The Godfather II is the only timepiece in existence capable of playing two distinct melodies on demand. That single fact separates it from everything else in watchmaking right now, and it is the point Jacob & Co. has spent three years engineering toward.
Powered by the new JCAM62 calibre, the watch houses a melody selector at 10 o'clock that lets the wearer choose between Nino Rota's "The Godfather Love Theme" and "The Godfather's Waltz", the two compositions that have defined one of cinema's most enduring scores. Press the pusher at 8 o'clock and the music box activates, playing for 15 to 20 seconds per activation, repeatable up to ten times on a single wind. Both melodies are programmed onto a single music box barrel, which is the technical achievement that makes the compact case possible while still accommodating a one-minute flying tourbillon.
The mechanism at the heart of all this is elegantly simple in concept and difficult in execution. An 18-tooth steel comb produces notes according to the varying length of each tooth. A pin-studded brass cylinder activates them in sequence. A lateral shift of less than a millimetre, controlled by the melody selector, changes which pins engage the comb, switching between the two compositions without a second barrel, without doubling the movement, without compromising wearability.
The case itself is a departure. Where the original Opera Godfather occupied 49mm, the Godfather II arrives in a 42 x 44mm rectangular form inspired by 1930s Art Deco, curved for the wrist and finished in 18K rose gold. At 17mm tall it is not a thin watch, but it is a wearable one, which is precisely what Jacob Arabo has said he wanted. Three years of development to make something that could live on a wrist rather than in a cabinet.
