The dragon is a recurring theme for Jacob & Co., ever an auspicious platform for combining highly detailed metiers d’art craftsmanship with the audacious technicality that is the hallmark of the brand. It revisits the theme but, this time, presents it in a much more wearable format—but one that is no less impressive. Enter the Astronomia Solar Dragon.
The rose gold case is 44mm in diameter, which sounds large, but recall that the full-fat Astronomia Dragon with its double-axis tourbillon is 50mm across. In both cases, the pronounced downward curve of the lugs means it suits more wrists than the measurement suggests. The star of the show is a coiled Asian dragon, assembled from three cast pieces of solid rose gold. It takes two weeks to engrave and polish—by hand, of course—during which time the finer points of its scale, claws, and hair are detailed. It is then hand-painted, which requires another week.
The movement is its own spectacle, consisting of three arms: one is for the dial, another for the flying tourbillon, and the final one for a miniature Earth that itself rotates every minute. Most of its components are crafted out of titanium, and the dragon comes alarmingly close to some of the parts—in some places, only a half-millimetre gap separates calibre from sculpture, which makes it all the more intriguing a composition. The centrepiece is a 288-facet, Jacob-cut yellow gem, while the backdrop for the entire construction is a blue titanium plate, printed with a sky chart. The deeply domed crystal and large sapphire windows of the case middle let in plenty of light and allow fantastic viewing. This rendition of the Astronomia Solar Dragon is limited to 36 pieces.
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