If there was one vehicle that represented a significant increase in sales and popularity for Jacob & Co, it would be the Astronomia. It’s one of those watches that doesn’t compromise on itself. It is a statement, a horological masterpiece and a canvas for highlighting complementary craftsmanship. Jacob & Co is speeding things up with the new Astronomia Revolution, which literally makes the watch complete a full rotation in under a minute.
It’s a remarkable achievement and shows the brand’s commitment to continuing to push the envelope, even if a particular model is already very successful. With the launch of Astronomia Solar, the 20-minute revolution it started eight years ago has been cut in half. Now, Jacob & Co is down to the minute, which they do by starting from scratch and rebuilding the entire movement.
The main challenge is not only to generate the enormous amount of energy needed to bring the astronomical revolution to this pace, but also to discover how to provide this energy continuously. To solve this problem, Jacob & Co developed a unique, patent pending, whip-based constant force device. Coordinated with the frequency of the balance wheel, the gear train activates a hairspring every 1/6 second. This frees a star gear, the whip, to transmit just the right amount of energy to the tourbillon carriage to run for another 0.5 seconds, acting as a buffer between the power from the mainspring barrel and the tourbillon. replica watches for men
Visually, Astronomia Revolution is also a spectacle, as we’ve come to expect from Jacob & Co. The case is surprisingly large at 47mm in diameter and 27mm in height, but as always, Jacob & Co have made good use of the space. Inspired by the James Webb Space Telescope, it features 18 hexagonal mirrors which make the device’s high speed even more spectacular as you also capture reflections of what’s happening below.
Next to the dial is the Astronomia Revolution, also equipped with a multi-axis flying tourbillon. It travels 1 minute around the first axis and 15 seconds around the other, making it extremely fast in its own right. Jacob & Co also draws on its extensive experience with gemstones to incorporate uniquely cut rubies into its designs. Its pyramidal shape rotates around its own axis every 15 seconds, while the movement as a whole makes a full revolution in a minute, which doubles as a seconds hand, again a first for the Astronomia. Discount replica watches