Watch Paparazzi

Musician Michael Blakey spotted wearing Jacob & Co

Michael Blakey, the Los Angeles-based record producer whose credits span decades of major-label work, was recently photographed wearing one of the more architecturally extreme watches in contemporary horology — the Jacob & Co Epic X Chrono Bugatti in black DLC-coated titanium, reference EC333.29.AA.AA.A. The sighting is notable not just for the watch's visual drama, but for its scarcity: only 110 examples were produced, each number commemorating a year of Bugatti's automotive legacy.

The Epic X Chrono Bugatti was unveiled as a direct partnership between Jacob & Co and Bugatti Automobiles, released to celebrate the French hypercar manufacturer's 110th anniversary. The case architecture is the story here — the skeletonized X-frame structure in grade 5 titanium with black DLC coating mirrors the Chiron's distinctive horseshoe grille and carbon fiber tub construction. The manually-wound flyback chronograph movement is entirely open to view, its bridges and wheels suspended within the lattice frame in a way that blurs the line between watchmaking and industrial sculpture. Case dimensions are substantial, running approximately 47mm across, with sapphire crystal front and back.

From a collector's standpoint, the Jacob & Co Epic X Chrono Bugatti ref. EC333.29.AA.AA.A occupies a specific niche: automotive co-branded timepieces with genuine production scarcity. A hard cap of 110 units globally means secondary market availability is structurally limited. Jacob & Co's Bugatti collaborations have demonstrated consistent demand among collectors who sit at the intersection of hypercar culture and high-complication watchmaking — a relatively defined but financially serious audience.

Michael Blakey has built a reputation over decades for an aesthetic sensibility that matches his industry profile — understated power rather than obvious flash. A Jacob & Co Epic X Chrono Bugatti is not a subtle choice, but it is a precise one. The watch signals both connoisseurship and access, qualities Blakey has currency in.

The Jacob & Co Epic X Chrono Bugatti carried a UK list price of approximately £28,000 at release, translating to roughly $35,000 USD at period exchange rates. On the grey market, the combination of a strict 110-piece limitation and sustained Bugatti brand heat has kept values firm, with transactions typically trading at or modestly above retail depending on condition and provenance.