There’s a certain kind of audacity that has always defined Jacob & Co. The maison is no stranger to spectacle, but beneath that affinity for theatre lies a deep, instinctive refusal to accept limits. When Jacob Arabo began his journey four decades ago, he wasn’t simply setting diamonds into jewellery; he was asking what else they could become. That question has come to shape a house where gem-setting and watchmaking don’t just coexist — they feed off each other.
If you’ve followed the Billionaire line, you’ll know it has never been about restraint. It’s where Jacob & Co. allows itself to dream at full volume. What’s interesting — especially now, at this 40-year milestone — is that the latest chapter isn’t just bigger or brighter. It feels more thoughtful.
The Angel Cut is, on paper, a new diamond cut. In reality, it’s a very personal statement. Named after Arabo’s wife, Angela, and marked by 37 facets that echo their years together, it carries an emotional weight that feels unusually intimate for something so technically driven. At the same time, the cut tackles a genuine challenge: how to retain the clean, elegant lines of rectangular stones while giving them a more alive, more responsive relationship with light.
What strikes you when you look closely isn’t brilliance in the traditional sense. The light feels guided — softer at the edges, yet somehow deeper. There’s a calmness to it, which is not something one usually associates with a diamond-heavy watch.
That character becomes fully apparent in the Billionaire Double Tourbillon Angel Cut. The 54 by 41 mm white gold case is, frankly, immense, but it wears its scale with surprising coherence. The diamonds, nearly 300 of them totalling around 79 carats, don’t feel randomly opulent. They’re arranged with a kind of rhythm, like a surface that has been carefully composed rather than simply covered.
Then your eye settles on the dial, and the watch reveals its second act. Two flying tourbillons sit opposite each other at 12 and 6 o’clock, quietly turning, almost grounding the piece. It’s an important detail. Without that mechanical symmetry, the watch could easily tip into excess. Instead, it feels balanced — deliberately so.
Inside, the JCAM50 movement is exactly what you’d expect from Jacob & Co. at this level: complex, substantial, and thoughtfully executed, with 460 components and a 72-hour power reserve. Flip the watch over, and the sapphire caseback offers a completely different mood. After all that brilliance, the skeletonised movement feels almost introspective, like stepping backstage after a scintillating performance.
By developing its first proprietary diamond cut, Jacob & Co. is no longer relying on the language of traditional gemology. It’s writing its own. And perhaps that’s the real story. Beneath the diamonds, the tourbillons, and the theatre of it all, this is a watch about control — about knowing exactly how far to push things, and when to hold back.
Source: Khaleej Times