Jacob & Co. Introduces the Angel Cut in the $3.4M Billionaire Double Tourbillon
Jacob & Co. has unveiled the Billionaire Double Tourbillon Angel Cut, and in case the name didn’t already give it away, this is not a watch built on the idea of restraint. It is huge, wildly gem set, mechanically theatrical, and priced at a cool $3.4 million. So yes, very much business as usual for Jacob & Co. That said, there is a genuinely interesting story buried underneath all the glitter.
The big news here is the debut of the Angel Cut, a new patented diamond cut developed in house by Jacob & Co. and launched as part of the brand’s 40th anniversary celebrations. Now, plenty of brands love throwing around words like innovation, invention, and breakthrough whenever a stone gets moved half a millimetre to the left, but this does seem to be a proper attempt at creating something distinctive.
According to Jacob & Co., the Angel Cut was developed over two years with the aim of preserving the yield and clean geometry of rectangular stones, while improving light return and overall optical performance. In simple terms, the brand is trying to get more life, more glow, and more visual depth out of a shape that can sometimes look a bit stiff compared to more brilliant cuts.
The Angel Cut features 37 facets and takes its name from Angela, Jacob Arabo’s wife. The 37 facet count is also said to mark the couple’s 37 years of marriage. Normally that kind of backstory can feel a touch overcooked, but in fairness, when the entire launch revolves around a new cut, at least the sentiment is tied to something central rather than being awkwardly pasted on afterwards.
Visually, the cut is designed around a lozenge shaped table set within a stepped rectangular outline with cut corners. Jacob & Co. says this changes the way light travels through the diamond, producing a more continuous glow, less extinction, and a softer, more controlled brilliance. Basically, it is aiming for something a bit more refined than the usual all out sparkle assault.
Whether you buy into all the gemological poetry or not, there is at least a logical idea behind it. Traditional round brilliant cuts tend to maximise fire, but they also waste more rough in the process. Step cuts preserve more material, though they can sometimes sacrifice vibrancy. The Angel Cut is supposed to sit somewhere in between, which makes a lot of sense in a high jewellery watch where both visual drama and material efficiency matter.
To launch it, Jacob & Co. has done the most Jacob & Co. thing imaginable and dropped it into the Billionaire Double Tourbillon. Because clearly, if you’ve developed a proprietary diamond cut, the only sensible place to debut it is on a watch that looks like it belongs in a Bond villain’s drinks cabinet.
The 54 x 41mm white gold case is set with 98 Angel Cut diamonds totalling 51.13 carats, while the dial continues the theme with a further arrangement of Angel Cut and baguette cut stones framing the twin tourbillon apertures. In total, the watch is set with 298 white diamonds amounting to roughly 79 carats. So, subtle, this is not.
Underneath all of that is the hand wound JCAM50 calibre, a 460 component movement with a 72 hour power reserve and two flying one minute tourbillons positioned at 12 and 6 o’clock. That layout gives the piece a strong symmetry, and to be fair, it does stop the whole thing from descending entirely into visual chaos. Flip it over and the skeletonised movement is visible through the sapphire caseback, offering a reminder that this is, somehow, still watchmaking and not just weaponised jewellery.
For anyone familiar with the Billionaire collection, this is the latest chapter in Jacob & Co.’s ongoing mission to see how far gem set watchmaking can be pushed before the concept itself taps out. Since its debut in 2015, the Billionaire line has been the brand’s ultimate statement piece, pairing absurd quantities of diamonds with equally dramatic mechanics. Previous versions leaned on more familiar emerald and Asscher style geometries. This one matters because it introduces something proprietary, something Jacob can point to and say, this is ours. And that is really the reason this watch is worth talking about.
Because while the easy headline is the $3.4 million price tag, or the 79 carats of diamonds, or the fact that it looks like it could blind a small village in direct sunlight, the more interesting angle is that Jacob & Co. is trying to carve out a bit of territory in gem cutting itself. That is a more meaningful move than simply building another oversized halo piece for the ultra rich.
Limited to 18 pieces, the Billionaire Double Tourbillon Angel Cut is exactly what you’d expect from Jacob & Co. taken to its natural extreme. Loud, lavish, mechanically serious, and entirely unbothered by the idea of doing less.
Not everyone will love it, obviously. But then again, Jacob & Co. has never really been in the business of asking permission.
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