Review: High Stakes – The Jacob & Co. Astronomia Casino

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Jacob & Co Astronomia Casino

Jacob & Co was a brand predominantly known for its high jewellery and jewellery watches.

This was the prevailing notion until Baselworld 2014, when the company launched the Astronomia Tourbillon timepiece While the Astronomia Tourbillon wasn’t Jacob & Co.’s first complicated watch, it certainly was – at the time – the brand’s most spectacular, design-wise It took the world by storm with its exhibitionist nature and complex, original movement.

Since then, dozens of creative variations have been introduced – each more bombastic than before – and the watch continues to be a talking point in every watch show that it has appeared in In this year’s Baselworld, yet another addition to the burgeoning Astronomia family was presented, and this one is perhaps the most inventive one yet Here, we bring you the details and our thoughts on the roulette-themed Astronomia Casino.

The Case, Dial, and Hands

The Astronomia Casino comes in the standard Astronomia case, which is reminiscent of an aquarium Of note is how the case band is a continuous piece of sapphire crystal and how the lugs are skeletonised to enable this design Naturally, with a movement and displays so stunning, you’d want maximum visibility of what’s within the case.

And what’s within the case is massive by watchmaking standards So much so that the rose gold case is crafted to be 47 mm in diameter and 27.9 mm (no, that’s not a typo) in height At these measurements, the Astronomia Casino is clearly not meant – or able – to be hidden under a sleeve.

And wearing the watch demands heightened caution lest it be caught by a ledge at full force The only thing that really saves the watch from being completely unwieldy on the wrist is it’s sharply down-turned, short lugs What we’ve always liked about the Astronomia case is its lack of a crown, which would have knocked the balance of the watch off-kilter.

Instead, the winding and setting of the Astronomia is done via two keys on the solid case back.

The case is designed like a showcase to provide maximum visibility of the movement and displays.

But as impressive as the case is, what’s inside it is even more mind-blowing Full credit goes to the designer(s) of the Astronomia Casino for noticing how the four-armed movement of the Astronomia fits the roulette wheel theme A gorgeously crafted spoked turret in rose gold is placed onto the centre of the movement which, by itself, already looks like a turret with a four pronged spoke.

As such, the centrepiece does become somewhat redundant In fact, doing without it would’ve noticeably reduced the height of the watch significantly

The Astronomia Casino’s roulette wheel, rendered in a spectacular array of green, red, and black enamel with mahogany inlays, is set in motion by a button at 8 o’clock (which also winds the movement)

On each of the four arms of the movement are the signature Astronomia displays: a 1 carat, 288-facet diamond, a magnesium []

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