From the very beginning, Jacob Arabo wanted to do things differently. He started making his own jewellery in 1986, when the brand was born, with bespoke pieces crafted for celebrities, musicians and actors. His first high-watchmaking timepiece, the Quenttin, had a 31-day power reserve, difficult to achieve even now and unheard of when it was introduced in 2006. The Quenttin put the entire vertical tourbillon on display, a move that has become a hallmark of Jacob & Co. and was a gamechanger at the time.
What really put the brand on the watchmaking map was the Astronomia, introduced in 2014. This timepiece featured a triple-axis tourbillon along with other elements, all rotating around the dial. The animation on the dial was like nothing that anyone had ever seen before, and it paved the way for Arabo to be daring in other ways.
The Astronomia collection grew to include an astronomical complication, art pieces, and models turning clockwise and counter-clockwise. The brand branched out to other complications, including double tourbillons, music boxes, Grand Complications, and more.
What Jacob & Co. does is revolutionary and “out of the box,” but the reality is that every complication or combination of complications is rooted in Swiss watchmaking tradition.
Though his brand has a relatively short history compared to more established Swiss brands, Arabo sees this as an advantage because there is no weight of history to contend with – he has the absolute freedom to create whatever he wants. This freedom has resulted in some of the most ground-breaking watches the industry has ever seen.
“I want to be remembered as a trailblazer,” says Arabo. “I am not a watchmaker, I’m not an engineer. I am a creator and I am willing to take a risk. Luckily, the risks I have taken have proven successful, and I promise I will continue to create extraordinary timepieces and jewellery.”
Without Jacob Arabo in the industry, watchmaking would not be as exciting, interesting or creative as it is today.
*Written by Keith W. Strandberg
*À l’occasion du 20ème anniversaire de GMT Magazine et de WorldTempus, nous nous sommes lancés dans le projet ambitieux de résumer les 20 dernières années en horlogerie dans The Millennium Watch Book, un grand et beau livre magnifiquement illustré. Cet article en est un extrait. The Millennium Watch Book est disponible sur www.the-watch-book.com, en français et en anglais, avec une remise de 10% en utilisant le code WT2021.
