Jacob & Co Has Created the Fastest Tourbillon Ever

A Bukharian Jewish teenager who migrated to New York City in 1979, Jacob Arabo would go on to embody a glittering version of the American Dream. Rising to prominence as a jeweler to New York’s rich and famous, he built a reputation on audacity and technical bravura—none more emblematic than his difficult, dazzling 288-faceted Jacob Cut.

Now in his 60s, Arabo shows no signs of slowing down. Instead, he has found renewed momentum in haute horlogerie, a field where spectacle alone is never enough. Over the past decade, Jacob & Co’s Astronomia—the brand’s attention-grabbing, multi-armed satellite watch collection—has evolved into a proving ground for ever more extreme mechanical experimentation, particularly in the development of increasingly rapid remontoirs d’égalité.

Put simply, the remontoir d’égalité is a constant force mechanism designed to regulate the delivery of energy to the escapement. When power from the mainspring fluctuates—too strong at first, too weak towards the end—the remontoir acts like a pacer, re-arming the escapement at regular intervals to maintain a steady cadence. Last year, the Astronomia Revolution Fourth Dimension introduced the fastest remontoir ever created, rearming six times per second.

Not one to rest on its laurels, Jacob & Co has now gone several steps further. With the unveiling of the aptly named God of Time, the maison presents not only the world’s fastest remontoir d’égalité, but also the fastest tourbillon ever made.

What It Takes to Break a Record

Having already mastered everything from inclined tourbillons to the world’s first four-axis tourbillon, Jacob & Co set its sights on a new benchmark: rotational speed. The tourbillon in the Jacob & Co God of Time completes a full rotation every four seconds—15 times faster than the conventional one-minute tourbillon.

Achieving this required ruthless weight reduction. Crafted from titanium, the tourbillon and its carriage together weigh just 0.27 grams, an exceptionally low figure for a structure measuring 12mm in diameter.

In the name of chronometric performance, the in-house JCAM60 movement employs a variable inertia balance wheel fitted with eight gold weights to improve rate consistency, alongside a high-efficiency hairspring with a Breguet overcoil.

Enthroned Like a Deity

Presiding over this mechanical feat is Chronos, the Greek god of time himself. Rendered as a rose gold sculpture, Chronos cradles the unprecedented tourbillon with pride and authority. Every vein, sinew, and contour has been engraved and burnished by hand, a reminder that despite its futuristic ambitions, this watch remains rooted in traditional craftsmanship.

Set against an aventurine backdrop symbolizing the infinite cosmos, the figure dominates a Greek pillar-shaped case. The architectural theme continues through the ribbed caseband and crown, echoing the fluted shafts of classical columns.

Turn the watch over, and another god of time reveals himself. Etched onto the sapphire caseback beside the flap winder is the face of Jacob Arabo, accompanied by his autograph and a stately reminder that he just turned 60 last June.

Limited to just 60 examples, the Jacob & Co God of Time is housed in a 44.5mm rose gold case, water resistant to 30m. It offers 60 hours of power reserve and is secured to the wrist with a blue alligator leather strap and a rose gold deployant clasp.