Devoid of drama, gratuitous costume changes, and thinly veiled attempts at creating ‘viral’ moments, the attention was squarely on Rihanna during her Super Bowl LVII halftime show. Aside from a casual pregnancy reveal, the show was decidedly relaxed with Rihanna’s first live performance in several years focused on the tunes; opening with Bitch Better Have My Money and rounding out with Diamonds.
Wearing an all-red Loewe jumpsuit — that she committed to for the entire 13-minute duration of her performance — and later, an Alaïa coat, Rihanna accessorised with a scarlet red timepiece. With a diamond bezel, red dial, and matching red strap, it looked like the likes of a Piaget jewellery watch creation at first glance. However, the skeletonised dial cemented its true origin: Jacob & Co.
More specifically, the Jacob & Co Brilliant Skeleton Northern Lights. Standing out amongst a veritable pantheon of watches to spot (including Gordon Ramsay’s Rolex Submariner Ref. 5512, Jay-Z’s Richard Mille RM47 Samurai, and Michael Strahan’s Patek Philippe Nautilus) on the day, Rihanna’s Jacob & Co Brilliant Skeleton Northern Lights is an unexpected yet apt choice.
The Jacob & Co Brilliant Skeleton Northern Lights is one of the American watchmaker’s rarer pieces. With a 44mm stainless steel case, it boasts a total of 323 white diamonds on the bezel, providing that diamonds can be both “in the sky” and on the wrist. However, the diamond-encrusted bezel doesn’t detract from the dial itself, which features leaf-shaped hour and minute hands and showcases an open-worked skeleton movement with a graphic bridge layout exclusive to the watchmaker. It’s topped with a red mineral crystal and worn on a colour-matches red alligator leather strap.
While watch sponsorships are rife in the music industry, Rihanna is actually a longtime customer and friend of the brand. “Rihanna is like a goddess,” says Jacob Arabo, founder and owner of Jacob & Co. “She has it all, a sense of leadership like no other, heaps of talent, and a unique, vibrant energy. During the Superbowl performance, she showed once again that she owns the stage, just any stage. And she’s a demanding customer. She only ever goes for the best of what we do.”
Priced at $72,000USD (approx. $103,500AUD), it’s a piece befitting of everyone’s favourite bad gal.
Words by AR Staff
