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Drake’s New Jacob & Co. Watch Incorporates Fully-Functional Roulette

The Jacob & Co. Astronomia watches are designed with a very special type of client in mind: the kind of man who is not afraid to take risks, who isn’t shy of showing off and who appreciates the delicacy of a preposterously complicated mechanism.
The Jacob & Co. Astronomia Casino, $662,000 6 photos
Photo: Jacob & Co.
The Jacob & Co. Astronomia Casino, $662,000The Jacob & Co. Astronomia Casino, $662,000The Jacob & Co. Astronomia Casino, $662,000The Jacob & Co. Astronomia Casino, $662,000The Jacob & Co. Astronomia Casino, $662,000
Rapper Drake happens to be one such man.

Drake loves custom fashion, expensive and fast cars, and luxurious private planes that he can customize as he sees fit – even if he occasionally lies about buying them and he gets busted. He also loves watches, preferably limited-edition. You’re not a stylish millionaire without one such item on your wrist.

That said, the Canadian rapper has recently added a very impressive item to his already-impressive watch collection. It’s the Astronomia Casino Tourbillon from Jacob & Co., also known as Astronomia Gambler, that was launched last year in a limited run of just 88 copies.

The luxury jeweler launched the Astronomia line in 2014 as a white canvas for novel and unexpected concepts. The idea behind it is to create small, self-contained universes that you can wear on your wrist, to the amazement of the entire world – and for a price to match. We’ve already discussed the Clarity Spider Tourbillon, which has a life-size tarantula made of feathers and black vapor deposition, smack in the center of the dial. 

The Jacob & Co\. Astronomia Casino, \$662,000
Photo: Jacob & Co.
The Astronomia Casino is perhaps even more visually stunning than the Spider, by the mere fact that it’s more complicated. Truth be told, all Astronomia timepieces are overly complicated, but this one takes the cake, verging into preposterous territory with its over-engineering. It is not without merit for it, though.

As you can see in the videos at the bottom of the page and the gallery attached, the Astronomia Casino is massive. At 47 millimeters in diameter, you could be fooled to thinking it’s pretty average when you look at it from above, but the perspective is entirely different from the side. The Casino stands at 27.9 millimeters in thickness, which is necessary to accommodate a vertical, multi-tier JCAM29A caliber with several complications, each more striking than the other.

First off, right at the base is a fully-functional, mechanical roulette made of 18k rose gold, with 37 pockets marked with black and red enamel. There’s a white ceramic ball that’s sent spinning when you press two buttons on the side of the case and the wheel starts moving.

To keep the ball from bouncing against the upper tier of the caliber, the roulette is covered by a pane of sapphire crystal. The entire case is actually made of sapphire crystal, which allows an excellent view at the spinning roulette every time you press the release buttons.

And then comes the truly outrageous part of this watch: the upper part of the caliber is made of a rotating platform that includes four rotating arms. Yes, every element here is in constant and separate motion, which is what makes this timepiece so outrageously complicated and fun.

The Jacob & Co\. Astronomia Casino, \$662,000
Photo: Jacob & Co.
The four arms carry a triaxial tourbillon, a small planet made of blue magnesium, a sub-dial for time-telling, and the trademark Jacob & Co. spinning diamond. That would be a 1-carat Jacob cut diamond with no less than 288 facets, that spins around its own axis every 30 seconds so you can fully admire its sparkle from all sides.

The four arms perform a full rotation across the face of the watch under 10 minutes, in addition to the separate movement of the complications. Each pair of opposing arms functions as perfect counterweight for one another, which reduces the weight of the complications. Power reserve is of 60 hours.

On top of all this is a more domed sapphire crystal, while the strap is luxe alligator leather with gold fastening.

The Astronomia Casino sounds like a lot to take in – and it sure is that. With so much going on inside, one hardly remembers to actually check the time, which sort of defeats the purpose of wearing a time-telling piece on your wrist. But it’s beautiful and overly-engineered, and truly a sight to behold.

As said, only 88 such watches will be made, each retailing for $662,000.





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About the author: Elena Gorgan
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Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends.
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