jacob co

Martial Arts Star Donnie Yen Chosen As Jacob & Co. Ambassador

Bling-heavy watch brand Jacob & Co. is definitely going after the Chinese market with their new choice of brand ambassador. The company has chosen martial arts star Donnie Yen to represent the brand in China. While Yen isn't familiar to many here in the U.S., he is popular in China as a star and director of many action films.

Yen, shown at right with Jacob Arabo, is wearing a newly designed, limited-edition Five Time Zone collection timepiece with the Chinese character Tan. The watch face is covered in pave diamonds with a red map of China. "Our collaboration with Donnie Yen highlights the creative spirit that has become synonymous with Jacob & Co," says Arabo. "Donnie Yen embodies the style and spirit of the Jacob & Co lifestyle."

[via Luxury Daily]

Tags: brand ambassador, donnie yen, jacob co, jacob the jeweler, watchspotting

Courtney Love Sued For Missing Jewelry

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Celebrity Shopping

Courtney Love looked beautiful at the 2010 New Yorkers For Children Fall Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street back in September but now she's being sued for her failure to return the borrowed finery. Jacob & Co. has asked her to return missing pieces or pay replacement value of $113,700. The NY Daily News says that a suit filed Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court says that Love was loaned two white-gold and diamond chains, a white-gold floral mesh cuff bracelet and a set of white-gold and diamond hoop earrings. Only the bracelet made it back to the jeweler. The suit says that the jeweler has tried repeatedly to get Love to return the jewelry and comes just a few days after Love posted a series of provocative pictures on Twitter, one of which shows her with a glittering chain draped across her thigh.

Tags: courtney love, jacob co, jacob the jeweler

Jacob & Co. Epic II Watch Re-launch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Jacob & Co will relaunch itself in 2011. In addition to new pieces, the brand will re-release some existing models, but with perhaps some new colors. The hope of course is that people unfamiliar with their designs preciously will notice the many faces the brand has. I will be honest that until recently I only thought of the brand as having mostly multicolored watch dials with geometric shapes and 5 time zones. Now with Yvan Arpa leading the direction of product and design, Jacob & Co. is set to break new ground. But pieces like the Epic II show that Yvan Arpa has some nice existing designs to work with.

Here he does the watch in black and red (also available in yellow). The interesting watch looks like something he would design, being in PVD black steel and 47.5mm wide. Though it did predate Arpa. It has a base Swiss ETA 2894-2 automatic chronograph movement. The subdial hands incorporate the Jacob & Co. character nicely with the different shape. The dial itself is a thick carbon fiber. While the hands don't really match the watch design super well, they are very easy to see. Overall, the Epic II is a pretty neat watch and will fit the more chic, forward-design thinking personality that Arpa will give the brand when the world sees its new face in 2011.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 2011, epic, II, jacob co, red, watch

Sylvester Stallone Wearing A Jacob & Co. Skull Five Time Zone Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Want to know what some of the last Jacob & Co. watches look like before the brand gets totally revitalized next year? Here is Sylvester Stallone modeling a Jacob & Co. Skull Five Time Zone watch. With both white and black diamonds, the watch features the famous five time zone design (with four additional watch dials in addition to the main time. The case is 47mm wide in either black or polished steel, and the skull can be had in white diamonds with a black diamond background or vice versa. Inside the watch are Swiss ETA quartz movements (five of them). Being a Jacob & Co. watch, it is available with almost 10 carats of diamonds. Price starts at about $27,000. Does Stallone like it? Well, he liked it enough to wear it. Watches like this are gonna be collector's items of sorts when Jacob & Co. transforms itself under leadership by Yvan Arpa starting soon.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: jacob and co, jacob co, skull, stallone, sylvester stallone, watch, watchspotting

Jacob & Co. Watches + Yvan Arpa = Bright Future For Brand?

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Timepieces / Watches

The recent history of Jacob & Co. is arguably more interesting than their recent watches. With the brand's founder Jacob Arabov in jail, the brand's relevancy in the luxury market has more or less plummeted to irrelevancy. Especially in times like these when style, grace, and value are more important than showiness, excess, and being ostentatious. Just about dead, I assumed no life would be breathed back into the brand which defined bling until Jacob himself was free again.

Suddenly I get news that Jacob & Co. will have a new COO, and that it will be Yvan Arpa - whom I've discussed many times. With his hands already full with Black Belt, Artya, and Volna, does the Swiss watch designer, and all around free thinker have the time and insight to lead the once powerful urban wealth brand? Perhaps he will usher in a new era for Jacob & Co., giving its staid image a new direction. Seen here are two new designs that I believe are products of Arpa's leadership. I admit that they are much more tasteful and held back than previous Jacob & Co. pieces, and display Arpa's signature penchant for large, interesting watch cases. Both models feature tourbillon complications and totally jewel covered cases. Interestingly enough, the name of the brand is left off the dials, in favor of subtle logos built into the tourbillon carriages. At least one thing is for sure, Jacob & Co. isn't going downmarket at all. I look forward to meeting with Mr. Arpa to learn the details of his new position at Jacob & Co, and what he has in store for the brand. Jacob & Co. could see it self in headlines once again.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: coo, jacob co, watch, yvan arpa