Cristiano Ronaldo is a long-standing and close partner to Jacob & Co. He and Founder and Chairman Jacob Arabo have established a strong relationship based in trust and respect over the past twenty years. Jacob Arabo met Cristiano Ronaldo when the Madeira-born football player was a promising rising star and their friendship has never failed ever since.

Both men immediately found common ground in their quest for excellence. They crafted their success from the ground up and achieved it through relentless determination and work. Their relationship has now grown into a business venture in which Jacob & Co designs and manufactures timepieces after the image of Cristiano Ronaldo, which are co-branded by both powerhouses.

The Jacob & Co x CR7 Epic X collection is a profoundly personalized version of the Epic X. It has all its identity markers : a 44 mm case with X-shaped lugs, a smooth and polished or diamond-set bezel and a colored crown and flange. It’s powered by one of Jacob & Co’s most emblematic calibers. This skeleton movement offers a striking architecture. Its two vertical pillars form the central part of the X shape initiated by the lugs, whose entire design gave the name Epic X.

In the Jacob & Co x CR7 Epic X collection, these two pillars are designed to represent Cristiano Ronaldo and the CR7 brand. The left pillar takes on the shape of Cristiano Ronaldo himself in various postures while the right one bears the CR7 logo and the man’s hand-signature, both engraved in bold letters. The skeleton barrel cover is shaped like a football. Another image of Cristiano Ronaldo himself, wearing his iconic, lucky number 7 jersey, is gold-printed on the caseback’s tainted sapphire crystal.

Caliber JCAM45 is an integral part of the Jacob & Co x CR7 Epic X identity. It was designed as a skeleton from inception. It benefits from a free, graphic structure. The wide barrel at 12 o’clock and balance wheel at 6 o’clock define the caliber’s verticality. It is enhanced by the vertical bridges that run along them. The left pillar takes on the shape of Cristiano Ronaldo himself wearing his lucky number 7 jersey.

Caliber JCAM45 is openworked to the extreme. What’s left of the black-plated surfaces of the mainplate is finished with perlage (circular graining), sandblasting and vertical-graining. A look at the movement’s back reveals the characteristic “Octopus” spring, with three extremely thin and elegantly curved blades, whose shape is a testament to the haute horlogerie calling of the Jacob & Co x CR7 Epic X.

The Epic X V2 most striking update is the new shape of the case. The once stepped bezel is now smooth and polished, with a steeper angle. The X-shaped lugs are full and flush, and begin slightly above the sapphire crystal. Their ends are angular and vertical, creating a perfect fit for the strap.

The caseband extends far outside the case’s circle to create a set of crown guards. In between them, a redesigned crown exhibits a two-level, notched steel tip. Its basis introduces a new design principle : the Epic X now features several colorful components, crafted out of aluminum.

An identical color is applied to the flange, which also bears a redesigned typeface. To the satin-finished edges on the two vertical bridges, the body of the X. And more discretely, to their underside, visible only though the sapphire caseback, beyond the maze of components of calibre JCAM45.

As a skeleton timepiece, the Jacob & Co x CR7 Epic X doesn’t have a dial per se. A full, decorated plate would block the view on the calibre, which is a major attraction. Yet, Jacob & Co.’s design sense led to the integration of vertical bridges. They may be part of the movement, but they fill one of the dial’s roles.