Watch Paparazzi

Entrepreneur Flavio Briatore spotted wearing Jacob & Co

Few watches carry the provenance of being worn by the person who helped conceive them. Flavio Briatore — Formula 1 impresario, Renault team principal, and serial entrepreneur — was photographed here with the Jacob & Co. Billionaire on his wrist, the exact timepiece he co-developed with Jacob Arabo. The image, candid and unposed, shows the watch's characteristic rectangular profile blazing with baguette diamonds even under minimal lighting.

The Jacob & Co. Billionaire is a technical and gemological statement in equal measure. The case and integrated bracelet are constructed entirely in 18-karat white gold and set with approximately 260 carats of emerald-cut, D-color, VVS-clarity diamonds — over 200 individual stones arranged in a grid pattern across every visible surface. The open skeleton dial exposes a hand-wound mechanical movement featuring a tourbillon complication, with blued steel hands cutting a rare visual contrast against the all-white diamond architecture. Case dimensions measure approximately 47mm × 38mm, with a thickness suited to the mechanical complexity housed within.

From a collector's standpoint, the Billionaire occupies a singular position: it is not merely a jeweled watch but a horological object that commands serious movement credentials. The flying tourbillon, beating at 21,600 vph, is finished to a level consistent with complications found in far more restrained Swiss maisons. Jacob & Co. produced this reference in extremely limited numbers, with each example requiring months of gem-setting work alone. The watch was listed at $18,000,000 USD, placing it among the most expensive wristwatches ever publicly offered.

Briatore's involvement lends the piece an additional layer of narrative. Known for operating at the intersection of sport, luxury, and spectacle — through ventures including the Billionaire Ibiza nightclub brand that shares the watch's name — his co-creation credit is not merely honorific. The aesthetic DNA of the Billionaire reflects his sensibility: maximum visual impact, zero restraint.

On the secondary market, examples of this caliber rarely appear, and when they do, pricing is entirely negotiated rather than catalogue-driven. At $18 million retail, the Billionaire remains a benchmark for ultra-high-net-worth watch acquisition — less an investment vehicle than a wearable declaration of position.