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Nov 04, 2023

Jacob & Co. and Cristiano Ronaldo Team Up for Two New Timepieces

Cristiano Ronaldo may have been benched for the Portugal vs. Switzerland game

Cristiano Ronaldo may have been benched for the Portugal vs. Switzerland game during the World Cup games in Qatar, but off the field he's not sitting on the sidelines. In fact, he's putting the Swiss to work for him.

The soccer legend has teamed up with Jacob & Co., an American watch company that produces its watches in Switzerland, to create two timepieces—the CR7 Epic X Flight of CR7 ($56,000 in 18-karat rose gold and $145,000 in 18-karat rose gold with baguette diamonds, limited to 99 pieces) and the Heart of CR7 ($28,000 in stainless steel and $117,000 in stainless steel with baguette diamonds, limited to 99 pieces). The famous player wears jersey number 7 for his team, Portugal, and CR7 is also the name of his fashion label.

Jacob & Co. does not make watches for those who prefer to keep their luxury understated and isn't shy about glorifying its heroes on blockbuster timepieces. The launch comes fresh off the heels of its $500,000 Godfather 50th Anniversary watch, and in typical Jacob & Co. style, there is a lot going on with these watches. They’re big, at 44 mm x 13.05 mm thick, and bold, with 26 baguette diamonds set into the deeply angled bezel accented in either fire engine red or emerald green colors which highlight the straps and hands, as well as the shiny aluminum crowns and deep flanges. The lugs suggest an X shape if the lines were to carry over across the dial, a signature motif of the Epic X collection.

Even the movement is built to dazzle. The manual-wound caliber JCAM45 is openworked with the gear train and escapement bordered by wide vertical bridges on each side. One side is shaped and engraved with the likeness of Ronaldo, showing his number 7 jersey, and the other is engraved with his signature and the CR7 logo. The barrel cover at 12 o’clock is also openworked and is crafted to resemble a soccer ball. In case that's not enough Ronaldo for you, another image of the sports hero is printed underneath the sapphire crystal over the caseback which, on the rose gold model is tinted red, and on the steel model, green. Too much? You can get either one without the 4.26 carats of diamonds on the bezel.

The rose gold version with a black Cordura strap is called Flight of CR7, and the steel with green rubber strap is called Heart of CR7. On the rose gold model, the likeness of Ronaldo shows the player from the back, and on the steel model, from the front—so you’ll need one of each for Ronaldo in all his glory. The red and green highlights represent the colors on the flag of Portugal as well as the national soccer squad, which Ronaldo captains.

Company founder Jacob Arabo first met Cristiano Ronaldo 20 years ago, when the player was a rising star. They developed a friendship and then a business partnership in which Jacob & Co creates timepieces inspired by the player. These two debut models mark the beginning of a five-year joint project. The first Flight of CR7, in rose gold, was delivered in person to Cristiano Ronaldo in Lisbon on November 18th, just before he left for the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar.

There will be 99 pieces of each model, but the editions are not numbered. Some models have already popped up on the secondary market. Chrono24 is selling a rose gold Flight of CR7 with diamonds for $181,331, a rose gold Flight of CR7 without diamonds for $70,029, and a steel Heart of CR7 with diamonds for $146,331 and a steel Heart of CR7 without diamonds for $34,988. Make of that what you will.