Watch Paparazzi

Designer Valentino Garavani spotted wearing Jacob & Co

At the EE BAFTA Film Awards held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, fashion icon Valentino Garavani arrived in a three-piece black tuxedo — and on his wrist, one of the most extravagant timepieces in contemporary haute horlogerie: the Jacob & Co. 18K rose gold baguette diamond limited edition, capped at just 18 pieces worldwide.

The watch commands immediate attention through its invisible setting construction. All 344 baguette-cut diamonds are channel-set without visible metal prongs, creating an unbroken field of white light across the entire surface — dial, bezel, lugs, and integrated bracelet links alike. The rose gold substrate beneath reads only as a warm border accent around the dial ring and crown. The case diameter sits at approximately 47mm, consistent with Jacob & Co.'s Caviar or Grand Baguette platform, and the black cabochon crown provides the sole non-diamond element visible from the front.

Jacob & Co. has built its identity at the intersection of fine jewellery and mechanical watchmaking since Jacob Arabo founded the brand in New York in 1986. Pieces like this one operate less as traditional horology and more as wearable sculpture — the movement, likely a Swiss-made automatic or manual-wind calibre, is entirely secondary to the stone work. The invisible setting technique employed here is extraordinarily labour-intensive, requiring each baguette to be individually cut to fit its specific position before being tension-held from below.

With only 18 references produced, secondary market appearances are exceptionally rare. The UK list price of £775,000 (approximately $980,000 at period exchange rates) places it firmly in the category of museum-grade jewellery watches alongside Graff and Chopard's most ambitious stone-set creations. Collector acquisition is largely by private treaty or direct commission.

For Valentino Garavani — a man who dressed royalty and Hollywood for six decades and built one of fashion's most recognisable colour vocabularies — this choice reflects a consistent philosophy: that luxury should be unapologetic and total. The watch does not whisper. Neither did he.