Squid Game season 3 has finally hit the screens, and fans waiting in anticipation for the popular Korean drama have finally found peace. All this while, the cast was busy promoting Squid Game at press events and on popular primetime television shows. As part of the same event, Lee Byung-hun, who plays an integral character in the series, was a star guest on a recent episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, where he was spotted wearing the Jacob & Co. Astronomia Panda watch, paired with an all-black ensemble.
When asked by the host to show his beautiful accessory, the actor shyly moved his wrist around to flaunt the watch. Fallon jokingly asked: ‘Does it tell time?’ to which Byung-hun said: ‘Yeah, the panda tells the time.
Jacob and Co. Astronomia Panda (Insatgram/@jacobandco)
What makes the timepiece special?
Astronomia Art is a collection that gathers all the know-how Jacob & Co. has accumulated in watchmaking, high jewelry, and artistic crafts. Astronomia Art receives artistic figurines, decor, and themes of high symbolic content.
Miniature sculptures of animals, real or mythical, of constructions that are emblematic of a country, engraved gold plates, hand-painted miniature scenes, or a combination of the above, Astronomia Art is composed of minimal series and unique pieces. Their connection is a level of craft, expression, and symbolism that has no equivalent in the world of watchmaking.
Inside the development process
According to the official Jacob & Co. website, installing several types of miniature sculptures required altering the original Astronomia vertical, rotating caliber. Most of the Astronomia Art movements are therefore fixed versions of it. This allows it to integrate large, expressive vertical miniatures between its four arms.
Its dial is no longer rotating, but off-centered. Its tourbillon does away with one of its axes, thus becoming a double-axis, flying tourbillon. The Earth globe and moon are made from a one-carat, 288-facet, Jacob-cut diamond. In fact, its artistic calling is accomplished by the non-spinning version of the Astronomia movement: exclusive, hand-wound Caliber JCAM25.
The miniature subjects have in common a unique level of complexity and detail. They’re hand-made, hand-finished, and hand-painted by specialist craftspeople. Their hands are capable of executing the most delicate, intricate, and elaborate of subjects. They give each Astronomia Art its unique life.
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The watch retails for $ 1 million and is a limited-edition collectible, with only nine rare pieces available worldwide.
