Jacob & Co’s new watch plays two melodies from The Godfather

The Godfather II pairs a miniature mechanical music box with a flying tourbillon, film-inspired details and a more wearable Art Deco case.

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30 Sep 2026 07:21AM

More than 50 years after The Godfather was released in 1972, its opening scene remains instantly recognisable. A man sits in a darkened room and tells Don Corleone: “I believe in America.” The opening line of Francis Ford Coppola’s epic crime saga of family, power and loyalty resonated deeply with Jacob & Co founder Jacob Arabo, then a young immigrant.

Arabo was 14 when he arrived in the US from Uzbekistan in 1979, unable to speak English. It took him another two years to earn enough money and find the time to visit a cinema. The first film he saw there was The Godfather, and it stayed with him. Decades later, he drew on its world for Jacob & Co’s Opera Godfather collection. His latest creation, The Godfather II, is the house’s most technically ambitious tribute to Coppola’s saga yet. Limited to 74 pieces – a nod to the 1974 release of The Godfather Part II – the watch plays two melodies on demand from a single music-box barrel.

TWO MUSICAL SCORES ON THE WRIST

The Godfather II plays two of the film’s most recognisable compositions: The Godfather Love Theme and The Godfather’s Waltz. The former conveys the story’s romance and melancholy, while the latter accompanies the wedding sequence in the original film. Together, the melodies evoke love and longing, family tradition and the weight of power.

Musical watches are rare and coveted because producing a melody inside a wristwatch requires considerable space and energy. The defining feature of The Godfather II is its ability to play two compositions from a single music-box barrel. The mechanism works more like a miniature mechanical music box than a chiming watch such as a minute repeater. A brass cylinder, or barrel, fitted with tiny pins rotates against a comb of 18 steel teeth, each cut to a different length to produce a distinct note. As the pins pluck the teeth in sequence, they produce the melody mechanically rather than electronically.

The ingenuity lies in how the mechanism stores two complete melodies on a single cylinder. The pins for each composition are arranged in slightly different lateral positions along its surface. Pressing the selector at 10 o’clock shifts the cylinder sideways by less than a millimetre, aligning the pins for the chosen melody with the comb. The selected tune appears through a rectangular aperture at 9 o’clock on the dial. A second pusher at 8 o’clock activates the music box, setting the cylinder in motion. As it rotates, the pins pluck the steel teeth in sequence, producing a performance lasting about 15 to 20 seconds.

There is also the matter of sound. A musical watch must not only produce the correct notes, but project them clearly beyond the case. The curved, rectangular case was designed to improve the projection and intensity of the music, making its shape integral to the instrument. Listening requires leaning in to hear the familiar melodies play on demand.

THE MOVEMENT BEHIND THE MELODY

At the heart of the timepiece is the in-house, manually wound Caliber JCAM62. Comprising 510 components, excluding the pins on the barrel, it operates at 3Hz, or 21,600 vibrations per hour, and incorporates a one-minute flying tourbillon. Supported only from below, the tourbillon has no upper bridge, leaving its rotating cage fully visible.

The calibre has two separate power reserves. One provides 72 hours of power for the timekeeping movement, while the other holds enough energy for up to 10 musical performances. Dedicated indicators show the remaining reserve for each system. At 4 o’clock, a round aperture indicates the status of the main movement with a gear symbol and blinds. A second aperture at 8 o’clock tracks the music box: a red rose appears when it is fully wound, changing to a musical note as its reserve is depleted.

Fitting the music-box mechanism, going train and flying tourbillon into a comparatively compact case required considerable miniaturisation. Encoding both compositions on a single barrel saves valuable space within the movement. The complexity of bringing these elements together is reflected in the lengthy development process. “We designed a refined, 1930s-inspired case and spent three years developing a movement that could play two melodies, while ensuring the watch remained wearable,” Arabo said.

The focus on wearability marks a departure from the original Opera Godfather. At 49mm, the earlier timepiece paired a triple-axis tourbillon with a movement that rotated as the music played. By contrast, The Godfather II has a curved 42mm by 44mm rose gold case designed to sit more comfortably on the wrist. Its rectangular profile and stepped geometry draw on Art Deco design, giving the case a more formal, architectural character.

FROM SCREEN TO DIAL

The movement provides the technical substance, while the dial tells the story. Composed like a film poster, the deep black lacquered dial features a portrait of Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone on the right, rendered in warm rose gold tones. Above it, the franchise’s familiar puppet strings and The Godfather logotype appear as three-dimensional appliques, giving one of cinema’s most recognisable graphics a tangible presence. Curved, faceted dauphine hands indicate the hours and minutes without obscuring the portrait, while the flying tourbillon sits at 6 o’clock.

The film references continue beyond the dial. The sides of the rose gold case feature intricate engravings of the rose worn by Don Corleone, while spiral grooves on the crown recall the inside of a gun barrel. Bullet-hole engravings punctuate the caseback, hinting at the darker undercurrents beneath the Corleone family’s polished world of tailored suits, formal gatherings and closely guarded traditions. However, not every reference comes from The Godfather Part II. Brando’s Don Corleone and the wedding music originate in the first film, but the watch draws from the imagery, characters and atmosphere of the wider saga rather than recreating a particular scene.

One of the watch’s more unusual details is found on its caseback. A grand piano-shaped sapphire window reveals the music-box comb beneath a rose gold plate engraved with the score of The Godfather Love Theme. The musical notes connect the composition to the mechanism that plays it, while the visible comb and barrel offer a glimpse of how the melody is produced, even when the watch is silent. A domed sapphire crystal with double anti-reflective treatment follows the curve of the case. The watch comes on a black alligator leather strap with a rose gold folding clasp and is water-resistant to 30 metres.

BUILDING ON A LEGACY

Jacob & Co often creates timepieces in which the mechanics form part of the visual experience. The Godfather collection applies that approach to one of cinema’s most recognisable stories, drawing on its music, imagery and atmosphere.

Introduced in 2019 under a licensing agreement with Paramount Pictures, the original Opera Godfather has since been joined by the Opera Godfather Baguette, Opera Godfather Minute Repeater and Opera Godfather 50th Anniversary. Jacob & Co has also extended the theme beyond watchmaking with a Godfather pen and decanter.

Each interpretation draws on Coppola’s films in a different way. The Godfather II takes the collection forward with its double-melody mechanism, placing Nino Rota’s music at the heart of the watch. Its Art Deco case and film-inspired references further connect the timepiece to the look and atmosphere of the films. For Arabo, the challenge was to create a follow-up that could stand alongside its predecessor, just as Coppola’s sequel did. “We’ve put so much thought and creativity into this second opus that we believe it’s a worthy sequel,” he added.