On a recent visit to New York I had the chance to visit the Jacob&Co. store on 57th Street, the brand’s home town retail outlet in midtown Manhattan on a street laden with stores of the top luxury brands. Among the palatial interiors of these sumptuous havens of luxury, that of the Jacob&Co. store stands out in particular. More convivial in size, it offers an interplay of bright lights and angular surfaces, whose design was inspired by a diamond mine, which combines with the glitter of countless precious stones to create a bright and welcoming space.
The perfect salesman
When company founder Jacob Arabo is in town, you are likely to find him inside presenting his creations to customers himself – something that is rather unusual among luxury brands. But he is undoubtedly the brand’s best salesperson, since he is heavily involved in the design process and has an uncanny knack of knowing what people should be wearing. This probably explains why highly fashion-conscious and demanding celebrities such as Victoria and David Beckham have placed their trust in his designs.
On closer inspection I was surprised by the sheer variety of timepieces that the brand had in store, ranging from the mind-boggling quadruple tourbillon (yours for 594,000 dollars) to the Ghost collection, which starts at a more accessible 5,000 dollars.
A ghostly apparition
Taking its inspiration from Jacob&Co’s popular five timezone models that used five separate quartz movements, the Ghost adds an innovative twist to the multiple time display. It has five separate LCD displays set into its pentagonal-shaped case, four of which can display the time in one of 20 pre-set cities, while the fifth displays the home time in your chosen city. It displays the time in a choice of seven different colours (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and white) as well as the day, date, month and remaining battery power.
The time can be set by connecting the watch to a computer using a USB cable that attaches to the case-back. This synchronises with the atomic clock-regulated Internet time signal and charges the watch battery at the same time. Alternatively, the time can be set using the movement’s built-in GPS satellite receiver, which requires no connection. The Ghost’s interchangeable bezel means that numerous model permutations are possible, from all black (a matt black case and bezel that befits the model’s name) to a carbon-structured bezel all the way up to diamond-set versions.
But while Jacob&Co the brand earns its bread and butter through such collections, it’s clear where the passions of Jacob Arabo himself lie. He effuses passion as he carefully removes from its protective wrapping a tourbillon that is entirely set with black diamonds that he has just been showing to a customer in a private room at the back of the store. And I note a cheeky grin of admiration on his face as he shows me the limited-edition Caligula piece, which has an animation on the dial for which the word “erotic” almost seems too soft. It’s a limited edition of 69 pieces for 69,000 dollars… need I say more?
