Back in 2002, Jacob Arabo—known within the New York City hip-hop scene as “Jacob the Jeweler”—launched a timepiece that would come to embody early-2000s rap culture.
Oversized and chunky, the Five Time Zone Watch is exactly what it sounds like: Spread across its considerable dial are four subdials showing the hour in New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Paris, offering a globe-trotting hip-hop star (or anyone else) a picture of global time in the pre-smartphone era. Powered by a quartz movement from ETA and available in both 40mm and 47mm iterations (with or without diamonds), it was quickly adopted by every big name in hip-hop, from Jay-Z to Busta Rhymes to Pharrell. As Jacob & Co’s first watch collection, it helped propel Jacob the Jeweler—a man formerly synonymous with bust-down jewelry—into the horological stratosphere.
Pharrell Williams met Jacob 30 years ago, and he has been one of the jeweler’s most prominent clients ever since, co-designing some 100 pieces of incredible jewelry, including Pharrell’s famous N.E.R.D. chain, that helped make “bling” a part of the broader zeitgeist. Via Joopiter, Pharrell’s commerce and content platform, the pair is now offering a highly curated auction of 30 rare and unique pieces from their personal collections.
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If you’re feeling regal, there’s a Jacob & Co. Yellow Diamond & Gold Necklace inspired by the Queen of England’s Crown Jewels with an estimate of $6-8M, which is encrusted with yellow stones in heart, square, emerald, and asscher cuts; then, there’s a Yellow Gold & Fancy Yellow Diamond Seven Row Cuff Bracelet, a piece that Pharrell bought early on from Jacob featuring 57 carats of fancy yellow diamonds. There’s also the gem-encrusted Rare Touch Bow Tie set with some 1,600 stones, a piece that foreshadowed Pharrell’s rise as a fashion designer in his own right.
For Y2K-era watch heads, however, the star of the show will no doubt be the two examples of the Five Time Zone Watch. The first, from Pharrell’s personal stash, is the ur example from Jacob & Co’s Royal Collection and carries the marking “N.001” on its caseback (est. $150,000-$200,000). A diameter of 49mm in white gold is sufficient to constitute a hip-hop crown jewel, but, lest you forget who we’re talking about, this version is also slathered in some 300 diamonds across the case, bezel, and dial, making for a Five Time Zone with enough bling to signal the International Space Station.
The second version (est. $55,000-$70,000), measuring a more approachable 40mm in diameter, is crafted from 18K yellow gold and is likewise covered in diamonds: 1.55 carats’ worth on the dial, 2.84 carats on the case, and a further 3.27 carats on the bezel. The party continues on the watch’s matching yellow gold bracelet, which is also diamond-set and features a JCO-logo deployant buckle. If you’ve admired these, or any of Pharrell and Jacob’s other creations from afar (and happen to have a hundred g’s, give or take, burning a hole in your savings account), now’s your chance to get in on the action.
Joopiter’s Objects of Brilliance sale runs from February 17 through March 5 via Joopiter’s website.