The Jacob and Co. Rasputin Tourbillon by Jacob & Co. is a watch with multiple secrets, but to reveal them you first have to break through a seemingly impenetrable barrier of diamonds. The 47.6mm diameter case in 18-carat white gold is fully paved with the stones, from the case band to the bezel, lugs and crown. The case also has a diamond-set slider on the side, which indicates that this watch has a minute repeater function.
But the Jacob and Co. Rasputin Tourbillon is so much more. Fully depress the slider and you will be treated to an audible time signal, broken down into hours, quarters and minutes. Press the slider down slowly and carefully, however, and you will see three baguette rubies set beneath it. If you move the slide just enough to expose these rubies, then release it and depress it fully again, an altogether different secret is revealed. The minute repeater will chime, the two swans in the upper half of the dial will move and a sector that has been hand engraved with a motif resembling curtains (the only part of the watch not covered with diamonds) will open up in the lower half of the dial to reveal a hand-painted erotic scene beneath.
Even without the animations, the dial itself is a work of art. Crafted from 18-carat white gold, it is invisibly set with 188 baguette diamonds arranged diagonally. There is a red heart-shaped ruby (0.70 carats) set between the two swans just below 12 o’clock. A further 178 baguette diamonds are set on the case, 100 on the bezel and 14 on the crown, plus a 1.02-carat diamond cabochon on the end of the crown. The slider is set with 12 baguette diamonds, bringing the total number of diamonds on this piece to a staggering 515, representing an unprecedented 40.28 carats by weight! All of them are IF-VVS clarity and G+ colour, non-fluorescent.
The power for the minute repeater and erotic animation functions, as well as the hour and minute display by the two skeletonised blue leaf-shaped hands, is provided by the Jacob and Co. Rasputin Tourbillon JCAM27 manually-wound movement. It beats at 18,000 vibrations per hour, offers a 50-hour power reserve and has a tourbillon regulator that is visible only through the sapphire crystal case back at 9 o’clock with a mirror-polished carriage, as are the two mirror-polished hammers and the gong for the minute-repeater mechanism. All bridges and all steel components in the movement are straight drawn with polished bevels. The mainplate has a circular graining decoration, while the gear train and balance have a 2N gold coating. The watch is water resistant to 30 metres and is fitted with a black alligator leather strap with 18-carat white-gold folding clasp set with 22 baguette diamonds.