diamond-set, sapphire-dialled flying tourbillon. Grey market activity on this reference is limited; demand tends to be absorbed through the brand's own boutique network in the Gulf and Asia.