Cleaner design with more elaborate mechanics.

Jacob & Co. has recently unveiled the latest iteration of its quintessential Astronomia timepiece: the Astronomia Régulateur. Departing from the extravagant complications and astronomical displays of its predecessors, the Régulateur embraces a more refined approach as a time-only watch, allowing its clever time display to take center stage.

One-minute regulator

In last year’s Astronomia Revolution, we witnessed the introduction of the central carrier completing a rotation every minute, a significant departure from the previous 20-minute or 10-minute period. This central carrier houses all the time-telling components as well as the balance wheel, thus its rotation practically takes everything on the front for a spin. This feature is retained in the latest Astronomia Régulateur.

To fully exploit the rapid rotation, Jacob & Co. has reimagined the central carrier, dividing the dial into two distinct sub-dials: one displaying the hour and the other the minute, akin to a traditional regulator clock found in a watchmaker’s workshop. The combination of these two sub-dials with the tourbillon creates a triple-counter layout reminiscent of a chronograph. What sets it apart is that all three sub-dials make a complete rotation around the dial every minute.

As an interesting aside, the tourbillon is a double-axis flying tourbillon. Not only does it have its own 60-second cycle, but the carrier upon which it sits also completes a revolution every minute along a different axis.

Adding to the dynamic display, there’s a seconds indicator in the form of a ring encircling the dial. The seconds dial rotates counterclockwise against a fixed pointer at six o’clock to mark the passage of seconds. It’s difficult to envision another timepiece offering such visual dynamism with twin one-minute rotations on the dial.

Design and construction

It’s important to note that the latest Astronomia Régulateur keeps things simple, without fancy rotating globes or stars. The result is a watch that looks more serious and minimalistic, showing off its technical skills better than the older, flashy Astronomia models. This move towards cleaner design is slowly happening with the Astronomia range. Last year’s Astronomia Revolution was also a good example of this sleeker style.

You can see the simple design not just on the dial but also on the side of the watch case. The see-through window on the side of the case really shows off the simple dial and movement inside. This lets the fast rotation shine without any distractions.

Talking about making things streamlined, the new JCAM56 movement is also the thinnest Astronomia movement from this brand so far. The whole watch, including the case, is only 18 mm tall, a big improvement from the earlier models that were 25 mm or more.

Also, the JCAM56 has something special: a 1/6th of a second remontoir. This means it works six times faster than the usual remontoir, discharging every time the balance wheel beats. It’s the fastest remontoir in the world.

According to an interview with the brand’s master watchmaker, Bahman Tagharrobi, they made this remontoir to solve a problem with the high-speed carrier: it needs a lot of energy to work, which puts too much pressure on the escapement. So, they made this remontoir to break down the energy into smaller bits, protecting the movement from damage.

Jacob & Co. Astronomia Régulateur Specifications

Movement: JCAM56; manual-winding; 48 hours power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, and tourbillon
Case: 43 mm x 18 mm; 18k rose gold and sapphire; water resistant to 30 m
Strap: Alligator leather strap with 18k rose gold folding buckle
Limited edition: 250 pieces
Price: USD 280,000