The Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary from Jacob & Co is a horological offer you can’t refuse
Luke BenedictusDid you know the severed horse’s head in the famous scene from The Godfather was real? Or that Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson and Robert DeNiro were all turned down for the role of Michael Corleone? Or that the classic line: “Leave the gun. Take the cannoli,” uttered by capo Peter Clemenza was actually improvised? I’m no film buff, but I know all those nerdy facts. And the reason why I know them is because The Godfather is a movie that has moved far beyond its cinematic origins to seep into the public consciousness as one of the greatest films of all time.
Further proof that The Godfather isn’t just a movie now comes from Jacob & Co. That’s because it’s now become a watch of similar ambition. To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Coppola’s masterpiece, at a special event in Don Corleone’s homeland of Sicily, the brand have just unveiled the Jacob & Co Opera Godfather 50thAnniversary.
The Godfather is a particularly special film for brand founder, Jacob Arabo. “When I first came to the USA from Uzbekistan in 1979, I was 14 years old, didn’t speak the language and my family didn’t have a penny to its name,” he says. “So we went to work really hard. It took me two years to earn the time and money to go to the movies. The Godfather was being released again; it was the first movie I saw in a theatre.”
The very first line spoke to Arabo’s personal experience as a recent immigrant determined to forge a better life for himself and his family. The words are uttered by the undertaker Bonasera who comes to see Don Vito Corleone at his daughter’s wedding asking for a favour. “I believe in America,” he says in the film’s opening line – a sentiment that resonated for Arabo himself.
But that’s hardly the movie’s only memorable line. “The Godfather is not just a great movie because of the way it’s shot and directed,” says Ben Arabov, Jacob’s son and the CEO of Jacob & Co. “It contains a slate of cult scenes and cult lines.” In the Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary, the brand have endeavoured to bring them to life.
The scenes
The 50-piece limited series is housed in a 49mm white-gold case whose sides are emblazoned with 13 images from emblematic scenes from the movie. Each scene is etched on the case with high accuracy femtolaser technology that allows the recreation of highly vivid pictures – like the image of Don Vito Corleone etched between the lugs at 6 o’clock.
“From the very beginning of the Opera Godfather, I wanted to go further, to celebrate the importance of this movie by showing actual scenes from it,” says Jacob Arabo. “I wanted it to be a literal tribute to everything the film stands for. But there is so little room! The entire piece is filled with components, and details and symbols. So for the Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary I came up with the idea of inscribing the movie’s key moments on the case which seemed like a canvas waiting to be brought to life”.
The soundtrack
Things don’t get any less elaborate when it comes to the dial of what is very much a high-complication timepiece. At 6 o’clock is a triple-axis tourbillon that incorporates twin music boxes, complete with combs and barrels. What they play is, of course, The Godfather‘s famous theme music.
In between the musical barrels nestles a 3-D depiction of the emblematic red rose that Vito Corleone wears on his lapel at his daughter’s wedding. This is diagonally flanked by two pieces that cover the blades that create the music. One of the covers is shaped like a piano and bears the image of Marlon Brando’s Don Corleone. The other shows the puppeteer’s strings and logo that were first featured on Mario Puzo’s original novel cover,
Crafted out of solid rose gold the musical barrels are made to work double-time. Each one is engraved with a total of 13 classic quotes from the movie. “We had one space that was perfect to inscribe them on. One that was already dedicated to sound: the two barrels of the music box mechanism,” says Benjamin.
Rotating on these barrels are lines like “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 movement
Trying to explain the complexity of the movement is tricky. Made of 634 components, it’s a flying triple-axis tourbillon without an upper bridge, which is incredibly rare in itself.
“The movement is infinitely more complex than it seems,” explains Alain Schiesser, CEO at Le Cercle des Horlogers, which manufactures the Jacob & Co movement. “When Jacob approached us, he wanted a musical movement. And then the idea of making a rotating movement came up. It requires a level of coordination between the combs, a perfect adjustment of the barrels, which are tilted by some 20 degrees, plus the management of the rotation in the entire movement…”
But since the movement is musical, this rotation created another series of challenges. “In order for the melody to sound outside the case, the movement’s upper and lower parts had to be connected. We managed that with a central axis and several special screws, which propagate the sound,” Schiesser says. “And it all had to be secured to protect it from shocks. To reach the final, working movement, we had to go through at least 30 prototypes.”
The result is the Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary, a watch that’s as detailed and densely plotted as the original book. “The only problem is that it doesn’t have as many pages as Jacob & Co wished it did,” Benjamin says.
The auction
Aside from the new watch, another of Jacob & Co’s former Opera Godfather musical wristwatch was also up for grabs at the Bonhams New York Watches sale last week. The limited edition 18K rose-gold musical tourbillon from 2019 had an estimate of $120,000-180,000 USD and is yet to be snapped up. Insert your own “make him an offer he can’t refuse” gag here.
The Jacob & Co Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary pricing and availability:
The Jacob & Co Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary is available now in a limited edition run of 50 pieces via Jacob & Co boutiques. Price on application
| Brand | Jacob & Co |
| Model | Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary |
| Reference | 50th Anniversary |
| Case Material | 18K White Gold |
| Case Dimensions | 49mm x 23mm |
| Water-Resistance | 30m |
| Dial | Black mat polish and 18K rose gold applique indices |
| Strap | Alligator leather with white gold folding clasp |
| Movement | Jacob&Co Manual-Winding JCFM04 |
| Power Reserve | 42 hours |
| Complications | Triple-axis high-speed tourbillon, Godfather theme music box |
| Availability | Now, limited edition of 50 pieces |
| Price | POA |