TOURBILLION MOVEMENT 1982

In?horology, a?tourbillon?(/t??r?b?lj?n/;?French:?[tu?bij??]?"whirlwind") is an addition to the mechanics of a watch?escapement?to increase accuracy. Conceived by the British watchmaker and inventor?John Arnold, it was developed by his friend the Swiss-French watchmaker?Abraham-Louis Breguet?and patented by?Breguet?on 26 June 1801.[1]?In a tourbillon the?escapement?and?balance wheel?are mounted in a rotating cage, with the goal of eliminating errors of poise in the balance giving a uniform weight.[2]

Tourbillons are still included in some modern wristwatches, where the mechanism is usually exposed on the watch's face to showcase it.

Horology?(lit. 'the study of time'; related to?Latin?horologium; from?Ancient Greek??ρολ?γιον?(hōrológion)?'instrument for telling the hour'; from??ρα?(h?ra)?'hour, time',?interfix?-o-, and suffix?-logy)[1][2]?is the study of the measurement of?time.?Clocks,?watches,?clockwork,?sundials,?hourglasses,?clepsydras,?timers,?time recorders,?marine chronometers, and?atomic clocks?are all examples of?instruments?used to measure?time. In current usage, horology refers mainly to the study of mechanical time-keeping devices, while?chronometry?more broadly includes electronic devices that have largely supplanted mechanical clocks for the best accuracy and precision in time-keeping.

People interested in horology are called?horologists. That term is used both by people who deal professionally with timekeeping apparatuses (watchmakers, clockmakers), as well as?aficionados?and scholars of horology. Horology and horologists have numerous organizations, both professional associations and more scholarly societies. The largest horological membership organisation globally is the NAWCC, the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors, which is US based, but also has local chapters elsewhere.

An?escapement?is a?mechanical linkage?in?mechanical watches?and?clocks?that gives impulses to the timekeeping element and periodically releases the?gear train?to move forward, advancing the clock's hands. The impulse action transfers energy to the clock's timekeeping element (usually a?pendulum?or?balance wheel) to replace the energy lost to friction during its cycle and keep the timekeeper oscillating. The escapement is driven by force from a coiled?spring?or a suspended weight, transmitted through the timepiece's gear train. Each swing of the pendulum or balance wheel releases a tooth of the escapement's?escape wheel, allowing the clock's gear train to advance or "escape" by a fixed amount. This regular periodic advancement moves the clock's hands forward at a steady rate. At the same time, the tooth gives the timekeeping element a push, before another tooth catches on the escapement's pallet, returning the escapement to its "locked" state. The sudden stopping of the escapement's tooth is what generates the characteristic "ticking" sound heard in operating mechanical clocks and watches.

The first mechanical escapement, the?verge escapement, was invented in?medieval Europe?during the 13th century, and was the crucial innovation which led to the development of the mechanical clock. The design of the escapement has a large effect on a timepiece's accuracy, and improvements in escapement design drove improvements in time measurement during the era of mechanical timekeeping from the 13th through the 19th century.

Escapements are also used in other mechanisms besides timepieces. Manual typewriters used escapements to step the carriage as each letter (or space) was typed. Historically, a liquid-driven escapement was used for a washstand design in?ancient Greece?and the?Hellenistic world, particularly?Ptolemaic Egypt, while liquid-driven escapements were applied to?clockworks?beginning in?Tang dynasty?China and culminating during the?Song dynasty.

John Arnold?(1736 – 11 August 1799) was an?English?watchmaker?and?inventor.

John Arnold was the first to design a?watch?that was both practical and accurate, and also brought the term "chronometer" into use in its modern sense, meaning a precision timekeeper. His technical advances enabled the quantity production of marine chronometers for use on board ships from around 1782. The basic design of these has remained, with a few modifications unchanged until the late twentieth century. His legacy includes, together with?Abraham-Louis Breguet, as one of the inventors of the modern mechanical watch. One of his most important inventions, the overcoil?balance spring?is still used in most mechanical wristwatches.

It was from around 1770 that Arnold developed the portable precision timekeeper, almost from the point where?John Harrison?ended his work in this field. But, compared to Harrison's complicated and expensive watch, Arnold's basic design was simple whilst consistently accurate and mechanically reliable. Importantly, the relatively simple and conventional design of his?movement?facilitated its production in quantity at a reasonable price whilst also enabling easier maintenance and adjustment.

Three elements were necessary for this achievement:

• A detached?escapement, which gave minimal interference with the vibrating?balance?and?balance spring
• A?balance?design that enabled compensation for the effect of temperature on the?balance spring
• A method for adjusting the balance spring, so that the balance oscillates in equal time periods, even through different degrees of balance arc

Abraham-Louis Breguet?(10 January 1747 – 17 September 1823), born in?Neuchatel, then a?Prussian principality, was a?horologist?who made many innovations in the course of a career in watchmaking industry. He was the founder of the?Breguet?company, which is now the?luxury watch?division of the Swiss?Swatch Group.

In his lifetime he was considered the leading watchmaker of his day, and he built up a clientele that included many leading public figures and members of the European nobility.

Alongside his friend and contemporary?John Arnold, Breguet is now widely acknowledged as one of the greatest horologists of all time.[1]?One of his famous ancestors was Jean Breguet (who died in 1593) a Protestant pastor in Neuchatel very much influenced by the ideas of?John Calvin.

Breguet?is a?Swiss-French?luxury watch, clock and jewelry manufacturer founded by?Abraham-Louis Breguet?in?Paris?in 1775.[1]?Since 1999, it has been a subsidiary of the Swiss?Swatch Group.[2]?Headquartered in?L'Abbaye, Switzerland, Breguet is one of the oldest surviving watchmaking brands and a pioneer of numerous watchmaking technologies such as the?tourbillon, which was invented by Abraham Breguet in 1801.[3]?Abraham Breguet also invented and produced the world's first?self-winding watch?(the?Perpétuelle) in 1780, as well as the world's first?wristwatch?in 1810 (the Breguet No.2639, for?Caroline Bonaparte,?Queen of Naples).[4][5][6]

Breguet is a highly regarded watch manufacturer.[1][7][8][9][10]?Over the years, notable Breguet patrons and timepiece owners include Emperor of the French?Napoléon?Bonaparte,?King George III,?Queen Victoria,?Alexandre I of Russia,?Ettore Bugatti,?Sir Winston Churchill,?Sergei Rachmaninoff,?Gioachino Rossini,?Arthur Rubinstein?and so on.[11][12][13]?In particular, the?Breguet & Fils, Paris No. 2667 (1814)?pocket watch?ranks as one of the world's?most expensive watches ever sold at auction, fetching US$4.69 million (CHF 4,339,000) in Geneva in May 2012.[14][15]?The?Breguet Sympathique?Clock?No.128 & 5009?(Duc d'Orléans Breguet Sympathique), on the other hand, currently holds the title of the most expensive Breguet timepiece ever sold at auction, fetching US$6.80 million in New York in December 2012.[16][17][18]

A?balance wheel, or?balance, is the timekeeping device used in?mechanical watches?and small?clocks, analogous to the?pendulum?in a?pendulum clock. It is a weighted wheel that rotates back and forth, being returned toward its center position by a spiral?torsion spring, known as the?balance spring?or?hairspring. It is driven by the?escapement, which transforms the rotating motion of the watch?gear train?into impulses delivered to the balance wheel. Each swing of the wheel (called a "tick" or "beat") allows the gear train to advance a set amount, moving the hands forward. The balance wheel and hairspring together form a?harmonic oscillator, which due to?resonance?oscillates preferentially at a certain rate, its?resonant frequency?or "beat", and resists oscillating at other rates. The combination of the mass of the balance wheel and the?elasticity?of the spring keep the time between each?oscillation?or "tick" very constant, accounting for its nearly universal use as the timekeeper in mechanical watches to the present. From its invention in the 14th century until?tuning fork?and?quartz?movements became available in the 1960s, virtually every portable timekeeping device used some form of balance wheel.

In mechanical?horology, a?remontoire?(from the French?remonter, meaning 'to wind') is a small secondary source of power, a weight or?spring, which runs the timekeeping mechanism and is itself periodically rewound by the timepiece's main power source, such as a?mainspring. It was used in a few precision?clocks?and?watches?to place the source of power closer to the?escapement, thereby increasing the accuracy by evening out variations in drive force caused by unevenness of the?friction?in the geartrain. In spring-driven precision clocks, a gravity remontoire is sometimes used to replace the uneven force delivered by the mainspring running down by the more constant force of gravity acting on a weight. In?turret clocks, it serves to separate the large forces needed to drive the hands from the modest forces needed to drive the?escapement?which keeps the?pendulum?swinging. A remontoire should not be confused with a?maintaining power?spring, which is used only to keep the timepiece going while it is being wound.

A?mainspring?is a spiral?torsion spring?of metal ribbon—commonly?spring steel—used as a power source in?mechanical watches, some?clocks, and other?clockwork?mechanisms.?Winding?the timepiece, by turning a knob or key, stores?energy?in the mainspring by twisting the spiral tighter. The force of the mainspring then turns the clock's wheels as it unwinds, until the next winding is needed. The adjectives?wind-up?and?spring-powered?refer to mechanisms powered by mainsprings, which also include kitchen?timers,?metronomes,?music boxes, wind-up?toys?and?clockwork radios.

Greubel Forsey?is a?Swiss?watchmaking?company specializing in complicated, high-end timepieces.[1]?It was launched in 2004 by Robert Greubel and Stephen Forsey and is based in?La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.

Greubel Forsey makes timepieces with multiple tourbillons and inclined balance wheels with the aim of improving timekeeping precision.[2]

Baselworld Watch and Jewellery Show?was a global?trade show?of the international?watch,?jewellery?and?gem?industry, organized each spring in the city of?Basel, Switzerland, at the Messeplatz.

The last Baselworld was held March 21–26, 2019. In 2020 and 2021 the event was not held due to the?COVID-19 pandemic, and from 2022 the event has been cancelled permanently.[1]?Baselworld organizer?MCH Group, which organizes around 30 live marketing platforms in?Switzerland?and abroad, chose to discontinue Baselworld and focus on?Art Basel?and other events.[2]

Girard-Perregaux SA?(French:?[?i?a? p???ɡo]) is a luxury?Swiss?watch?manufacture?with its origins dating back to 1791.[1][2]?In 2022, the management of Girard-Perregaux completed a management buyout from the French luxury group?Kering.[2]?Headquartered in?La Chaux-de-Fonds,?Switzerland, the company opened the Girard-Perregaux Museum near its headquarters in Villa Marguerite in 1999.[3]

It is best known for the historic?Tourbillon?with three gold bridges, which was awarded a gold medal at the 1889?International Exposition?in?Paris?soon after the launch of the watch.[2][4][5]?Other notable models from the company include the collection 1966, Vintage 1945, and models such as Tri-Axial Tourbillon and Laureato, an icon inspired from the 70s.

Purnell?is a?Swiss?watch manufacturer.[1]?The company was founded in 2017 and is headquartered on Rue du Rh?ne 80 in?Geneva, Switzerland.[2]

Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre SA, or simply?Jaeger-LeCoultre?(French pronunciation:? [ ?e??? l?kult?]),[1]?is a Swiss luxury?watch?and?clock?manufacturer founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 and is based in?Le Sentier,?Switzerland.[2]?Since 2000, the company has been a fully owned?subsidiary?of the Swiss luxury group?Richemont.[3]

Jaeger-LeCoultre is regarded as a top-tier Richemont brand.[4][5][6]?It has hundreds of inventions, patents, and more than one thousand?movements?to its name, including the world's smallest movement, one of the world's most complicated?wristwatches?(Grande Complication), and a timepiece of?near-perpetual?movement (the?Atmos clock).[4][7]

The?pallet fork?is a component of the?lever escapement?of a?mechanical watch.[1]?The pallet fork and the lever form one component that sits between the escape wheel and the?balance wheel. Its purpose is to lock the escape wheel, and release it one tooth at a time at each swing of the balance wheel, and also give the balance wheel small pushes to keep it going.[2][1][3]

In early watches the pallet fork and the lever were made as separate components and joined together. In later watches they were made as a single component as shown in the picture. The combined component is often referred to simply as the "lever". In a straight line Swiss lever type escapement, the lever is shaped like a 'T' or an anchor, which gives this escapement its alternative name of anchor escapement. The lever is pivoted in the center; in operation it rocks back and forth.[4]?On the arms of the 'T' are angled surfaces called?pallets?which alternately engage the teeth of the escapement's?escape wheel. The central shaft of the lever ends in a fork, which gives pushes to the?balance wheel's?impulse pin, which is set off center in a disk on the balance wheel's shaft. To reduce friction, the pallets are made of precisely shaped pieces of ruby?jewel. The pallet which the teeth first contact is called the?entry pallet, while the other one is called the?exit pallet.

Under the fork there is a projecting?guard pin?which passes through a notch in a separate?safety roller?disk on the balance shaft. In normal operation it doesn't have a function. Its purpose is to make sure the fork is in the right position to receive the impulse pin if a jar to the watch prematurely 'unlocks' the lever from the escape wheel.

Mechanical?alarm clocks?and kitchen?timers?use a less accurate form of the lever in which vertical metal pins are substituted for the pallet jewels. This is called a?Roskopf?or?pin-pallet escapement, and was previously used in cheap?pin-lever?watches.

A?mechanical watch?is a?watch?that uses a?clockwork mechanism?to measure the passage of time, as opposed to?quartz watches?which function using the?vibration?modes of a?piezoelectric?quartz?tuning fork, or?radio watches, which are quartz watches synchronized to an?atomic clock?via?radio waves. A mechanical watch is driven by a?mainspring?which must be wound either periodically by hand or via a?self-winding?mechanism. Its force is transmitted through a series of gears to power the?balance wheel, a weighted wheel which oscillates back and forth at a constant rate. A device called an?escapement?releases the watch's wheels to move forward a small amount with each swing of the balance wheel, moving the watch's hands forward at a constant rate. The escapement is what makes the 'ticking' sound which is heard in an operating mechanical watch. Mechanical watches evolved in Europe in the 17th century from spring powered?clocks, which appeared in the 15th century.

Mechanical watches are typically not as accurate as quartz watches,[1][2][3]?and they eventually require periodic cleaning and calibration by a skilled watchmaker.[3]?Since the 1970s, quartz watches have taken over most of the watch market, and mechanical watches are now mostly marketed as a luxury product, purchased for their?aesthetic?and?luxury?values, for appreciation of their fine craftsmanship,[2]?or as a?status symbol.[2]

Quartz clocks?and?quartz watches?are timepieces that use an?electronic oscillator?regulated by a?quartz?crystal to keep time. This?crystal oscillator?creates a signal with very precise?frequency, so that quartz?clocks?and?watches?are at least an?order of magnitude?more accurate than?mechanical clocks. Generally, some form of digital logic counts the cycles of this signal and provides a numerical?time?display, usually in units of hours, minutes, and seconds.

Since the 1980s, when the advent of?solid-state?digital electronics allowed them to be made compact and inexpensive, quartz timekeepers have become the world's most widely used timekeeping technology, used in most clocks and?watches?as well as computers and other appliances that keep time.

Currently the aforementioned Swiss legal standards permit watch brands or watchmakers to label watches Swiss made under certain legally defined circumstances. These standards have changed over time and were not always codified in the national law, so older watches which bear the mark Swiss made may not necessarily meet the current legal definition. On the other hand, they might well exceed the current legal definition of Swiss made, which remains a minimum threshold.

The?Ordinance on the Use of ?Switzerland? or ?Swiss? for Watches?first defines a "watch" (as opposed to a clock) by the dimensions of its movement in its Article 1, Definition of ?watch?.[3]?Thereafter, the law defines a Swiss watch, the definition of which is dependent on certain aspects of its movement. The law then goes on to define under what circumstances a?watch movement?may be considered Swiss made. The law then sets forth the conditions for the use of the name Swiss on watches, on watch cases, on watch movements, on watch dials and on replacement watch parts. In sum, a?watch?is considered Swiss when it has been developed in Switzerland, it uses a Swiss movement, is assembled and controlled in?Switzerland?by the?Manufacture d'horlogerie?and when 60% of its manufacturing costs are Swiss.[5]?The legal standards for the use of "Swiss made" on a watch are a very minimum standard, and the Swissness of a watch is largely dependent on the?brand?and its?reputation.

A watch is considered Swiss, according to the Swiss law if:

• its technical development is carried out in Switzerland and;
• its?movement?is Swiss and;
• its movement is cased up in Switzerland and;
• the manufacturer carries out the final inspection in Switzerland and;
• 60 per cent of the manufacturing costs are incurred in Switzerland.

If a watch movement is intended for export and will not be cased-up in Switzerland, but it otherwise meets the criteria to be considered a Swiss movement, the watch may say "Swiss Movement" but it may not say Swiss made nor “Swiss Movt” on the watch case or dial. A watch that says "Swiss Quartz" is supposed to be manufactured in Switzerland according to the legal criteria above-stated. However, it is often improperly used by foreign manufacturers to merely indicate that the quartz movement is of Swiss origin.[6]

Use of the Swiss made label for watches is covered by an ordinance of the Federal Council dated 29 December 1971.[3]?The Swiss standard is often pejoratively referred to as the 60% Rule. However, it has its basis in real life economics. Again, the law merely sets forth a minimum standard. The Swiss Made Ordinance has, for a number of years, been subject to many criticisms, particularly inside the industry, because it is considered too lax, but also in legal circles, where the view is that it no longer fully meets the legal mandate specified in the companion law on?trademarks.[2]

The first Ordinance on the Use of ?Switzerland? or ?Swiss? for Watches published in 1971 mainly defined the Swiss movement and did not give specific criteria for the watch as a whole. However, it had already a criterion of value-added for the movement.

A watch is considered to be Swiss if its movement: a. Α been assembled in Switzerland and; b. Has been started, adjusted and checked by the manufacturer in Switzerland, and; c. Is of Swiss manufacture for at least 50 per cent of the value of all constituent parts, but without the cost of assembly and; d. Is subject to legal technical inspection in Switzerland according to the system in force.

The?Swiss Federal Council?modified the ordinance regulating the use of the "Swiss" name for watches in May 1995. This revision was explained in a press release entitled?On foreign parts for watches.[7]?This was said to bring the requirements of Swiss watchmaking industry a rubric like those of the European Union. In essence, the revision made it possible to affix indications of "Swiss made" on foreign watchcases and dials intended to equip Swiss watches. A watch is considered Swiss whose movement is Swiss, whose movement is encased in Switzerland and whose final control by the manufacturer takes place in Switzerland. Conversely, the Swiss manufacturers of parts destined for foreign watches from then on were authorized to visibly indicate that their products come from Switzerland. These innovations were intended to improve the transparency as regards the source of products. Consumers were expected to clearly recognize from what countries the various constituent parts of the watches came. However, the revisions were not intended to reduce the protection the name "Swiss made". Indeed, the high requirements which are imposed with a Swiss watch were said to remain unchanged.

From time to time, namely in 2003 and more particularly in 2007, there were efforts made to strengthen the definition of "Swiss made". These efforts are normally spearheaded by the?Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH?(FH) a trade organization. 30 companies have opposed such efforts under which the lobbying group IG Swiss made. Many are afraid to share their identity?[8]?but Ronnie Bernheim, co-CEO of?Mondaine, has been outspoken on this issue, and defends "Swissness more as a promise than a physical manifestation".[9]?Mondaine admits that it uses non-Swiss dials and cases though Bernheim has declined to disclose their country of origin.

In 2007, the FH plans to seek political action on a proposal which introduces a new aspect to the definition of Swiss made, in the form of a value criterion.

Accordingly, any mechanical watch in which at least 80% of the production cost is attributable to operations carried out in Switzerland would be considered as a mechanical Swiss watch. For other watches, particularly electronic watches, this rate would be 60%. Technical construction and prototype development would moreover need to be carried out in Switzerland. Raw materials, precious stones and the battery would be excluded from the production cost. The Swiss movement in the existing ordinance already has a value criterion, namely the rate of 50%. Considering that here, too, the definition needs reinforcing, the draft amends these value criteria. For mechanical movements therefore, the rate would be at least 80% of the value of all constituent parts. For other movements, particularly electronic movements, this rate would be 60%. Technical construction and prototype development in Switzerland would also be a requirement in this case. The draft also stipulates other provisions concerning the definition of Swiss constituent parts and assembly in Switzerland.

With a rate of 80%, the FH proposed to lay particular emphasis on the mechanical watch. With these proposals, objectives in terms of protecting the Swiss made label should be attained. The proposed criteria also take into account the place of manufacture and the origin of components, thereby complying with the law on trademarks which serves as the legal basis of the "Swiss made" Ordinance. However, it will be up to the Federal Council to reach a final decision on the matter.

The minimum rate of 60% was finally chosen for all type of watches in 2016 by the Federal Council?[10]?as it corresponds to the rate used in the free-trade agreement between Switzerland and the European Union. A higher value criterion would not have allowed Switzerland to meet its international commitments and was, therefore, refused.

ébauche?(loanword?from French, meaning blank, outline or sketch) is a term used in?art?to denote the first preliminary underpainting or quick sketch in oils for an?oil painting.?Horology,?clockmaking?and?watchmaking?appropriated the term ébauche to refer to an incomplete or unassembled?watch movement?and its associated components. The French term is regularly used by English-speaking artists and?art historians, as well as horologists and hobbyists.

Until about 1850, the watchmaker’s ébauche consisted of two plates with pillars and bars, the?barrel,?fusée,?index,?pawl?and?ratchet-wheel, along with a few assembling screws. These parts were all roughly?filed?and?milled.[1]?The?steel?and?brass?were manufactured in a special workshop. The ébauche was finished by watchmakers in a finishing shop. The?assortiment?(literally "assortment" in English) are the parts of a watch other than the ébauche, in particular the regulating organs and include the balance, hairspring or spiral, escape wheel, anchor lever and pallet stones or jewels. The modern ébauche is a?jewelled?watch movement, without its regulating organs,?mainspring, dial, or hands.[citation needed]

During the?Industrial Revolution, new components were introduced by the?Waltham Watch Company?and the development of the?American System of Watch Manufacturing, establishing the base of modern watch manufacture. Historic producers of ébauche movements have included companies such as A. Schild, Peseux, Fabrique d'Horlogerie de Fontainemelon (FHF),?Gallet & Cie Fabrique d’horlogerie Electa, Landeron,?Valjoux, Venus, France ébauches and Lemania. Many of these producers have gone out of business over the past few decades, succumbing to the?Quartz Revolution. Most?were unable to compete?with the inexpensive?quartz?electronic movements produced by Asian manufacturers, which flooded the market during the 1980s. The remaining ébauche producers today are almost all owned by?ETA, a subsidiary of the?Swatch?Group.

Jacob Arabo?(born?Yakov Arabov?or?Jacob Arabov[3][4]?on June 3, 1965; also frequently known as "Jacob the Jeweler"[1][2]) is an American jewelry and watch designer who founded?Jacob & Company?in 1986 and grew it to become an international luxury brand.[5]?He began strictly as a jeweler with bold designs that appealed to celebrities who became regular customers.

Green Lantern?is the name of several?superheroes?appearing in?American comic books?published by?DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, and the electromagnetic spectrum of emotional willpower.[1]?The characters are typically depicted as members of the?Green Lantern Corps, an intergalactic law enforcement agency.

The first Green Lantern character,?Alan Scott, was created in 1940 by?Martin Nodell?with scripting or co-scripting of the first stories by?Bill Finger[2]?during the?Golden Age of Comic Books?and usually fought common criminals in Capitol City (and later,?Gotham City) with the aid of his?magic ring. For the?Silver Age of Comic Books,?John Broome?and?Gil Kane?reinvented the character as?Hal Jordan?in 1959 and introduced the?Green Lantern Corps, shifting the nature of the character from fantasy to science fiction. During the?Bronze Age of Comic Books,?Dennis O'Neil?and?Neal Adams?introduced?John Stewart, a new member of the Corps who was one of DC's first black superheroes. Other notable Green Lanterns include?Guy Gardner,?Kyle Rayner,?Simon Baz,?Jessica Cruz?and?Jo Mullein.

The Green Lanterns are among DC Comics' longest lasting sets of characters. They have been adapted to television, video games, and motion pictures.

Jacob & Co.?is an American privately held?jewelry?and?wristwatch?retailer founded in 1986 by diamond designer?Jacob Arabo.[1]?Its flagship boutique and corporate headquarters are located in?Manhattan,?New York City.

After graduating early from a jewelry design course in 1981 in?New York City,?Jacob Arabo?opened a small booth in New York City's?Diamond District, where he began designing for jewelry labels and private clients.[3][4]?In 1986, Arabo opened his own company, called "Diamond Quasar," and began designing under his own label, named "Jacob & Co."[3][4]?The brand quickly gained popularity in New York and was able to expand its business to the luxury watchmaking industry in 2002.[5]

In 1986, Jacob Arabo founded the retail jewelry company, Diamond Quasar, doing business under the Jacob & Co. name.[6]?By the early 1990s, he had established his own kiosk in New York's?Diamond District?and his innovative jewels caught the attention of the late rapper?Notorious B.I.G., who gave him the moniker "Jacob the Jeweler," and introduced him to his entertainment friends.[7]

The jeweler started collaborating with entertainers on custom designs. In the 1990s he was one of the first jewelers to create big diamond jewels for men, a trend that is mainstream today.[7]

Hip-Hop stars who were Arabo's clients included?Sean "Puffy" Combs, Biz,?Jay-Z,?Drake,?50 Cent, and?Big Sean.[6]?His clientele expanded to various well-known entertainers and athletes, including?Madonna,?Rihanna,?Pharrell,?Elton John,?David?and?Victoria Beckham,?Jennifer Lopez,?Salma Hayek,?Sofia Vergara,?Michael Jordan, and?Mariah Carey.[8]

With his success in the jewelry business, Arabo turned to watches. In 2002, he created a quartz watch collection called the Five Time Zone that combined bold primary colors and with multiple time zone technology that attracted men and women. It was inspired by his clients' jet-setting lifestyle and became both a fashion statement and a usable timepiece for those who travel.?Naomi Campbell,?Bono,?Angela Bassett?and?Derek Jeter?were among international celebrities wearing the watch.[9]

Milestones[edit]

• 2002: Jacob & Co. unveiled the quartz-powered Five Time Zone watch collection with colorful, contemporary dials, interchangeable?bezels?and interchangeable straps. It was both a fashion statement and a usable world time zone watch.[9]
• 2004: Jacob & Co. moved from the diamond district to a flagship boutique at?57th Street?and?Park Avenue.[10]
• 2007: Arabo founded Jacob & Co. SA in?Geneva, Switzerland, and introduced his first high-watchmaking timepiece, the Quenttin, the first watch to have a vertical tourbillon and a 31-day power reserve, at the time the world's longest power reserve.[11]
• 2011: Jacob & Co.'s first brand ambassador,?Chinese martial arts?action star and director,?Donnie Yen.[12]
• 2012: Supermodel and actress,?Milla Jovovich, became the next Jacob & Co. ambassador. The announcement was made at a reception during?Baselworld?2012, the international watch and jewelry show in Switzerland.[13]
• 2013: Jacob & Co. unveiled the Epic SF24, the first watch with a patented Split-Flap world time zone display.[14]?The same year football star,?Cristiano Ronaldo, was named as a Jacob & Co.'s ambassador to promote the Ghost Five Time Zone timepiece collection.[15]
• 2014: Jacob & Co. introduced the celestial themed Astronomia Tourbillon, unveiled to the watch industry trade at?Baselworld?2013. It featured an exposed vertical movement with four arms that rotate around a central gear in 20 minutes. On one arm is a magnesium lacquered globe of the Earth and on the opposite arm is an exclusive 288-facet 1-carat diamond known as the "Jacob Cut" that represents the Moon. Each satellite rotates on its own axis. The other two arms have a triple-axis gravitational tourbillon and a dial display with a differential gear system that maintains the proper 12-6 o'clock position as the movement rotates within the case.[16]?Arabo called the Astronomia "revolutionary" and the "most important" Jacob & Co. watch.[17]
• 2015: Jacob & Co. unveiled the Billionaire watch with a price tag of $18 million.[18]?The 18k white gold case and bracelet was covered with 260 carats of diamonds, with each individual gem weighing 3 carats each.[17]?It was purchased by professional boxer?Floyd Mayweather?in 2018.[19]
• 2016: Jacob & Co. unveiled the Astronomia Sky, which introduced new complications of celestial inspiration to the Astronomia including a sidereal display, vertical month display, zodiac signs, day and night indication, as well as a celestial panorama, orbital second indication and a Jacob Cut diamond Moon;[20]?and the Twin Turbo, the first watch to combine a twin triple axis tourbillon and a minute repeater, in a distinctly shaped case with sports allure.[21]
• The same year the company opened a branded boutique in?Dubai, UAE.[22]
• 2017: Jacob & Co. unveiled the Astronomia Solar Planets Jewelry, which displays the precious planets of the Solar System as Jacob Cut, 288-facet gemstone spheres[23]
• 2018: Jacob & Co. expanded upon the Twin Turbo with the Twin Turbo Furious, the first watch to combine a twin triple-axis tourbillon, decimal minute repeater, monopusher chronograph, and a time difference calculator.[24]
• The same year, the company opened a branded store in Geneva.[25]?and unveiled a new partnership with?Lionel Messi, with limited-edition versions of the Epic X Chrono timepiece that incorporated Messi's professional signatures, such as the colors of the?flag of Argentina, Messi's famous number 10, his stylized "M" logo, and his signature on the caseback.[26]
• 2019: The year saw two more partnerships for Jacob & Co. The first was with French hyper sports car manufacturer,?Bugatti, where they developed customized versions of the Jacob & Co. Epic X Chrono and Twin Turbo Furious timepieces.[27]?Then they collaborated on a new watch, released in 2020, the Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon, designed to emulate the?Bugatti Chiron?hyper sports car. Its movement includes a fully working engine animation designed to replicate the?Bugatti W16 engine?and a newly designed case inspired by the body of the Chiron.[28]
• The second partnership was with?Paramount Pictures, where the two entities collaborated on the?Godfather?Musical watch. A built-in musical complication plays the first 120 notes of?The Godfather?theme song while the watch contains artistic replicas of details from the film.[29]
• The luxury brand also unveiled the Astronomia Casino, which features a fully operational miniature roulette wheel;[30]?and the Mystery Tourbillon, the first watch to feature two linked central triple axis tourbillons placed back to back in the center of a gem-encrusted dial.[31]
• In the same year, Jacob & Co. expanded its network of stores with points-of-sale in?Beijing,?Kuala Lumpur, and?Bangkok.[32][33]?The following year Jacob & Co. opened a second boutique in?Beijing.[34]
• In?2020, Jacob & Co. added five partnerships. The first was with NBC/Universal where the two companies created the Opera Scarface Musical watch, which contains the music and iconography from the movie, Scarface.[35]
• The next was with menswear designer,?Virgil Abloh, for a line of gold and diamond paperclip jewelry called "Office Supplies."[36]
• Then Jacob & Co. partnered with American skateboarding lifestyle brand, Supreme, for an exclusively designed Four Time Zone watch.[37]
• The fourth partnership was with UFC Champion,?Khabib Nurmagomedov, for a line of Epic X Chrono watches that incorporated Khabib's professional signatures, including his undefeated record, his nickname "The Eagle" and his unique Papakha headpiece.[38]
• The fifth partnership was with explorer and environmental activist?Johan Ernst Nilson. Together they launched the Astronomia Explorer, a watch that recreates Nilson's most iconic adventures with water from the North and South and a rock from the Himalayas with the Astronomia four-arm vertical movement and above a celestial base. The watch was designed to raise awareness of the dangers facing our planet.[39]
• 2021: Jacob & Co. became the first luxury watch brand to sell an NFT with a digital version of the SF24 Tourbillon travel watch that fetched $100,000 and became the first luxury watch brand that accepts cryptocurrency.[40]
• The same year, Jacob & Co. released the Astronomia Maestro Worldtime, the first watch with a minute repeater carillon chiming complication and a Worldtime complication.[41]
• The luxury brand also unveiled three Twin Turbo Furious models with fully transparent sapphire crystal cases and a decimal minute repeater, the first watch to include these two distinct features.[42]
• The company partnered with Universal Pictures to produce the Fast & Furious Twin Turbo, which takes the timepiece created to emulate high-performance sports cars and merges it with the iconic symbols inspired by one of the most popular movie franchises of all time -?Fast & Furious.[43]
• The same year, Jacob & Co. entered into an agreement with?Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC to produce a new collection of?Batman-inspired timepieces.[44]
• Also in the same year, Jacob & Co. partnered with graffiti artist,?Alec Monopoly?to create the Astronomia Alec Monopoly, which places miniature sculptures of Monopoly's iconic pop culture creations.[45]
• 2022: Jacob & Co. moved its?Geneva?boutique from the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues to a two-story dedicated space at Rue du Rh?ne.

Awards and recognition

In 2006, the Jacob & Co “The World is Yours” watch won the?Travel + Leisure?Design Award

There is a clear cut reason, why I view the world differently. Time is everything. I do not waste a second. Today I had one business meeting first thing this morning. As soon as all things are finished here, I will head out to business meeting number two.

I have to view both properties, for both investments in person and also meet my future business partners in the process. I grant 72 hours before making any big financial decisions. The time I allow for them, to do the same. This way everyone can evaluate with enough time.

I do not rush things. I just come clear cut, and direct with all of my data points ready to go. For business meeting number one, of my day; the family that owns the business is in massive debts that are growing. They thought that they had more time. I already know, that if they do not close this deal with me. They will be out of business within a few months. Worse, if there are loans or credit card debts.

For my second meeting, I will hedge. I have two other locations close by and two more commercial real estate properties to also view. None of them realize how much business has changed. I am only a few business partnerships from becoming their main competitor. It is that competitive today.

Wake up.