A timepiece that drives home the retrograde nature of fleeting temporality is nothing new, and can be traced back to the dawn of horology. Recent entries have been submitted in the time of COVID-19; just last year, Louis Vuitton released a watch themed with that most fundamental of reminders…in spring, of course. The presence or absence of irony in the timing is debatable.

The French fashion house’s approach to macabre wrist wear was more playful. Jacob & Co. has released a similarly themed timepiece—in winter, but don’t fault the company for that—but it’s less playful than characteristically fascinating. The mechanical goings-on are enough to distract one from the theme itself.

The one -off watch is called the Astronomia 4 Skulls. Note the brevity in the name; but, then, time’s a-wastin’. The quartet of grimly grinning bony structures are rendered in 18K rose gold, and have ruby eyes; a series of lesser skulls forms the background of the visually arresting face, while a hand-painted magnesium globe and a 1-carat, 288-facet diamond add an element of the cosmological to the whole.

This reminder comes at a cost of about $800K.