Watches: Jacob's latest is Astronomical in every sense

Right near the beginning of the global financial crisis in 2008, Dutch designer Tord Boontje — best known for pretty, inexpensive garland lighting fixtures made from the same material as Fed Ex packaging — debuted a work of staggering craftsmanship and artistry: his Fig Leaf cabinet, a masterwork that required nine months of labor and featured 615 hand-painted leaves, each signed by the enamel worker who created it.

It was not design so much as art; it would go on the be the subject of museum shows and many a critical review. And when some observers looked back, they wondered: Was this display of outré opulence and luxury a sign of the economic collapse to come? In its way, it signaled the moment when we wanted not just a cabinet, but a cabinet handcrafted by hundreds of workers; no ordinary cabinet would suffice.

Now, looking back, can we see it as an indication that our valuations — and values — had become utterly unmoored from reality? 

Possibly. But not to the extent that we have ceased making such objects. To wit:

You're looking at Jacob & Co.'s new Astronomia Sky, a watch of singularly dazzling artistry. (You might remember Jacob & Co. from its favored status among the hip-hop and pop culture elite.) The watch is an update and creative expansion on the brand's Astronomia watch, which was itself staggeringly beautiful.

For watch lovers, the Astronomia Sky ups the ante by incorporating a sidereal-time complication, which measures time based on position relative to the stars, rather than the more common (and easily reckoned) solar time. For aesthetes, the watch is a magnificent bauble, with a star chart (matched to those above Geneva) and spinning planet beneath a rotating sapphire dome. But at $690,000, it's certainly not a bargain.

"[Founder Jacob Arabo's] idea was really to create a sort of planetarium with all the stars and planets going around," says Luca Soprana, who collaborated on the design. A personal planetarium: It's an idea the Medicis, and the other great patrons of old, would surely rally behind.

The 0.0000001% will love it. Only time will tell if they regret it.

Sports: the EPL about to kickoff

The 2016-17 Premier League season is nearly upon us. Lots has happened already this summer, so our ESPN FC bloggers take a look at how their teams will fare in the coming campaign.

REIGNING CHAMPIONS & TITLE CHALLENGERS

LEICESTER: Leicester City are the defending Premier League champions. And that sentence still takes some getting used to. Now, they're the team to beat and Claudio Ranieri's men must balance a title defence with Champions League football. >>Read -- Ben Jacobs

ARSENAL: An injury crisis, frustration in the transfer market and Arsenal haven't even played a match yet. Do you ever get the feeling you know exactly what's coming? >> Read -- Tom Adams

MAN CITY: Pep Guardiola's Manchester City mission involves improving the club's performances in Europe as well as winning back the Premier League title. Widely regarded as the best manager on the planet, the Catalan will enter the campaign under plenty of pressure. >> Read -- Simon Curtis

MAN UNITED: It's sure to be lively in Manchester this season, with Jose Mourinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic going up against their nemesis, Pep Guardiola. Can Mourinho restore United to their former glories? >> Read -- Scott Patterson

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CHASERS

CHELSEA: Another season, another high-flying manager in the Stamford Bridge hot-seat trying to satisfy Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's unquenchable thirst for silverware. >> Read -- Mark Worrall

LIVERPOOL: With no European football at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp has fewer distractions this season. Improvement must be measured by the Reds' league points total after two seasons of inadvertent focus on cup competitions. >> Read -- Steven Kelly

TOTTENHAM:It's the final campaign at White Hart Lane and with Champions League football on the agenda, boss Mauricio Pochettino will have to balance matters in Europe with his side's exploits in the Premier League. >> Read -- Ben Pearce

RACE FOR EUROPE

STOKE: Mark Hughes has established the Potters as a strong Premier League side -- now the hunt is on for European football. Read >> --James Whittaker

SOUTHAMPTON: With Ronald Koeman, Victor Wanyama and Sadio Mane gone, it has been another difficult summer for Saints. Read >> -- Alex Crook

WEST HAM: The Hammers have signed Andre Ayew but could still be too reliant on Andy Carroll. Read >> -- Peter Thorne

MIDTABLE FINISHERS

EVERTON: Ronald Koeman's era at Everton will get underway at home to Tottenham. Koeman left Southampton to move to Goodison Park earlier this summer, with fans expecting a much better campaign than 2015-16. Read >> -- Luke O'Farrell

SWANSEA: Garry Monk lost his job at Swansea as the club flirted with relegation last season so what lies in store this time around? Francesco Guidolin steered the club to safety and will now look to avoid another scrape for survival. Read >> -- Max Hicks

WATFORD: Walter Mazzarri is the new man in charge at Vicarage Road and will be expected to consolidate his side's top flight status. Read >> -- Michael Moruzzi

WEST BROM: With Tony Pulis still at the helm, West Brom look set for another season of dull, percentage football that will in all likelihood keep them in the Premier League. >> Read -- Matthew Evans

RELEGATION CANDIDATES

BOURNEMOUTH: Bournemouth's first appearance in the Premier League ended well, with the club finishing a respectable 16th in the table in 2015-16. The key now is to build on that. Read >> -- Will Kent

BURNLEY: Burnley are back. Sean Dyche masterminded a quick return to the Premier League after relegation in 2014-15, but the Championship winners do not look equipped for Premier League survival without major investment. Read >> -- Jamie Smith

CRYSTAL PALACE: Crystal Palace were challenging the top four in December last year but fell away in 2016 to eventually finish a disappointing 15th. A top-half finish and another cup run would do the trick. Maybe even win it this time. Read >> -- Jim Daly

HULL CITY: Hull City bounced back to the Premier League following victory over Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship playoff final. But can they stay there? Read >> -- Philip Buckingham

MIDDLESBROUGH: Aitor Karanka has masterminded Boro's return to the big time after seven seasons in the Football League, but now he must keep them there. All eyes will be on a rejuvenated team who make their return to the Premier League looking much more primed for action than their promoted counterparts. Read >> -- Catherine Wilson

SUNDERLAND: Sunderland staged another escape act last season, as they once again survived in the Premier League. The challenge now is for new boss David Moyes to develop the club so that late-season scrapes are a thing of the past. Read >> -- Colin Randall

Poetry: Echosightings Vol III, RAINY SEASON

At nights,
When the marshalling
Clouds
have
scattered or
spent themselves
The sky
throws up an embarrassment
of riches
Myriad stars performing
Over a ghetto
Almost unworthy in
It's indifference
Uncared drains
Uncaringly spew
Manifold 
refuse
Like a burden suddenly
Cast off
And whole
regiments of mosquitoes
prepare for their own
version of D-Day
Shifting from amphibious
Suspense to airborne
assault
Delivering a payload of
Alphabetical bombs

Echosightings Vol 1, OUR QUEST

Not
The checkerboard
Of
Plans and
Plots
Our walk
is an elliptical
Orbit
Our great challenge is
To master
the intricate internal
Acrobatics
of remembering
without regret
We must know that there is no
Beauty
more enduring than
A rose at its peak
before
Withering
Or
The reticent surrender
of deepest
Night
Before advancing
dawn
Our quest
is the plausible
Impossible
Is to venture
Outward
Conquering
Fear
until those that seem so
Distant
Are firmly
In our heart's grasp
Our 
Quest
Is
The stars

Brands: "Watching the Oscars"

The results may have been less predictable than the Grammys (Birman won, but Bradley Cooper lost), but we were keeping an eye out for the well-dressed wrists at last night’s 87th Annual Academy Awards? I was pleased to note many red carpet stars paid as much attention to the watches they were wearing as the other details of their well-styled appearances. With some help from our friends at The Hollywood Reporter, here are just some of the wrists that stood out last night.

Various models of IWC Schaffhausen’s Portugieser were evident on Best Actor Nominee Bradley Cooper (“American Sniper”), Best Supporting Actor Nominee Edward Norton (“Birdman”), and presenter and star of “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” star Chris Evans. Good choice, gentlemen.

Host of the Awards ceremony Neil Patrick Harris wore a Tudor 41mm Style watch with a black dial on a bracelet during his Red Carpet appearance, while actor and director Justin Theroux was seen escorting Jennifer Aniston wearing a Royal Oak. “Whiplash” editor Tom Cross, who received the Academy Award for Best Film Editing, was spotted wearing a Jaeger-LeCoultre Grande Reverso Ultra Thin Tribute to 1930.

Mark Ruffalo, nominee for Best Actor in a supporting role in “Foxcatcher” wore the Montblanc Heritage Chronometrie Dual Time. Miles Teller chose the Perpetual Calendar timepiece and nominee director Dan Gilroy who wrote the screenplay for “Nightcrawler,”  was seen in a Montblanc Timewalker Automatic Dual Time Special Edition. Nominee for Best Director Morten Tyldum sported a Montblanc Star Classique.