Jacob & Co. Astronomia Sky
The Jacob & Co. Astronomia Sky
Lots of mechanical fireworks and real-time snapshots of the night sky.
The Astronomia tourbillon series is Jacob & Co’s unique insight into the creation of astronomical complications. In general, they are not intended to represent the actual astronomical period with a high degree of accuracy (the most complicated watch example at the moment may be Vacheron Constantin’s Celestia). Instead, they are a dynamic sculpture of the wrist, based on a four-arm carrier system, supporting various additional displays or representations of celestial bodies.
The case of the Astronomia watch is also very thick, with a high dome crystal, which emphasizes the three-dimensionality of the carrier structure (while providing a real dome visual effect). Although we say that in general, the precise astronomical cycle is not Jacob & Co. is behind these watches, in the case of the astronomical sky, it is a very precise indication of the sidereal time, as well as the stellar elevation.
The entire carrier system rotates around the dial every 20 minutes. At the end of each arm, there is a clockwise moving dial to display the time; a stylized rocket ship running a stopwatch, rotating around its own axis once per minute; a dual-axis tourbillon (plus the center of rotation of the carrier system, It is actually a three-axis tourbillon) and a rotating globe cut from orange sapphire.
The dial showing the time is fixed on a differential system, so no matter which carrier it is mounted on, it always faces up. Behind it, you can see the central globe, which rotates in a hemisphere of colored sapphire (the globe is hand-engraved titanium and rotates every 24 hours).
The tourbillon rotates about its innermost axis every 60 seconds and its outer axis every 5 minutes (of course, it rotates around the inside of the watch 3 times per hour).
The original Astronomia had a spherical faceted diamond. Here, in the sky, you will see an orange sapphire. The idea of this diamond is that it is a stylized representation of the moon. Orange sapphire does not have this similarity, but you can, because its rotation period is not to simulate any specific celestial body, pretend it is an orange planet or star of your choice (I will go to Mars myself.. It seems to be on the opposite aircraft carrier Go with the rocket ship). This gem has 288 facets, and the cut developed specifically for the gem used in Astronomia is actually patented. Since the center bracket rotates every 20 minutes, it will feel different every time you look at the watch. If you wear it on your wrist, you may often look at it.
Creating an astronomical tourbillon not only requires design imagination, but also requires research to solve some very difficult technical problems. Check out our 2016 video interview with Jacob Arabo and watchmaker Luca Soprano, whose Studio 7h38 worked with Jacob & Co. to develop astronomy and other Jacob & Co. complications.
Now, we did mention the Astronomia watch. Generally speaking, is it not about astronomically accurate celestial cycles? However, Astronomia Sky does include sidereal time complications. You can find it on the dark blue titanium dial, the constellations and stars in 18k gold. On each sidereal day, an ellipse representing the horizon revolves around the dial, and the stars and constellations that appear are those currently visible overhead.
The transparent side of the case allows you to see the month indicator on the side of the dial-the dial actually rotates, rotating once every sidereal year.
Considering its size and complexity, you might think that Astronomia Sky is a heavy watch. It is certainly not lightweight (in any sense), but it is much more wear-resistant than you think, partly because the body of the watch uses very light materials (such as titanium and sapphire).
This minimalist watchmaking craft is the kind that people often try in the past, for example, about ten years ago, but it takes a lot of pure Brio to make it work, and you have to have some kind of Talents they have but don’t actually have. If there are some real technical benefits behind the watch, it will help, and getting all these relatively large components to work together on the carrier system is much more difficult than you might imagine from the visually spectacular final result. As a pure performance, there is almost nothing comparable to Astronomia Sky, and I found this particular model — with sidereal day, year, and star chart indications — to be the most eye-catching version to date.
The Astronomia Sky: designed by Jacob Arabo in collaboration with Studio 7h38. Movement, the unique (obviously) manual winding movement JCAM11; 40mm x 17.15mm titanium motherboard. Frequency, 21,600 vph, 42 jewels, three-axis tourbillon. Power reserve, 60 hours. Sidereal day and year display, with year and month indication; night sky indication. The lacquered hand-engraved titanium globe rotates every 24 hours. “Jacob Cut” orange sapphire, 1 carat, 228 facets. Case, 47 mm x 25 mm, rose gold, with sapphire window; domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating. Waterproof, 30 meters.