Rising from the center of the Astronomia, the cobra uses its powerful gaze to mesmerize its prey... you.

Jacob & Co.'s newest art piece, the Astronomia Art Cobra, is a masterpiece combining both high art and high watchmaking.

The cobra symbolizes many things in cultures around the world: wisdom, enchantment, hypnosis, protectiveness, courage, and confidence.

When challenged, the cobra strikes the pose you see in this magnificent timepiece - it raises its head, expands its hood and is ready to attack. The body of the cobra winds around the high watchmaking tourbillon movement, protecting it, and you, from harm.

Powering this remarkable timepiece is the iconic Jacob & Co. double-axis tourbillon movement, featuring four satellite arms. The tourbillon is on one arm, turning on two axes, one in 60 seconds and the second in five minutes.

On the second satellite is the 288-facet Jacob-cut diamond, rotating on itself in 60 seconds. On the third satellite, directly across from the tourbillon, is the time display, while on the fourth satellite is the magnesium lacquered globe, which rotates on itself in 60 seconds.

The cobra sculpture is designed using 3D software over the course of three months involving hundreds of hours of work, and is then cast in solid 18K rose gold. Once the cast is finished, the sculpture is then hand-engraved for another three months, with one artisan meticulously working on this piece of art with specialized tools. Then, and only then, is the cobra ready to be finished, a single artisan painting it by hand with miniature brushes. A total of six months is needed to complete this unique piece, and the attention to detail is immediately evident and simply amazing.

Customization and bespoke work have been the foundation of Jacob & Co. since the beginning and continue to this day. The brand has created a number of Astronomia Art pieces - the Phoenix, Dragons, Spiders, Octopi, Horses, Tigers, world cities and now the spectacular Cobra. Visit any Jacob & Co. point of sale or contact the brand directly to inquire about the timepiece you would like to create.

The Jacob-Cut diamond starts out as a much larger rough diamond. First, a rough diamond big enough has to be found, and the purity, clarity, and color has to be of the highest quality both inside and out, and there can be no inclusions. If they start to cut the diamond and find an inclusion, the entire piece will be ruined.

Next, the diamond is cut by machine into a round shape, close in size to the final diamond.

Then, the gem cutter shapes the stone by hand, cutting each individual facet (of 288). This has to be done slowly and carefully, as the stone has to be perfectly round and symmetrical. The danger is that the stone will become oblong and not round. To be used in the Astronomia Collection, the Jacob-cut diamond has to be completely round and weigh exactly as much as the other three satellites (time display, triple-axis tourbillon, magnesium globe).

During the process, if the gem cutter puts slightly too much pressure while adding the facets, too much of the diamond will be cut away, and the ball will end up smaller than the desired diameter. The cutting process takes at least two weeks of dedicated, painstaking work.

To make the final one-carat, Jacob-cut diamond with 288 facets, more than half of the initial rough diamond will be cut away.

The complexity of cutting the 288 facets by hand and making sure everything is symmetrical and the diamond is absolutely round, is what makes the Jacob & Co. diamond used in the Astronomia collection so special.

The globe is made of blue-lacquered magnesium with white gold continents to ensure consistency in weight, as all four satellites have to weigh exactly the same. The globe rotates on itself in 30 seconds.

The Astronomia Art Cobra's case measures 50 millimeters in diameter and 25 millimeters thick between the highest point of its specially curved front sapphire crystal and the lowest point of its case. Crafted from 18K rose gold, the case features four sapphire crystal windows installed throughout the periphery, allowing for unhindered viewing.

The Roman numerals on the skeletonized dial are hand-engraved and filled with black lacquer, while the hand-finished hands appear in gun blue metallic.

Solid 18K rose gold Cobra, hand-engraved and hand-painted

Iconic gravitational double-axis tourbillon

288-facet Jacob-cut diamond turning in 60 seconds

Magnesium globe turning in 60 seconds

Domed and curved, anti-reflective sapphire crystal