Whether Jay-Z was boasting his alligator-strapped Audemars Piguet in the opening line of “Show You How” or graduating to a Richard Mille from a Franck Muller in “Gotta Have It,” Hova’s love for timepieces has been public knowledge since Reasonable Doubt.
Who else would J. Cole tap for a guest verse on a song called “Mr. Nice Watch,” after all?
This time, he’s flexing the brand-spanking-new Bugatti Tourbillon by Jacob & Co., making him the first to snag this wrist-bound hot rod.
But let’s be real—being first in line for the latest Jacob & Co. creation isn’t just wealth. It’s about influence, and Jay-Z has plenty of it.
With a massive 52 mm black titanium case, black and red accent coloring, and a functional V-16 engine recreated from a single piece of sapphire, the watch carries itself more like Optimus Prime than a slick racer.
Following the brand’s reverence for complexity that borders madness, the Bugatti Tourbillon is a miniature feat of engineering that honors the ferocious hypercar. For those keeping track, the Bugatti Tourbillon is the most powerful car in the brand’s history, capable of hitting a mind-boggling 276 mph.
Intricate design trickles down into every nut and bolt. The Tourbillon’s exterior features large sapphire openings on the sides, allowing the wearer a miniature “popping the hood” moment to admire its mechanical organs. The base of the watch also sees two cooling inlets resembling the iconic Bugatti grille.
And let’s not overlook the 557 components and a 48-hour power reserve. You think Bugatti and Jacob & Co. would shill EV’s by making it quartz-powered? As if.
Jacob & Co. is hardly the first to inject petrol into a timepiece. Watches and cars have shared the road for decades—just see the Richard Mille 029 Le Mans Classic or their ultraflat UP-01 designed in conjunction with Ferrari.
However, rarely has a watchmaker cloned the mechanical wonder of an internal combustion engine in such a vivid, expressive manner. Jacob & Co. is the only blue-chip watch brand that dares to be conceptual—sometimes ostentatiously so—but their vision always delivers something fresh.
Who else could make a watch inspired by The Godfather that houses a working music box that plays the movie’s theme without suffering a massive blow to the brand image? Nobody.
Now, at $340,000, this timepiece isn’t exactly accessible to most. With only 150 examples of the watch being produced and the first already in the hands of Iceberg Slim, it’s clear that exclusivity remains the ultimate status symbol. The line between luxury and excess is blurry with this one, but Jacob & Co. is in the business of making statements rather than telling time.
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