The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone: A tale of legacy, family heirloom and watchmaking

This is the story of the watch that started it all. The watch that opened the world and the world of watchmaking to Jacob Arabo. The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone is a tribute to an Arabov family heirloom, inspired by a double time zone watch that Jacob Arabov received at the age of 13, from the hands of his father, Nison Arabov.

A timepiece so special in his eyes that it gave him the desire and the determination to one day create his own timepieces. It is the original spark that inspired every single Jacob & Co. timepiece. This watch is still in the family, waiting to be passed on to the next generation. While waiting, it became the inspiration for The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone. 

Creation is a personal, emotional process for Jacob Arabo. And in this case, one that rings closest to the heart. So The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone is more than a two timezone watch, with independent hours and minutes. It's more than a piece of beautiful craft, with a great domed dial, featuring the Earth as seen from the sky. It's proof that a father's love is the key that unlocks the world. 

Picture the scene. The place is Tashkent, Uzbekistan, then a Republic from the USSR, where the Arabov family originates from. In the room are Jacob Arabov, aged 13, and his father, Nison Arabov. Between them, an exchange takes place. From one hand to the other, a watch is being gifted and with it, intense emotion. Forty-five years later, these very same men, joined by their son and grandson Benjamin Arabov, pose together for a family portrait. Three generations united by a common legacy, with a very special timepiece as a common thread. A timepiece that represents the world as if saying “Go, my son! Go conquer it!”

Watches passed on from father to son carry unique importance. They are way more than a mere object : a symbol of what's really being transmitted: values, love, wisdom, blessings and not a little amount of pressure to succeed. That specific timepiece bears the once-famous Wakmann brand name, and it would go on to inspire every Jacob & Co. watch ever made.

The new chapter

There is always an intimate component in a Jacob & Co. creation. Design never comes out of the blue. It's rooted in a story, a desire, and for Jacob Arabov, that story always has something to do with passion. What he does, he does entirely. What he designs, he designs wholeheartedly. In that respect, The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone is the most authentic creation he ever undertook. It comes from the heart. 

In a moving gesture of respect, gratitude, love and care, Jacob Arabo and Benjamin Arabov decided that this new collection would be named The World Is Yours, as a tribute to Mr. Nison Arabov, the man that gave them the True North in their life. A true north that is represented on The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone in the shape of a wind rose, serving as small seconds.

A family legacy

Two sub-dials caught between two engravings, one of Europe, the other of the Americas : the timepiece Jacob Arabov received had a two time zone complication. A dial that represents a map view of the world was a rare sight at the time, and not traditional at all. Especially not one depicting the West in the USSR. Picturing the West was a luxury afforded privately, secretly even in that time and place. Yet that's what the Arabov family did, and so they eventually managed to leave and reached the U.S.A.

Nison Arabov's gift to his son was a sign, a reminder that the world is an open possibility, that it can be reached and conquered. And so, as he received it, Jacob Arabov decided he would one day make watches, his own watches. In a way, this timepiece is the mother of all Jacob & Co. timepieces, or rather, their father. 

Showing the way

The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone is the first timepiece from the new The World Is Yours collection. Because of its original inspiration, the first complication Jacob & Co. implemented is a double time zone with two sub-dials. It's sitting inside a 43-mm rose gold case where everything is curved. Its bezel is stepped, rounded and very thin in order to offer the largest dial possible. It's followed by a large, highly domed sapphire crystal. 

This is a necessary feature as the dial itself is curved, like the Earth it represents. The height difference between its lower and highest points is an astonishing 3.7 mm. As a result, the hands are also curved. The crown is short, integrated into the case outline, rounded, polished and discreet.

Grasping the Earth

The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone dial is a testament to Jacob & Co.'s sense of craft and detail. On either side of the Atlantic Ocean, three continents are represented. Northern, Central and Southern America to the west, Africa, Europe and the western most parts of Asia to the East, including the Arabian Peninsula. Each landmass is stamped and rendered in a rose gold finish of exceptional relief. Mountains and depressions present a high level of detail and realism. They're given extra presence by the curvature of the dial. 

Overall, this dial gives the impression of seeing Earth from space. But the world is a globe. And The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone represents all of it. The caseback is full, also made of 18k rose gold, and engraved. This is where the rest of the world lies. From Europe to Japan, depicting all of Africa and Asia. Against the skin. Hidden from view from everyone, except the wearer. 

Crafting the world

The dial is a highly domed brass plate. The continents' outlines are carved with a high precision laser. Their surface is stamped using a purpose-built, high-accuracy mold. All three sub-dials are carved into the dial plate. The entire piece then undergoes a galvanic treatment covering it in rose gold. 

The oceans and seas are lacquered blue, an operation so delicate it's entirely made by hand. Lastly, Roman and Arabic numerals and the minute tracks are gold-stamped into place on top of the blue lacquer. And with that final touch, The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone becomes a profound technical, aesthetic and emotional creation. 

Powering the orbit

The World Is Yours Dual Time Zone is powered by a brand new Jacob & Co. exclusive caliber. It indicates two time zones, complete with hours and minutes, vertically aligned on either side of a small seconds. Each time zone can be set at will using the crown, down to the minute. This feature is very rare, but completely indispensable in Jacob & Co.'s view. It is the only way countries with an unusual UTC time offset can display both their local time and another one.