Jacob & Co. has entered into a partnership with Paramount Pictures and acquired the rights to The Godfather. Jacob & Co. has gained access to the name, imagery, narrative and music from the iconic motion picture. These have become the inspiration for the ultimate movie tribute timepiece.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the movie's theater release, Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary contains visual, symbolic and graphic elements directly taken from the movie, fitted in and on the timepiece.
The side of the 49-mm white gold case is entirely engraved with thirteen emblematic scenes from the movie. Thirteen famous quotes from the movies are gold-engraved on the music box cylinders.
In the center, it contains the rose Vito Corleone wears on his lapel. Marlon Brando’s portrait as the Don. The puppeteer strings from the movie poster. A piano and a violin-shaped crank as a reference to the ubiquitous Nino Rota soundtrack, whose main theme the music box plays on demand.
The Godfather was the first movie Jacob Arabo saw in a movie theater after coming to the U.S.A. The Godfather is not just a watchmaking achievement. It is a deeply personal creation. It takes the symbolic dimension of the Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary to new heights and makes it the ultimate watchmaking tribute to Coppola's creation.
Creating the Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary‘s case was a unique challenge. The white gold case was the only blank area in the Opera Godfather. Jacob & Co. used it to add a new narrative. Thirteen scenes are etched on it, using ground-breaking high-intensity, high-precision femtolaser technology that allows an unparalleled level of realism and vividness.
Caliber JCFM04 is a movement like no other. It combines high watchmaking and The Godfather's actual music. Made of a total of 658 components, the movement rotates as it plays the movie's famous main theme. Two sets of combs and blades play the notes of that 30-second tune, which resonate far outside the case.
Caliber JCFM04 also includes a triple-axis, flying tourbillon. This extremely rare complication is made even more special as it rotates along with the rest of the movement when the on-demand melody is activated. Such a set of complications and structure are entirely unique.
The 654-component Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary movement is built on top of a rotating base. It tells time with an off-centered rotating dial. It features a flying, high speed, triple-axis tourbillon. This contemporary complication is mastered only by the most qualified movement constructors and watchmakers.
The energy required by the music box and rotating movement is very high. The Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary is wound by hand, using the crank at 3 o'clock. Jacob & Co. designed it like a violin, whose neck folds and spins. With a pusher at 10 o'clock, the caseband of the Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary is highly unusual. The time-setting crown is located on the caseback, a frequent feature in Jacob & Co. complicated watches.
The musical part of caliber JCFM04 is its unique signature. It plays The Godfather's main theme by Nino Rota with a music box mechanism. It relies on a pair of cylinders, tilted at a 20-degree angle. They're covered with steel pins that lift the music comb blades. The melody lasts 30 seconds in a unique setting.
The Godfather is famous for its quotes. Both cylinders of the music box mechanism are an ideal and available space to engrave. They carry thirteen famous lines such as the iconic "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse," "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes" or "Never ask me about my business." The barrels are crafted from rose gold, engraved and polished.
Don Corleone wearing a red rose on his lapel is a reminder of The Godfather’s movie poster. It’s one of the key symbols of the character, one that Jacob & Co. is using throughout its Godfather-related collections.
The tourbillon fitted in caliber JCFM04 is of an exceptional type. It's held only by its lower end, with no upper bridge. This makes it a flying tourbillon. The carriage is shaped like a sphere, rotating along three axes. This triple-axis structure enhances the benefits of the tourbillon.
In all Opera Godfather timepieces, one of the covers of the music box is designed as a piano. It’s also covered with an engraving of the movie’s famous puppeteer strings. For this special edition, it also contains the 50th Anniversary logo.
The white gold case was the only area of the Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary that was left blank to add a specific narrative. It was also the hardest to work on. Jacob & Co. found a nanolaser and femtolaser solution, blasting the precious metal with laser beams of incredible intensity to retell The Godfather’s story. Thirteen cult scenes from the movie appear with unprecedented realism, vividness and softness to the touch. The doors to the Corleone compound. The car Sonny Corleone gets shot in. Michael and his first wife Apollonia walking after their wedding. Moe Green's glasses with a bullet hole in them. They look like they’ve been taken from a celluloid reel, complete with its notches.
Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary is dedicated to the namesake motion picture, its actors, its authors and fans. It's also a statement piece, showing what luxury watchmaking becomes when freed from conventions and limitations.
