King of the Jungle. The lion is a symbol of strength, leadership, and courage. The Astronomia Art Lion from Jacob & Co honors this beautiful beast with an intricate hand-engraved and hand-painted bas relief Lion's Head in 18K white gold.

It takes the master engraver months to realize this level of detail, then the miniature painter takes over to put the final touches on this masterpiece.

The Astronomia movement, designed by and exclusive to Jacob & Co., revolutionized watchmaking. Until 2014, tourbillons were all flat, but the Astronomia changed the way people perceived high watchmaking forever. For the first time ever, Jacob & Co. turned the tourbillon into a multiple-axis, vertical marvel, constantly in motion. Captivating and mesmerizing, the Astronomia movement is an icon in the world of horology.

Powering this remarkable timepiece is the iconic Jacob & Co. triple-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.

All four satellites make one turn above the Lion engraving in 10 minutes.

The Astronomia Art Lion features a hand-engraved and hand-painted bas relief Lion's Head in 18K white gold on the 18K white gold base dial. It takes the master engraver months to realize this level of detail, then the miniature painter takes over to put the final touches on this masterpiece.

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, while traveling around the dial in 10 minutes.

The Astronomia Art Lion'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 time display sub-dial of the Astronomia Art Lion is driven through an infinitesimal differential system that allows it to always remain in the correct, 12/6 position as it rotates together with the movement's four-armed platform across the front of the Astronomia. 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.

Bas relief Lion, hand-engraved in 18K white gold and hand-painted

Iconic gravitational triple-axis tourbillon

288-facet Jacob-cut diamond turning in 60 seconds

Magnesium globe turning in 60 seconds

Domed and curved, anti-reflective sapphire crystal