When the Astronomia Tourbillon was introduced in 2014, the re-invention of the tourbillon in a vertical orientation and the constant turning of its four satellites garnered most of the attention.

What led to the development of the Astronomia Art Collection, however, is the incredible sapphire crystal and precious metal case, which puts everything on display.

So, the idea was to develop special works of art to put inside the Astronomia Tourbillon, using its massive sapphire crystal case as a gallery, while still showcasing the incredible Astronomia tourbillon movement. The brand started with dragons, octopi, spiders, horses and more. Incredibly successful, Jacob & Co. has expanded the Astronomia Tourbillon Art Collection every year since.

The mythical dragon is a magnificent creature, representing strength and power, glory and good fortune. The Jacob & Co. artisan who crafts the dragon first does research to find the perfect dragon as source material, then works on the computer to create a detailed 3-D plan. From this, the 18K gold cast is made. Finally, after two or more months, the detail work begins as every part of the dragon is gone over with a fine-toothed comb, every surface finished and engraved, then polished.

This is an additional three months of painstaking work, and then the movement is assembled around the sculpture, care taken to make sure nothing obstructs the perfect functioning of the watch.

The tourbillon is widely considered the ultimate complication, as it turns and spins to counter the effects of gravity on the precision of the movement. For the Astronomia Collection, Jacob & Co. has taken the tourbillon one step farther, introducing additional axes in which the tourbillon turns. For the Astronomia Art Dragon, the tourbillon is double-axis - turning in two axes: one in 60 seconds and the second in 2.5 minutes. The dragon sculpture blocks the movement from making its normal tour around the dial.

Customization and bespoke work has been the foundation of Jacob & Co. since the beginning and continues to this day. The brand has created a number of Astronomia Art pieces - Dragons, Spiders, Octopi, Horses, Tigers, world cities and more. Visit any Jacob & Co. point of sale or contact the brand directly to inquire.

The Astronomia Art Collection has become an icon within the brand and collectors look to Jacob & Co. to see what's coming next. The Astronomia Art is a showcase of Jacob & Co.'s commitment to using traditional métiers d'art in a modern way.

The base dial of this timepiece is invisibly set with 257 Baguette Icy Blue Sapphires (≈ 9.88 ct.). The result is an impressively intricate and attractive timepiece with a base dial entirely covered in precious white diamonds using the difficult and sophisticated "invisible setting" (meaning none of the supporting metal is visible).

Jacob & Co. has been on the forefront of using precious stones since its founding in 1986, and has developed a number of special cuts and setting techniques. For the Astronomia Tourbillon, the brand developed the 288-facet Jacob-cut diamond. This special cut can be accomplished by only a select few gem cutters, and the rough stone typically starts out double the size of the finished diamond. The facets have to be incredibly precise so the diamond is perfectly symmetrical and round. In the Astronomia Art, the one carat Jacob-cut diamond rotates on itself in 30 seconds.

The globe is made of magnesium to ensure consistency in weight, as all four satellites have to weight exactly the same. The globe rotates on itself in 30 seconds.

The Astronomia Tourbillon Baguette'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 of the spectacular caliber and the artwork inside. The lugs are invisibly set with baguette-cut white diamonds.

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.