Jacob & Co’s new timepiece “The World Is Yours” Dual Time Zone is special, for it is a link between the watchmaker’s past and its future. It draws inspiration from the founder’s vary personal experience, and is also the first timepiece from the new The World Is Yours collection.
In 1979, Nison Arabov and his family immigrated to New York City from their home city of Tashkent, then the capital of the Uzbek Soviet Republic of the USSR. His youngest child and only son Jacob Arabov, who was 14 at the time, would go on to found Jacob & Co. A year before they left Tashkent, Nison gifted his son a Dual-Time Wakmann watch.
The watch presents the time in two timezones, each in its own sub-dial. The American continents are depicted on the left of the two sub-dials, while Europe and Africa are on the right. This “golden” American watch, presented in secret, would inspire “Jacob the Jeweller” (as he was known to his celebrity clients) to design his watch.
Wakmann Dual-Time watch | Benjamin, Nison & Jacob Arabov
The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone is, therefore, a tribute to an Arabov family heirloom, which Jacob Arabov received from his father, and is now waiting to be passed on to his son Benjamin Arabov. As the first model in the new ‘The World Is Yours’ collection, the Dual Time Zone appears to be signalling a new, more restrained design ethos, that is, by Jacob & Co standards.
The object of focus on The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone is undoubtedly the dial. Therefore, the 43-mm rose gold case is minimalist, and everything is curved. Its bezel is stepped, rounded and very thin to offer the largest dial possible. The sapphire crystal is highly domed to accommodate the convex dial.
Like its inspirational Wakmann watch, the dial of this Jacob & Co timepiece depicts the Atlantic Ocean with its peripheral land masses: the Americas to the west, and to the East, Africa, Europe and the westernmost parts of Asia, including the Arabian Peninsula.
The outline of the continents is carved with a high-precision laser. The landmass is stamped using a high-accuracy mould, and finished in rose gold. The mountains and depressions present a high level of detail and realism. The oceans and seas are lacquered blue, entirely by hand.
The depiction is given extra presence by the highly domed brass plate of the dial. The height difference between its lower and highest points is 3.7mm. Overall, this dial gives the impression of seeing Earth from space. As a result of the curved dial, the hands are also curved. The crown is short, integrated into the case outline, rounded, polished and discreet. The caseback, also made of 18k rose gold, is engraved with the parts of the world not depicted on the dial – from Europe to Japan.
The dial has three sub-dials arranged vertically over the Atlantic Ocean. All three sub-dials are carved into the dial plate. The entire piece then undergoes a galvanic treatment covering it in rose gold. The Roman and Arabic numerals and the minute tracks are gold-stamped into place on top of the blue lacquer.
The central sub-dial has a small seconds indicator in the shape of a wind rose. It has four main arms, one of which is painted red to act as a pointer. Symbolizing the compass, it is the highest point of the domed dial. The other two sub-dials, indicating the two time zones, are set on the Northern and Southern Atlantic Oceans, just as in the Wakmann Dual-Time.
The watch is powered by the all-new in-house self-winding JCAA11 calibre. Each of the two time zones can be set using the crown, down to the minute. This rare feature allows countries with an unusual UTC offset – for example India’s Standard Time of UTC + 05:30 – to simultaneously display their local time and a second time that is offset differently. This calibre beats at 4 Hz and has a power reserve of 42 Hours.
“The World Is Yours” Dual Time Zone, which comes with a blue alligator leather strap, is a limited edition of just 999 Pieces.
