Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Jacob & Co. · Billionaire
Jacob & Co. Billionaire 41 mm Mother-of-pearl Ceramic
Reference 42385OR.99
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Jacob & Co.
- Collection
- Billionaire
- Model
- Jacob & Co. Billionaire 41 mm Mother-of-pearl Ceramic
- Reference number
- 42385OR.99
- Year / era
- 1986 · 1980s — mechanical revival
- Complication
- GMT / second time zone
- Movement
- In-house manual-winding, hand-finished
- Case material
- Ceramic
- Dial type
- Mother-of-pearl
- Strap / bracelet
- Rubber strap with titanium clasp
- Water resistance
- 30 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 41 mm
- Case thickness
- 9.4 mm
- Case material
- Ceramic
- Bezel
- Fixed brushed titanium
- Crystal
- Box sapphire with AR coating
- Dial
- Mother-of-pearl
- Hands
- Skeletonised sword hands, white luminescent
- Indexes
- Applied Roman numerals
- Bracelet / strap
- Rubber strap with titanium clasp
- Clasp / buckle
- Pin buckle in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 30 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 17F — In-house manual-winding, hand-finished
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 70 hours
- Number of jewels
- 40 jewels
- Complications
- GMT / second time zone
- Functions
- Annual calendar, moon phase
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1986 – 1994
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Marc Newson
Marc Newson is an Australian industrial designer whose work spans Qantas cabins, Apple hardware and Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos clocks; his watch design reduces the object to pure geometry and legibility.
Historical significance
Jacob & Co. Billionaire 41 mm Mother-of-pearl Ceramic sits within Jacob & Co.'s Billionaire line, introduced in 1986. It carries the house codes established since 1986 — ceramic case, mother-of-pearl dial and in-house manual-winding, hand-finished — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
The House
Jacob & Co.
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1986
- Founder
- Jacob Arabo
- Headquarters
- United States
- Tier
- Ultra-Luxury & Haute Horlogerie
- Major collections
- Astronomia, Billionaire, Bugatti Chiron, Casino Tourbillon, Epic X, Twin Turbo Furious, Five Time Zone
- Signature technologies
- Anti-magnetic silicon escapement · Hand-applied guilloché dials · Composite and ceramic case materials
- Famous movements
- In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor · In-house automatic micro-rotor · In-house manual-winding, hand-finished · In-house tourbillon, manual-winding
- Notable watches
- Jacob & Co. Astronomia 40 mm Meteorite 18k (2001) · Jacob & Co. Astronomia 42 mm Blue Sapphire (2002) · Jacob & Co. Astronomia 42 mm Skeletonised Carbon (1986) · Jacob & Co. Astronomia 39 mm Green Platinum (2002)
Brand history
Jacob & Co. has spent more than 40 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Astronomia, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Jacob Arabo established Jacob & Co. in 1986, working from United States at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Jacob & Co. calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1986
Jacob Arabo founds Jacob & Co. in United States.
1990
Jacob & Co. enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Jacob & Co. continues to produce Astronomia, Billionaire, Bugatti Chiron and other icons in limited numbers.