Jacob & Co. Astronomia Sky
Jacob & Co. Astronomia Sky
It might just be the craziest high quality replica watches in the world: the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Sky. It's crazier than you think.
Background
Jacob & Co. approaches watchmaking the same way that Blofeld approaches running a small or medium-sized business: completely crazy. Most other watchmakers view a watch as a tool to tell time, and maybe add a few complications or artistry to convey personality, but not Jacob & Co. Their approach is to take a few LSD pills, watch the entirety of Disney's Fantasia, and then put pen to paper.
One particular trip led to a crazy Astronomia. But this watch wasn't, because Jacob & Co. decided that the Astronomia wasn't crazy enough. So they went back to the drawing board and designed the Astronomia Sky.
The first Astronomia came out in 2014 and was an attempt to take our planetary satellite system and put it in a three-dimensional form and put it in a watch. You know what I mean? Not a healthy way to start a replica luxury watches concept. The last time something like this happened, aliens invaded and Will Smith was recruited to put everything back to normal.
Despite the madness of the proposition, Jacob & Co.'s effort was a pretty big success. The Astronomia contains the Earth, the Moon, and even the time, because we need to keep reminding ourselves that this is also a watch.
Balancing the time - literally - is the regulating mechanism of the watch, and the tourbillon rotates on not one, not two, but three axes. Just to be sure. My grandma always said that there are never enough rotation modes.
One axis rotates once a minute, just like a tourbillon, and the other axis, perpendicular to the tourbillon, rotates five times a minute, making a double tourbillon. So where's the third axis? That's a triple tourbillon. That's right, the entire tourbillon rotates around its center once every twenty minutes, like a complete lunatic. Not only that, but the Earth and the Moon rotate, too.
You might be wondering, if the timekeeping part of this display cycles 360 degrees every 20 minutes, how on earth can you tell the time? Yes, it's ingenious: it stays upright at all times. How? I think it's easier to assume witchcraft now. I don't have enough brain capacity to try to figure it out.
Anyway, since the whole thing looks like something out of Neil deGrasse Tyson's brain, I'm not sure I have any brain capacity left. Look at this thing for too long and you'll definitely go crazy, lost in the existential crisis that comes with spending time with it. Who am I? What's my purpose? Am I a speck of dust in an infinite universe of everything? Producer Michael was an accountant in a suit before he got his job. replica Jacob & Co. Astronomia Sky
As crazy as all this is, having a miniature world on your wrist and having these features described to you all inherited from the original Astronomia makes them old news. And old news is boring. If this is the better, crazier Astronomia Sky, then surely there must be something crazier? You better believe it.
So what exactly does the addition of "Sky" to Astronomia mean? Thinking back to the psychedelic trip that got us here in the first place, it can only mean one thing. Yes, that's right. They even crammed an entire universe into this, too.
Deep within the orbital display – and I do mean deep, the watch is 47mm in diameter and 25mm thick – is a blued steel night sky map that, combined with an oval window, shows you your night sky from the perspective of the Northern Hemisphere. That way you can check and make sure aliens haven't abducted you and put up a nearly identical zoo planet for the amusement of their youngsters. swiss replica watches
The whole mechanism rotates once per sidereal year (don't ask), which gives it the added bonus of also serving as a month indicator, cleverly etched on the outer edge and visible through a sapphire window on the side of the rose gold case.
But that's not the only secret of the updated Astronomia Sky. On the original Astronomia, the Earth and Moon used to be opposite each other, balancing each other in the manner of time and tourbillon. In place of the Earth here is a seconds display that spins around its center, looking a bit like an orbiting space station with an artificial gravity ring, à la 2001: A Space Odyssey. At least I think so, and I don't even know what Jacob & Co. did when they actually made this watch.
The Earth is relocated to prime position at the center, a hand-carved and painted titanium sphere that looks like the finest marble in any little boy's marble collection. Here it's upgraded to a tinted sapphire hemisphere that, you guessed it, represents the half of the Earth covered in shadow during what we earthlings call “night.” The whole mechanism rotates with the main frame every 20 minutes, and the Earth itself rotates relative to the sapphire hemisphere once every 24 hours. Yes, try to wrap your brain around that. replica watches for sale
Of course, the Moon is still a giant diamond, cut into 288 facets to form a sphere called a Jacob's cut that rotates once a minute. If H. Moser had made this watch, perhaps it would have been made of cheese like the real Moon. But it wasn't, so I guess we'll have to use diamonds instead. It takes about two intense and laborious weeks to make a Jacob's cut diamond, because it's easy to overdo each facet. If it's overdone, the other facets will have to be redone as well, and the whole thing will end up being smaller. It's the same principle as spreading out chocolates in a chocolate box so that it still looks full, only in this case it'll cost a ton of money and get you fired.
Put all of this together and you have the most insane thing that ever descended upon an unsuspecting wrist. It's certainly not small, nor is it delicate, and I doubt it's the kind of thing Steve McQueen would have given up his Submariner for, but it's still absolutely incredible nonetheless. It's easy to dismiss a watch like this as being too much, but for me it's a bit like looking up at the night sky in a dark place, seeing the band of light of the Milky Way, and then dismissing it as "too much".
The Astronomia Sky is an incredible demonstration of what's possible when the sky is the limit. It's a mesmerizing and intoxicating piece of mechanical sculpture that just happens to be secured to your wrist by the most nerve-wracking reptilian hide since Crocodile Dundee. I'm sorry to say that only a select few will ever get to experience it in person. I guess they want to minimize the risk of an existential lobotomy. best Replica Watches
