In 2022, Jacob & Co. partners with Comics powerhouse DC Comics to design an entirely new timepiece. Gotham City is a batman-themed watch that draws inspiration from Jacob Arabo’s personal taste and preferences. He is a fan of the Batman, just like Benjamin Arabov, Jacob & Co.’s CEO. This timepiece is the result of deep individual involvement and a symbol of what Batman represents. In the mind of creator Bob Kane, vertical and dark Gotham City is a stand-in for New York City, whence Jacob & Co. was created and operates.

The Gotham City is destined for a Jacob & Co. audience that also relates to his secret identity : that of a playboy billionaire, nonchalant and gifted with extremely good taste. The duality of the comic’s character invented by Bob Kane is furthered in the Gotham City. The Black DLC version of the Gotham City is edited as an 36-piece limited series.

Like the town it’s named after, Gotham City is an architectural construction. Its movement, its case, its layered structure are the result of a comprehensive and advanced design process. It goes beyond aesthetics to enter the realm of symbolism. Every part of the watch, be it visible or hidden, carries meaning. A symbolic capsule, it honors Batman and everything he stands for.

The crown is covered with a rubber band shaped like the Batmobile’s tires. The shape of the lugs is meant to resemble the Batsuit’s multi-faceted design. The flying tourbillon cages are shaped like grappling hooks. And prominently, the central part of the dial is cut from a slab of back onyx and shaped like the Batman’s emblem. Highlighted by a neoralithe outline which glows blue in the dark, this is a tribute to the BatSignal.

Calibre JCFM10 features off-centered hours and minutes, a power reserve topping out at 48 hours and is regulated by twin, flying, sequential, triple-axis tourbillons located at 5 and 7 o’clock. Its highly advanced technical nature is on par with the technological array of tools, devices, machines and equipment Batman has at his disposal.

This 382-component calibre is also part of a broader ambition. Much like everything that composes this timepiece, its design is a tribute to symbols and features of the Batman. The way the tourbillon cages are designed, the fact that they shift from gray to pitch black as they spin, the bat-shaped bridge that occupies the most part of the movement’s back, all carry meaning and participate in making this timepiece a part of the Dark Knight’s toolkit.

Calibre JCFM10 features a pair of triple-axis, sequential, flying, high-speed tourbillons. Each one of them rotates along three different axes. Each axis drives a separate cage. The first, outermost one makes a full turn in 180 seconds, the second one in 24 seconds and the third one, closest to the 3 Hz balance wheel, in 48 seconds. Compared to the traditional one-minute rotation of a flat tourbillon, and to many multi-axis tourbillons, 24 and 48 seconds are very high figures. This explains why Jacob & Co. calls them high-speed tourbillons.

Mounted on the wheel that drives the tourbillon, a spring accumulates energy to allow the cages to jump forward. They don’t just move in small incremental moves, but large ones, creating a series of sequential, very visible moves, with pauses in between.

The tourbillons inside calibre JCFM10 have no upper bridge. Their only grounding in the black-chromium mainplate happens underneath, which makes them flying tourbillons.

That central surface, which is the most part of the Gotham City dial, is shaped like the Bat emblem. It’s been cut into a slab of solid onyx, a hard stone that’s perfectly pitch black, and polished. It’s been further outlined by a contour made of Neoralithe. This composite is colored in yellow, the Batman’s other color, and contains SuperLumiNova. It glows blue in the dark.

Together, these two attributes are a nod to the Batsignal : casting a shadow in the dark with the help of light, a further nod to the Batman’s ambiguous nature.

The Gotham City case measures 45.5 mm in diameter and 17.2 in thickness, largely due to the full-circle revolution of the triple-axis tourbillons. It’s made of black DLC titanium. Titanium is light and hard to begin with, and is used in many airspace and advanced applications. DLC is a technology that covers the metal with an array of carbon atoms that mimics that of the perfect cubic crystal structure that provides the diamond with extreme resistance to wear.

The multi-faceted design of the lugs is inspired by several design features from Batman, such as his vehicles and mask. The titanium case has been entirely finished with techniques that make it matte. Sand-blasting and horizontal-brushing suppress all traces of shine and polish.

The Gotham City’s back is covered with a signature drawing. The Batman’s figure Jacob & Co. used comes from a 2003 episode penned by Jim Lee. Perhaps Batman’s most influential artist in the past 20 years, Lee created a seminal and uncompromising portrayal of the Dark Knight. Its rendering is a craft feat in and of itself.

The underside of a sapphire plate is laser-etched with a design of the Batman and the customary brand signatures, that of Jacob & Co. and of DC comics. The hollowed parts of the plate are filled with black lacquer and the rest with yellow.

The last part of the Gotham City set of tribute design traits is the rubber strap fastening it. This final tribute to the Batman is a direct hint at the yellow and black colorway ont the dial. The part in contact with the skin is made of textured yellow rubber. Its surface has been designed to enhance comfort and wearability.

The upper part is designed like ballistic nylon, a type of fabric found in bullet-proof vests and advanced textile equipment. A nod at the cape the Batman drapes himself in.

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