Watchmaker Jacob Arabo spotted wearing a Jacob & Co

Few sightings in watch journalism carry the weight of a founder wearing their own magnum opus in public. At what appears to be a formal European reception, Jacob Arabo — founder of Jacob & Co and one of the most technically accomplished jewel-setters of the modern era — raised his wrist to reveal the Billionaire Timeless Treasure, a pièce unique that the brand officially positions as the most expensive watch ever offered through a retail channel.

The watch is architecturally descended from the Billionaire collection first unveiled in 2015, but the Timeless Treasure iteration represents an entirely different order of ambition. The rectangular cushion case — massively proportioned, closer in scale to a cuff bracelet than a conventional wristwatch — is pavé-set across every surface with 425 fancy vivid yellow diamonds in asscher and emerald cuts. Yellow diamonds of this saturation are geological anomalies; the nitrogen-induced colour requires conditions so specific that the ratio to colourless stones runs approximately 1-to-10,000. Sourcing a matched parcel of 425 stones at this colour grade alone is a multi-year procurement exercise, which explains the three-year production timeline.

The dial aperture is bordered by a continuous row of vivid green tsavorite baguettes — a deliberate chromatic counterpoint that gives the skeletonised movement visual depth. The movement itself is a manually wound tourbillon with a star-shaped skeleton architecture, the bridges and main plate finished in yellow gold to harmonise with the stone suite. The flying tourbillon sits at the lower centre of the dial, visible through the open structure alongside the gear train.

From a collector-significance standpoint, pièce unique status is the apex of haute horlogerie. There is no secondary market comparable because there is no comparable piece. Jacob Arabo wearing the watch personally — at a public event, on camera — adds a provenance layer that auction specialists would note as material to any future valuation.

No official retail price has been formally published by Jacob & Co, consistent with the brand's approach to ultra-high-value singular commissions. Independent appraisals and industry sources place the figure in the range of $50 million USD, a number that would comfortably surpass any retail watch transaction on record. Whether that figure is confirmed publicly or not, the Billionaire Timeless Treasure already occupies a singular position in contemporary horology.