The watch unveiled by Jacob & Co. in mid-August was surprisingly low-key against the backdrop of the brand's array of Astronomia and Twin Turbo watches.
Yet this is a timepiece with a connection to the watchmaker's family history, which makes it all the more valuable. In 1978, when 13-year old Jacob Arabo was still known as Yakov Arabov, his father Nison Arabov gifted him a double time zone watch by the American brand Wakmann.
The model came to symbolize family tradition and support, and also became a source of inspiration for the creation of a model called the World Is Yours Dual Time Zone.
The designers at Jacob & Co. borrowed key design principles from Wakmann: two dials built into each other surrounded by a depiction of the continents. But that's where the similarities end.
Jacob Arabo’s own Wakmann dual-time watch, which he received at age 13 from his father
Nison and Jacob Arabo
The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone is equipped with an exclusive self-winding JCAA11 movement comprising 206 components. Not only does this caliber control the two time zones, it's also responsible for their shared seconds indication.
The small seconds in the center builds on the geographical map theme, and is shaped like a wind rose. The subdials for the two time zones with Arabic and Roman numerals are washed by the waves of a hand-crafted ocean created using blue lacquer.
Jutting up from the water are realistically laser-outlined relief continents that are stamped using a mold and undergo a galvanic treatment to cover them in rose gold. The map charts the Earth's Western Hemisphere.
Jacob & Co. The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone
The watch's bezel has been made especially thin in order to focus attention on the dial. Another twist which makes the dial stand out is that the Earth hasn't been made flat at Jacob & Co.: it's curved with a maximum height difference between its lowest and highest points of 3.7 mm.
This is the reason why all hands are tilted by no less than 12 degrees. The caseback displays another map, but this time Eurasia and Africa are the center of attention.
The 43 mm case and caseback are both made of rose gold and accompanied by a blue alligator-leather strap. Availability of the World Is Yours Dual Time Zone is limited to a series of 999 pieces.