Cristiano Ronaldo is not known for his subtlety. The 37-year-old football legend, who on any given day is the world’s highest-paid athlete, is just as good at splashing cash as he is at scoring goals. He’s got a particular penchant for expensive cars and watches – and his latest purchase combines those two loves.
Earlier today, ‘jeweller to the stars’ Jacob Arabo (founder of Jacob & Co and someone Ronaldo’s bought many watches from over the years) revealed that he’s worked with Ronaldo on a one-off watch that’s designed to match with the star’s personalised Bugatti Chiron hypercar. It’s a three-way collab of gargantuan proportions… And likely one of the most expensive watches of 2022.
The watch seems to be a variant of Jacob & Co’s Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon Baguette model, which retails for over US$1 million. Considering it’s a ‘piece unique’ – and the celebrity + hypercar co-sign – you could easily expect this watch to be worth much, much more than that.
Measuring up at 55mm wide and 20mm tall, this hefty piece of haute horlogerie is covered with 232 white baguette diamonds and 109 black sapphires for a total of 21 carats of gemstones. The mostly sapphire crystal case shows off the watch’s complex tourbillon movement in full, and even features a representation of Bugatti’s signature grille design.
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Like many of Jacob & Co’s pieces, this watch has a rather unusual and eye-catching complication: a miniature replica of the Bugatti Chiron’s W16 engine crafted from sapphire crystal. When you push the right-hand crown of the watch, the ‘engine’ comes to life – the crankshaft turns, the 16 pistons pump up and down and two ‘turbochargers’ on the side of the engine block spin. Bonkers stuff.
Of course, this is pretty run-of-the-mill stuff for Ronaldo. Not only does he own a bunch of Jacob & Co pieces (and Hublots and Richard Milles and Rolexes…) but many of them are diamond-encrusted and/or one-offs, like his $1.5 million Franck Muller Cintree Tourbillon.
Must be nice.
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