Anant Ambani, the youngest son of Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is a man on a mission. The 30-year-old opened Vantara, one of the world’s most ambitious wildlife rescue and conservation initiatives, based in Gujarat, India. Today, it would not be wrong to say that he is defined less by his words and more by the magnitude of the mission that consumes him. His resolve to become the voice of the voiceless, to nurture and save over 2,000 animals across 43 species, has now inspired a very fitting horological tribute from ace watchmaker Jacob & Co.
Introducing the Opera Vantara Green Camo, a one-off masterpiece built on Jacob & Co.’s Opera platform. The timepiece attempts to encapsulate the essence of this haven, a 650-acre rescue and rehabilitation zone with world-class facilities, including a 100,000-square-foot hospital and medical research centre, into a single horological marvel. Though it is nearly impossible to highlight everything that makes Vantara exceedingly special, the jeweller to the stars has once again mastered the unattained.
The $1.5 million Opera Vantara Green Camo, part of the Opera line known for watches like The Godfather, combines a triple-axis flying tourbillon with a rotating stage and a mechanical music box, and deserves to be applauded, admired, and analysed in detail. Take a look at what went into this 49 mm Opera Vantara Green Camo, a masterclass in heavyweight horology.
The Vantara visionary sitting on a golden throne-
The 30-year-old Reliance Industries scion grew up with a deep compassion for animals, a childhood passion that eventually took the shape of Vantara, meaning “star of the forest.” Launched in 2024 as a massive 3,000-acre sanctuary (four times the size of New York’s famous Central Park) within the Jamnagar refinery complex in Gujarat, it has quietly become his life’s work. Sitting on a golden throne at the very nucleus of the timepiece is a miniature of Anant Ambani himself, an unusually personal move from Jacob & Co., which usually reserves its Opera dials for movie icons or cinematic scenes. The hand-painted figurine depicts Anant in an outfit that cleverly echoes natural and earthy tones, perfectly in sync with the mission of the man who has already made waves with his ultra-expensive timepieces ($5 million Richard Mille). Surrounding Anant are the true pillars of Vantara, the animals and the movement they represent, a composition that underlines just how far Jacob & Co. will go inside its own realm to tell this story.
Vantara’s lush green canopy became Jacob & Co’s canvas-
The 49 mm rose gold case is brought to vibrant life with a lush green camouflage motif built entirely out of rare gems, set so tightly in an invisible setting that they form a continuous jewelled surface. The stones used are ultra-rare demantoid garnets, often nicknamed “green diamonds,” tsavorite garnets, described as at least a hundred times rarer than emerald, green sapphires, and dazzling white diamonds. This charismatic look is achieved with a total of 397 stones, weighing 21.98 carats in all. The rich mix of green hues flows not only across the dial but also around the case, wrapping the entire watch in a jewelled canopy that feels like a miniature landscape.
The animals-
At the heart of Vantara and the Opera Vantara Green Camo timepiece are the animals. Sharing the same pedestal as the conservation titan are sculpted figures of a lion and a Bengal tiger, described by Jacob & Co. as powerful emblems of the wildlife Vantara is dedicated to protecting. The Bengal tiger on its bed of gems recalls Vantara’s rescued white tigers, including Ram, a big cat with a rare pale coat who was saved from the exotic species trade.
The lion, meanwhile, stands in for the hundreds of large felines Vantara has taken in from around the world. The artistry of Jacob & Co. shows in the realism of these big cats, from the razor-sharp stripes and fur texture to the wild expressions on their faces; the workmanship is beyond exceptional. At the top of the dial sits the Vantara logo, with a rose gold-toned elephant head against a green background, paired with matching green hands that quietly tie the whole scene together.
The movement-
With the Opera Vantara Green Camo, Jacob & Co. has delivered a genuinely wearable art piece. Like the Opera Godfather and Opera Scarface, the Vantara version offers serious mechanics, but this model also stands for a purpose that reaches beyond luxury and pop culture. At its heart is a central triple-axis flying tourbillon, visible in the middle of the dial. A rotating platform carries the entire green miniature scene, driven by a pair of twin music box barrels that play a melody as the platform turns. Thanks to this mechanism, Anant, the lion, and the tiger actually orbit the dial when the music runs, creating a mesmerising diorama centred around one of the most prolific watch connoisseurs in the world.
Recently, football legend Lionel Messi had the privilege of visiting Vantara in Jamnagar as a guest of Anant Ambani. During that visit, the Inter Miami star, who arrived without a watch on his wrist, was gifted a limited edition Richard Mille reportedly worth around $1.2 million, a now-famous example of how the Ambanis use haute horlogerie as their own language of hospitality. Vantara has clearly become a meeting point for elite collectors; after visiting the sanctuary, tech tycoon Mark Zuckerberg was spotted embracing high-end mechanical watches.
The Ambanis and Jacob & Co.
The Ambanis have long been known to sport some of the most iconic timepieces created by the world’s most lauded luxury watch brands. Reliance family matriarch Nita Ambani has been spotted in Jacob & Co.’s Fleurs de Jardin on several occasions, cementing the family’s bond with the maison. With the Opera Vantara Green Camo timepiece, Jacob & Co. has not only created a stellar timepiece, but it has also infused it with excellence, emotion, and an eternal celebration of a higher purpose.
