A Billionaire has never shined brighter
Launched in 2015 as a unique piece, Billionaire, first of the name, was an unheard-of timepiece. Created as a bespoke project, it took several years to find, sort, cut and prep its 239 emerald-cut white diamonds. It was an enterprise of incredible proportions, as was its price of USD 18 million. Its signature, filigree, skeleton tourbillon movement put it at the top of the watchmaking foodchain. Billionaire garnered immense international attention, prompting Jacob & Co. to make an entire collection out of this stratospheric concept.
With 424 diamonds totaling 161 ct, Billionaire II took the initial concept even further. Its tourbillon movement was set with 57 baguette-cut diamonds, another unprecedented feat. This paved the way for the 18-piece limited series Billionaire III and its 714 white baguette-cut diamonds. Billionaire III Diamonds and Rubies opened yet another door in the collection’s repertoire with a flange, movement and crown set with a total of 134 rubies. Jacob & Co. then explored the vast possibilities offered by the prestigious Ahoka-cut with the unique piece called Billionaire Ashoka. It was followed by Billionaire Ashoka Smaller, a limited edition of 18 pieces set with 480 Ashoka-cut diamonds ( 100 ct.)
Billionaire Timeless Treasure is made of 425 natural Asscher-cut, IF to VVS yellow diamonds, 76 emerald-cut and kite-cut tsavorite, and 57 natural baguette-cut yellow diamonds set on its skeleton tourbillon movement. The total of 482 yellow diamonds weighs an incredible 216.9ct., creating a divine glow for an eternal timepiece.
During a three-and-a-half year treasure hunt across the globe, Jacob & Co. has almost dried up the market for exceptionally large and high-quality yellow diamonds to complete Billionaire Timeless Treasure. The first-ever colored Billionaire demanded absolute color uniformity, perfect quality consistence and the brightest of lights.
All Billionaires are made unique by the cream-of-the-crop quality of the white diamonds Jacob & Co. has been using since the first Billionaire was released. In the case of Billionaire Timeless Treasure, the quality requirements are much more stringent as it required only a very rare king of gems: yellow diamonds. Not yellow sapphires, which are much easier to come by. And not just any yellow diamonds.
Finding 482 diamonds, all of which are natural, all of which are IF to VVS in clarity, either Fancy Yellow and Fancy Intense Yellow in color, all of which are large, all of which are fit for the Asscher-cut, is a task so hard no one ever undertook it. The total rough weight of those stones, prior to any kind of cutting, is estimated to have been around 880 ct.
Crafting Billionaire Timeless Treasure has been an undertaking of Olympus-like proportions, an unprecedented achievement in the history of high jewelry watchmaking. Never before has there been a timepiece so lavishly set, with so many high-quality and large yellow diamonds. Never before has the gathering of such gemstones been as long, patient and resolute in its quest for quality and color consistence. Never before have said stones been cut at such a high level of complexity as the Asscher cut in such large quantities for a single piece.
Crafting Billionaire Timeless Treasure was not only a game of patience, but also a game of skills and color. Each gem has a designated place. The larger ones are meant for the case and the first rows of the bracelet. Their individual size diminishes in perfectly regular increments as they near the clasp.
Billionaire Timeless Treasure is a mosaic where each yellow diamond has a specific part to play. These are not interchangeable brilliants on a bezel. Billionaire Timeless Treasure is an artful composition. As in any composition, the underlying canvas is of paramount importance. Such is the case for the yellow gold structure that offers its support to Billionaire Timeless Treasure’s gems. This highly complex lattice is crafted to measure, link by link, prong by prong and fine-tuned for each of the gems it’s destined to receive.
In art, mastering color means expanding beyond the monochromatic. Jacob & Co. used one of its favorite gems, one that has now become a signature of the brand’s highest-end creations : tsavorite. It provides Billionaire Timeless Treasure with extra life, extra relief and unrivaled gem composition. 76 of them have been selected, emerald-cut and kite-cut, to surround calibre JCAM39. 3.59 ct. of the rare green garnet adorn Billionaire Timeless Treasure’s flange
The skeleton tourbillon movement Jacob & Co. uses in all its Billionaires is so thin, so fine it might go unnoticed at first sight. Caliber JCAM39 offers a comfortable power reserve of 72 hours and the extreme accuracy provided by a rotating regulating organ.
The nature of all Billionaires is to combine the demands of high jewelry with those of high watchmaking. Which is why the extremely fine skeleton inside Billionaire Timeless Treasure is enhanced with 57 baguette-cut yellow diamonds. Each gem has been invisibly set on a bridge thinner than 0.2 mm. And to match the color scheme of this extraordinary timepiece, it’s been yellow-gold plated, while its hands receive green tips.
This article is a re-publish of the actual information on Jacob & Co´s webpage.
