28.02.2023
Drake loves a good bet. The Canadian rapper is often on his favoured online betting platform dropping more than an average folk’s annual income on sports games with his latest reportedly being the US$400,000 he lost on the Jake Paul-Tommy Fury showdown. Such is his aggressive losses that even athletes are aware of a phenom called Drake’s Curse, in which his heavy-betting backing of certain sportsmen often serves them with a negative result. That said, it hasn’t stopped Drake from his gambling habit. He even doubled down on his pleasure a few years ago by forking out serious money for Jacob & Co’s Astronomia Casino timepiece, a mechanical watch with a fully functioning roulette wheel on the dial. Jacob & Co. saw a boost in the request for a watch that retails more than half a mill easy but is also well aware that it needed to create something more feasible for everyday wear, understated if that were even possible. Enter the Casino Tourbillon, a pleasure-driven timepiece that does away with all the bells and whistles of the Astronomia. What is visually striking about this 44mm rose gold timepiece is the roulette wheel that forms the outer ring of the dial. The details look just like the real thing if you’re hitting the tables in Vegas. By laying the watch on an even surface and then activating the pusher at 7 o’clock, the roulette wheel on the dial starts to make a short but fast spin, bouncing a metal ceramic ball around that finally halts on one of the 37 lacquered pockets when the wheel starts to slow down. Yes, just like the real game of chance at your favoured casino. The elevated dial that tells the time looks just as majestic, a black onyx dial with kite-shaped indices that recall the Black Panther's garb. Flip to the back for more surprises as the watchmaker has kept a flying tourbillon as a secret attraction (and indulgence). In addition, the time-setting and winding functions are also positioned on the caseback, a similar set-up as the Astronomia Casino, thereby highlighting the roundness of the case and the smoothness of the gold. Jacob & Co. is limiting this production to only 101 pieces and has priced each at a modest US$280,000. Well, it’s still less than the total losses of a Drake Curse.
