A wrist-worn gaming machine for entertaining your friends.
Gambling, the act of betting something of value in the hope of getting more value in return through games of chance, has fascinated us for centuries, if not millennia. For example, the earliest known six-sided dice date back to 3,000 BC. Betting on suitable animals was a common practice in ancient times, but nonviolent gambling games also go back centuries. Most of the games that can be found in casinos today date back to the Middle Ages, albeit modernized in some way, shape or form. One of the most popular gambling games is roulette, which originated in the 18th century, and many historians believe that French mathematician and inventor Blaise Pascal introduced a primitive form when he searched for perpetual motion machines . The real spin of the roulette wheel offering the chance to win big or lose it all has fascinated us ever since. Jacob & Co shrunk it down to watch size, the fascinating Casino Tourbillon.
spin the wheel
The general concept of any gambling game is a risk and reward system. Roulette, named after the French term for “little wheel”, is one of the most popular gambling games, featuring a spinning wheel and ball system with slot numbers ranging from 0 or 00 to 36. Bets can be placed on single numbers, odds or even numbers. Black and red, a set of adjacent numbers, part of a betting board, etc. Usually, there are minimum and maximum bet limits, but no-limit tables can remove that limit if you wish. The payout ratio can be anywhere from 1:1 to 35:1, depending on how much risk you are willing to take. Betting on a single number limits your options, but obviously improves the odds significantly. You have a 50-50 chance when betting odds with even numbers or black with red numbers.
Roulette is an open game of chance, so you have the chance to get lucky with minimal losses or even wins. Still, if you play big, you walk out with 35 times as much money as you came in. It’s this feeling that drives many people to take risks, well thought out or not. Just don’t go in expecting to be a millionaire and then be disappointed when things don’t go exactly to plan because more often than not, the house wins. Perhaps your best bet (pun fully intended) is to invest in a watch that lets you decide what to prescribe. For example, watches like the Jacob & Co Casino Tourbillon.
wrist sized roulette
The Casino Tourbillon shrinks the classic roulette game down to a 44mm size that fits on the wrist. The coolest thing, though, is that it’s still a fully functional game. Ready to play anytime. A pusher with an elongated guard shaped somewhat like a traditional slider on a minute repeater spins a wheel over which a small white ceramic ball is tossed and lands on a numeral. But what that means is entirely up to you. Maybe it’s to determine who will cover the bar bill between you and a friend, or who will be the designated driver before you go out for a drink. The official roulette rules can of course also be applied if desired, provided you are lucky enough to play the dealer with a payout.
The spinning wheel is mounted on a set of miniature ceramic ball bearings for the smoothest possible rotation. The roulette wheel has a total of 37 slots, in typical Monaco style, with a green 0 slot and black and red numbers 1 to 36. The little white ball is thrown internally thanks to the sloping flange with diamond-shaped deflectors to enhance the “bouncing”. When it lands on a specific number and you or your friends bet on that number, someone wins! Very cool and fun to play. Note that, of course, in order to have a fair game, level needs to be maintained.
Now, the Casino Tourbillon is a wholesale fashion watch first and foremost, which means it can and should tell the perfect time. It does, thanks to the black onyx dial with gold-tone hour markers and a pair of gold-tone hands for the hours and minutes. It is pushed as far as possible towards the crystal so that the roulette ball does not interfere with the hands and get stuck between the crystal and the dial. That would definitely spoil the fun! All of this is housed in a 4mm wide polished rose gold case that is fairly hard wearing and fairly plain looking, at least by Jacob & Co standards. The height of 16.3mm is still quite large, but needs to allow room for the roulette complication. It does not have a traditional crown, as it can be wound and set with a pair of flip keys like in the Astronomia Revolution.
an almost hidden miracle
The casino tourbillon uses the self-developed JCAM51 hand-wound movement, which is almost completely hidden from sight. Usually, Jacob & Co likes to show off the mechanical splendor in its watches, but in this case, the game of roulette appropriately played the leading role. However, the case back does reveal the flying tourbillon escapement, which is decorated with stylized roulette wheel grooves and the name Jacob & Co is engraved on the tourbillon cage. In addition, the case back features an embossed portion of the roulette wheel, with three appliqués held in place by screws.
The movement consists of 286 individual parts and operates at 21,600 vph. It provides a very good 72 hours of power when fully wound using the left-hand up key. Flip it down, then up on the right side to set the time on the front. It’s a very clever and easy-to-use system, and relatively manageable for the size of the watch, at least compared to the Astronomia line. The entire movement is newly developed, only the roulette module is borrowed from the Astronomia Casino released in 2020.
Jacob & Co Casino Tourbillon watch with black alligator leather strap and rose gold deployant clasp. Sure, it’s a big change, but at least a fun and functional roulette system will allow you to win some money back from those who dare to take on the challenge. But keep your wits about you, because you don’t want to blow your pension or lose your kids’ college funds in the process! discount fashion watch
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS – JACOB & CO CASINO TOURBILLON
Case: Diameter 44mm x Height 16.3mm – 18K rose gold case, polished – domed sapphire crystal, A/R coated – 30m water resistant
Dial: Black onyx, gold kite hour markers – disc with lacquered pocket, ceramic ball – gold skeletonized hands, white Super-LumiNova
Movement: Caliber JCAM51 – Manual winding – 38mm x 9.05mm – 21,600 alternations per hour – 72 hours power reserve – 24 jewels – 268 parts – Hours, minutes, flying tourbillon – On-demand wheel with push buttons animation
Strap: Black alligator leather strap with gold folding clasp
Ref: CA100.40.A.AA.ABALA