To celebrate founder Jacob Arabo’s 60th birthday, Jacob & Co. has upped the ante for the tourbillon with the God of Time that’s styled on the Greek myth of time, but more importantly features the world’s fastest turning tourbillon that completes one revolution every four seconds – making it 15 times quicker than a conventional one-minute tourbillon.

Initial thoughts

The God of Time watch is a true showpiece of modern, extravagant high horology, blending both striking visual decoration and engineering prowess. The theme of time and its associated deity is built around the record setting tourbillon, the fastest of its kind. While we’re familiar with the perpetual quest for the thinnest watch, apparently the race towards the fastest tourbillon is also a thing.

Much like most Jacob & Co. watches, the God of Time is loud and a large 44.5 mm in diameter. The leitmotif of Greek mythology is present in the thick case as well, which is modelled on an Ionic pillar. The size is a consequence of the movement, which is enormous – inside are four mainsprings – due to the energy requirements of the tourbillon.

The hand-crafted figure of Chronos is remarkably detailed — truly in the spirit of ancient Greek statues. The dial is interesting, as the eye is drawn to both the Chronos figure and the unusually fast tourbillon, but falls short in legibility, though that’s clearly not the point here. The God of Time is one of those watches where time-telling is less important than the horological art on display. 

One design cue which breaks the ethereal look of the God of Time is the case back that celebrates Jacob Arabo’s 60th birthday with his portrait and signature. While the design is tasteful, its feels out of place with the mythical tale told by the rest of the timepiece, resulting in some aesthetic discontinuity. Mr Arabo would have looked more at home in the dress of a Greek statue, just like the theme on the front.

I need to point out a key detail: the watch is centred on the imposing personification of time, Chronos. In the Greek mythology, Chronos was a titan, father of gods, and not a god himself.

The God of Time is priced at a hefty US$360,000. The high price tag is common for Jacob & Co. creations, but the record-setting tourbillon adds surprisingly watchmaking value.

Chronos

The imposing figure of Chronos is handcrafted from 18k rose gold. The deity starts off as a stamped disc of precious metal, which then undergoes extensive hand engraving and finishing by a team of artisans. 

Each figure takes several days of work and the result speaks for itself. The engraving is uber-detailed: Chronos appears as an aging yet powerful figure, brooding over the fast-paced tourbillon. The figure has accurate tendons and veins, bulging muscle fibres and even fingernails. Much like traditional Greek statues, Chronos has blank eyes with no pupils which lend him an ethereal expression. 

Engraving and shaping a metal by hand in this fashion gives it a pleasant organic feel — almost as if the inert alloy is alive. The vibrant Chronos figure measures 37 mm from head to toga and is only 1.5 mm at its thickest. 

The Father of Time sits against a dark blue aventurine backdrop speckled with gold grains. Aventurine is a special sort of glass to which metal grains are added during blowing, creating the impression of a starry sky. The gold speckles trapped inside the dark coloured glass make it look as if Chronos presides over space, cradling time itself in his hands.

The large case is tastefully shaped as a Greek column, with the lugs fashioned as spiralling eyelets and a ribboned thick caseband. Jacob & Co. went for the Ionic column design, which is arguably the most iconic among the classical three, namely Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. Measuring 44.5 m in diameter and sitting at 18.25 mm tall, the God of Time piece wears large, but serves as a piece of true horological art. 

Record setting tourbillon

Most standard tourbillons turn at the rate of one revolution per minute and anything less than one turn per 60 seconds is considered fast. De Bethune makes tourbillons completing a turn once every 30 seconds; Greubel Forsey tops that with its 24-second tourbillon. MB&F’s Thunderdome tourbillon has three axes, with the fastest rate being one turn every eight seconds. But trumping all of them is the fastest tourbillon to date, which was made by Franck Muller and sped ahead at the pace of one revolution every five seconds. 

It is worth mentioning that the MB&F and Franck Muller tourbillons feature an inverted escapement with a fixed escape wheel (a version of the Potter escapement). Jacob & Co.’s God of Time, in contrast, has a four-second tourbillon, which runs with a conventional Swiss lever escapement. Moreover, the balance oscillates at an arguably slow paced 3 Hz, meaning that there is some inventive gear work to propel the fast-turning cage. 

While Jacob & Co. does not share much detail on the architecture of the JCAM60 movement inside the God of Time, the calibre construction can be inferred from visible parts. In a conventional tourbillon with a 3 Hz balance and 15 teeth escape wheel, the ratio from the fourth wheel to the escape pinion is 12:1. Here it looks like the ratio is 4:5, since the escape wheel actually turns slower than the cage itself. The entire cage only weights 0.27 g. 

There is also a constant force mechanism positioned right before the escape wheel, ensuring the tourbillon cage accelerates correctly and acting like a buffer between the going train’s aggressive power and the delicate escapement. 

The regulating organ is one of the highest quality: an aerodynamic, free-sprung, Gyromax-style balance with eight timing weights  paired with a Breguet overcoil. The setup is appropriate for such a pricey timepiece, and contrast with some past Jacob & Co. watches that rely on simpler stud-regulated balances with flat springs. 

A total of four barrels power the JCAM60 caliber, presumably arranged as two pairs of series-stacked barrels, acting in parallel. The result is quite a surprising 60 hours of power reserve. Hand winding is done somewhat awkwardly via a tab in the case back, while the time-setting is done a through the left-hand crown.

Key facts and price

Jacob & Co. God of Time
Ref. JA060.40.AA.AA.A

Diameter: 44.5 mm
Height: 18.25 mm
Material: 18k rose gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water-resistance: 30 m

Movement: JCAM60
Functions: Hours, minutes, 4-second tourbillon
Winding: Hand winding
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Power reserve: 60 hours

Strap: Alligator with folding 18K rose gold clasp

Limited edition: 60 pieces
Availability: From Jacob & Co. boutiques and retailers
Price: US$360,000 without taxes

For more information, visit Jacobandco.com.