As a child of the 1980s, I grew up just a few years before a little thing called the Internet became widely available. Games were more offline than online, and you had to time your favorite TV shows or risk missing them. Growing up, I had a few favorite TV cartoons and board games. To my surprise, two of these things have just appeared in the ultra-complex game of Jacob & Co in collaboration with renowned artist and painter Alec Monopoly. Once again, this is mechanical boldness to the extreme.
The Astronomia Alec Monopoly watch, presented as part of a special collaboration between perhaps the most extravagant independent watchmaker and the famous street artist, combines several artistic crafts within the signature Astronomia theme. Four arms of the mechanism rotate over a sparkling dial base made of black aventurine, featuring four unique handmade characters familiar to almost everyone.
In a playful manner, four money-themed figures rotate with the movement. The first is an interpretation of Alec Monopoly himself, wearing a mask and spreading his arms like "money wings." Secondly, there's Scrooge McDuck, the ludicrously wealthy character from Donald Duck comics. Next is Mr. Monopoly from the board game, holding a melting pink ice cream cone with a dollar sign. The last figure is a red dollar sign with colorfully painted sides.
Each of these figures is hand-sculpted and cast in gold, then finished by hand. Alec Monopoly then hand-paints each of them, which is quite different from his usual work in terms of size, as he is used to working with much larger canvases than this. Working on such a small scale is far from easy, but the result is bright and fun.
Of course, the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Alec Monopoly watch cannot be called a simple and restrained watch, nor can its case. The 18-carat rose gold case provides an almost unobstructed view of the entire spectacle thanks to cutouts in the case strap and the extremely domed sapphire crystal. As mentioned, everything visible on the dial rotates thanks to the signature JCAM25 manual-winding mechanism. This mechanism displays the time with a satellite sub-dial that remains upright. At the opposite end is a double-axis tourbillon escapement. The other two arms hold a rotating, hand-lacquered globe and a spherical diamond with 288 facets.
The Jacob & Co Astronomia Alec Monopoly watch is released in a limited edition of 9 pieces priced at USD 600,000. For more information, please visit Jacob&Co.com.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS – JACOB & CO. ASTRONOMIA ALEC MONOPOLY
Case: 50 mm diameter x 25 mm height – 18-carat rose gold case with sapphire crystals along the case strap – extremely domed sapphire crystal – installed rear crown for setting and winding – water resistance 30 m
Dial: black aventurine main dial – fully rotating four-arm mechanism – rotating satellite hours and minutes sub-dial with green hands – rotating hand-lacquered magnesium globe – spherical Jacob-cut diamond weighing 1 carat with 288 facets – double-axis tourbillon escapement – four miniature handmade figures painted by Alec Monopoly
Movement: Jacob & CO JCAM25 proprietary caliber – manual winding – 41.65 mm diameter x 17.15 mm height – 42 jewels – 21,600 vph (3 Hz frequency) – hand-finished elements to high horology standards – double-axis tourbillon escapement – satellite-form rotating dial – hours, minutes
Strap: black alligator leather strap – 18-carat rose gold folding clasp
Availability: Limited edition of 9 pieces
Price: 600,000 USD