Astronomia Alec Monopoly

STORY

The Astronomia is the embodiment of 21st century ultra-high-end watchmaking and a globally recognized symbol of Jacob & Co watchmaking expertise. A world-first both in the boldness of its unprecedented concept and its entirely mechanical construction, the Astronomia has gone beyond impressive horological achievements to becoming an outstanding multidisciplinary engineering accomplishment.

The Astronomia Monopoly contains miniature pop characters that represent the repertoire of renowned contemporary graffiti artist, Alec Monopoly.

They are presented as miniature sculptures and placed within the iconic Astronomia four-arm vertical movement and its four exclusive complications: An hours and minutes time display with the Jacob & Co. patented differential gears system; a 1-carat spherical diamond featuring the exclusive Jacob Cut with 288 facets that performs a complete rotation every 60 seconds; a magnesium hand-lacquered globe of the Earth rotating every 60 seconds; and a double-axis tourbillon with the first rotation in 60 seconds and the second rotation in five minutes.

The Astronomia Monopoly makes for a beautifully artistic, highly creative and fully mechanical presentation of contemporary art and high watchmaking.

PARTNERSHIP

Jacob & Co.’s latest collaboration is with prolific street artist, Alec Monopoly. Together they have produced the Astornomia Alec Monopoly timepiece, a limited-edition collection that uses the unique display case of the Astornomia as a canvas for Monopoly’s art, using several of his iconic creations.

Alec Monopoly is the alias of the world-renowned contemporary graffiti artist whose colorful, animated works – whether on the walls of buildings, on canvas or as life size three-dimensional figures – are loved and sought after by street art fans and celebrities around the world.

HIGH WATCHMAKING SERVING HIGH ART

The Astronomia Monopoly contains miniature pop characters that represent the repertoire of renowned contemporary graffiti artist, Alec Monopoly. They include: his interpretations of “The Monopoly Man” and “Scrooge McDuck,” a multicolored dollar sign with multiple drawings of diamonds, and “money wings.”

“I love the juxtaposition of my youthful cartoon characters, brought to life with bright and vivid colors in a timeless watch with stunning complications,” Monopoly says. “It’s the perfect setting for my art and a watch made for true collectors to wear. My hope is this is a watch that gets passed down generations with the same passion and pride as a masterpiece original artwork.”

All the characters begin as drawings by Monopoly which then become CAD renderings that are perfectly sized to fit within the watch dial without impending the Astronomia movement and complications. They are then hand-sculpted, cast in gold and hand finished.

Monopoly then paints the figures using acrylic paint in the bright animated colors that are his trademark. The artist normally works on surfaces that can range in size from large canvases to sides of buildings. He found painting at such a small scale to be challenging.

“This is by far the smallest scale ‘canvas’ I have ever painted. Every element, brushstroke and color choice needed to be carefully thought out and perfectly executed,” Monopoly says. “My street art murals are often free flowing and wild but given the intricacies and meticulous mechanics within these watches I needed to approach the creative process with much more precision and patience.”

TOURBILLON

The tourbillon was originally invented to provide improved timekeeping performance for a pocket watch. The Astronomia Tourbillon brings this 200-plus-year-old complication to breathtaking levels of modern refinement and complexity.

The double-axis tourbillon of the Astronomia Tourbillon is at the forefront of modern watchmaking. The delicately decorated cage encapsulates the balance wheel, hairspring, escape wheel and several other important components. Characterized by this openworked cage, this outstanding tourbillon rotates on two axes simultaneously. It is a constellation of superbly finished components that, when expertly assembled and fine-tuned, allows the Astronomia caliber to keep accurate time throughout its 60-hour power reserve.

A full rotation on the 1st axis takes 60 seconds, as a nod towards the traditional single-axis tourbillon. The 2nd axis of rotation requires five minutes to complete.

This is a tourbillon that was engineered with cutting-edge, ultra-modern technologies and timeless horological heritage in mind.

AVENTURINE BASE DIAL

The colorful animated watch has a black skylayer base made of pure aventurine, beautiful glass that looks like a starry sky.

THE JACOB-CUT DIAMOND

The Jacob-Cut is the signature cut for the diamonds and gems that appear on all Jacob & Co. Astronomia timepieces. It always marks its presence on one of the arms of the Astronomia vertical movement and at times it graces other parts of its extra-large watches. It is a distinctive work of innovation, creativity and execution.

The spherical, 288-faceted gem is a unique cut exclusive to Jacob & Co.

The Jacob-Cut diamond starts out as a much larger rough, up to twice the size as the finished product. Quality is important, with clarity being the most prized of the four Cs of diamond quality. If there is any sign of an inclusion the diamond must be scrapped.

The rough diamond is first cut by machine into a spherical shape, near the size of the final diamond. Then the master gem cutter does his work, shaping the stone by hand and cutting each of the 288 facets while maintaining its shape. The danger is that the stone will become oblong, losing its round shape. To be used in the Astronomia Collection, the Jacob-Cut diamond must be completely round and weigh exactly as much as the other three satellites (time display, triple-axis tourbillon, magnesium globe) to maintain stability of the movement. One-carat is the standard size, but other sizes have been specified depending on how it is used within the movement.

Another challenge is ensuring the precise dimensions of the facets. If the gem cutter puts slightly too much pressure on the stone while adding the facets, too much of the diamond will be cut away, and the sphere will be too small to use. The cutting process takes at least two weeks of dedicated, painstaking work.

The Jacob-Cut is most recognizable on the Astronomia watch as a diamond that extends from one of the four arms of the vertical Astronomia movement. It rotates at different rates various depending on the other elements and the theme of the watch. However, the cut has been applied on colored gemstones and placed in the dial in other ways.

THE MAGNESIUM GLOBE

The globe of the earth is made of magnesium coated with hand-painted blue lacquer and completed with rose gold continents. It is done in a way that ensures consistency in weight, as all four satellites must weigh exactly the same. The globe performs a complete rotation every 30 seconds.

CASE & CRYSTAL

The Astronomia Monopoly’s case measures 50 millimeters in diameter and 25 millimetres in height at the highest point of the sapphire crystal dome. Crafted from 18K rose gold, with four sapphire crystal windows installed throughout the side of the case, allowing for unobstructed view of the spectacular art of Alec Monopoly and the equally speculator Astronomia four-arm vertical movement. Two 18K Rose Gold lift-out rotating “bows” on the caseback are used to wind the watch and set the time.

DIAL & HANDS

The time display subdial of the Astronomia Alec Monopoly is driven through a differential system. The Roman numerals on the skeletonized dial are hand-engraved and filled with black lacquer, while the hour and minute hands are finished in bright green to match Alec Monopoly’s colorful sculptures.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Item Number: AT102.40.AG.AA.ABALA

Movement: Caliber: Manufacture Jacob&Co. Manual Winding JCAM25; Diameter: 41.65mm; Height: 17.15mm; Material: Titanium; Components: 384; Power Reserve: 60-Hours; Frequency: 21’600 vib/h (3 Hz); Jewels: 42; Finishing: Plate and Bridges: Hand Angled and Polished, Flank Draw, Circular Graining, Polished Sink, One Sapphire Bridge; Polished Screws; Barrel: Circular Graining; Pinions: Conical Pinions; 4 Mechanical Ball Bearing Devices; Flat Balance Spring.

Functions: Hours and Minutes; System: Vertical Movement with 4 Arms

• Double Axis Tourbillon, 1st Cage rotating in 60 sec and 2nd Cage in 5 min

• 1 Carat Exclusive Jacob cut® Diamond (288 Facets), rotating on itself in 60 sec

• Magnesium Blue Lacquered Globe, rotating on itself in 60 sec

• Hours and Minutes Dial

• 3D Hand-engraved and Hand-painted Alec Monopoly figurines on aventurine base.

Case: Diameter: 50mm; Height: 25mm; Material: 18K Rose Gold; Sapphire with Double Anti-Reflective Treatment; Case Back: 18K Rose Gold; Bows: Winding and Time-Setting via lift-out rotating “bows” at the case back; Crystal: Unique Domed Sapphire with Double Anti-Reflective Treatment; Water resistance: 30m (3atm)

Dial & Hands: Dial: Titanium, Hand Angled and Polished, Lacquered Indexes; Hands: Blued Jacob&Co designed hands.

Strap & Clasp: Strap: Alligator; Clasp: 18K Rose Gold Folding Buckle

Limited Edition: 9 pieces