Jacob & Co. Drop $600K Alec Monopoly Designed Astronomia Watch
Jacob & Co. has taken a turn in a new direction with the Astronomia Alex Monopoly watch. An artifact born out of collaboration, the final product is sure to cause eyebrows to raise and jaws to drop.
This isn’t Monopoly’s first big alignment with a flagship watchmaker. A recent partnership between TAG Heuer and Monopoly made headlines not so long ago, and yet, the well-known street artist is back at it again.
The Astronomia Alec Monopoly watch is a four-arm vertical movement piece, detailed with the famous personages that had originally put Monopoly on the map.
An unknown graffiti artist out of New York City, Alec Monopoly is the alias. With a career crossing international boundaries, the artist has toted stencils, spray paint, and other raw materials around urban landscapes to leave a mark that famously places iconic characters centerstage on city streets.
With publicity in major publications like Rolling Stone, The Huffington Post, Billboard Magazine, and Playboy Magazine, the artist has enjoyed some buzz, and this newly launched watch is sure to make a splash among both watch collectors and fans.
Major projects with various brands (The W Hotel, Vitamin Water, and CoverGirl, for example) mark the artist’s astute methodology: go big or go home. The Mr. Monopoly character represents a criticism for bailouts for the one percent, and now, the products with the emblem ironically fall right within their budgets.
A quick glance at the watch reveals its youthful nature. It’s definitely a throwback to the joys and toys of childhood. Hand-sculpted components were developed using technology to scale the pieces so that they would not disrupt the movement or rotating complications.
Typically, the artist’s work ranges in scope from life-size to massive, covering the facades of buildings. This time, however, the workspace is small, confined to the face of a watch. The artist painted the gold sculptures by hand with acrylic paint, paying homage to the artist’s roots in street art. Through the glass, onlookers will spy characters like Scrooge McDuck, Monopoly Man, and Money Wings.