It's no secret that celebrities and billionaires have been turning to one person for over 30 years for the most catchy, luxurious jewelry. His name is Jacob Arabo, although you may know him as Jacob the Jeweler from rapper Kanye West or 50 Cent. His clients include representatives of the international elite and Hollywood stars, from Cristiano Ronaldo to J-Z and Beyoncé, and the story of his take-off in the luxury industry is as incredible as the design of his jewelry.
Twenty-five years ago, Jacob Arabo gained worldwide fame through his friendship with American hip-hop artists. For them, he created massive jewelry with pure diamonds, which not only spoke about the seriousness of the status, but were also clearly visible from the stage. Then his attention shifted to the regulars of fashionable resorts, who greatly appreciated his watch, showing the time in five time zones. As a result, today Jacob & Co. takes a leading place, creating unusual watches and jewelry and having access to the rarest and most expensive stones. For many years now, their stand at the international watch exhibition Baselworld has been one of the most striking and most visited.
Jacob himself lives no less luxuriously than his clients. But it was not always so. He was born in Uzbekistan and emigrated to New York at the age of 14. The family settled in Queens, in the Forrest Hills area. After training, he opened his own business, and by the age of 21 already owned a small jewelry store.
But to make the same factory jewelery Arabo quickly tired. According to him, he knew that he had talent and that he was capable of more. He began to come up with the design of his own jewelry, which he subsequently decided to sell.
Soon, he began to earn more than US $ 1,500 a week, which is 10 times higher than his initial income. Biggie and Tupac became his first clients from the world of show business. Rappers began to mention the name of Jacob in their songs, so he began to gain wide fame. This was also facilitated by staying in the right places of fashion, like Saint Tropez and the like, and communicating with the right people.Today, Jacob Arabo has a long list of satisfied customers: Jennifer Lopez, Kanye West, Naomi Campbell, Milla Jovovich, Lenny Kravitz and Missy Elliot - they all wear jewelry from Jacob & Co. He creates both traditional products (Christy Turlington wore a Jacob & Co. jewelry worth US $ 180,000 when she married Ed Burns in 2003) and flamboyant (an 18-carat gold phone case for Farrell Williams). And the watch, inlaid with diamonds, which can cost up to US $ 1 million, brought him special popularity.
In April this year, Jacob opened his new boutique at the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai (the boutique is also expected to open at The Dubai Mall in the near future).
The opening of the flagship store coincided with the opening of the Billionaire nightclub at the Taj Dubai hotel by his good friend Flavio Briatore, with whom they released the 2015 Billionaire model - a chic men's watch, completely covered with large diamonds weighing 260 carats and costing US $ 18 million. Naturally, Flavio attended the opening of the boutique, and Jacob presented his jewelry at the new Flavio nightclub - stories about this party did not cease even many weeks later, and photos from the opening appeared in all fashion magazines in Dubai.
In addition to jewelry, Jacob also brought to the Emirates watch models Astronomia Sky and Twin Turbo, presented at the Baselworld exhibition and made a splash in Switzerland. “The Astronomia Sky model is the most sophisticated watch of Jacob & Co.,” Jacob admits. “I always dreamed of wearing a“ cosmos ”on my wrist! I offered my clients a constant kinetic movement that is not inferior in beauty to our Universe.” Astronomia Sky combines a dial in the form of a sky and a three-dimensional time display, which is adjacent to a starry sky map and an indicator of day and night.Jacob's main achievement this year was the Twin Triple Axis Tourbillon - a watch with a fight and two triaxial tourbillons - a bold statement in the watch industry. All 30 copies of this model, presented this year, Baselworld, were soon sold out, despite the cost of US $ 540 thousand.
Having an unusual shape and design of amazing complexity, this watch is waterproof and can withstand immersion to a depth of 30 meters. "I am pleased to think that Jacob & Co. is not just an elite brand. It determines the lifestyle of those who use it. We have a wide network of customers - from collectors to top managers."
However, to break into the world of the watch elite, according to Jacob, was far from easy. “In Switzerland, they don’t take strangers into their circle. But, apparently, they liked and surprised the design of my watches, and therefore they wanted to produce them. Our first premiere took place thanks to the Five Time Zone Collection.”It is especially pleasant that Jacob, the living embodiment of the American dream, still does not forget his roots and speaks excellent Russian. “Even after 36 years of living in America, I don’t consider myself an American. Among my friends there are much more Russians than Americans - I’m more interested in talking to them.
However, I have no nostalgia. Despite the wonderful memories of my childhood, for all the time I was in Uzbekistan only once. And 40 percent of my clients are Russians. "
What led Jacob Arabo to such a success in business? He answered this question this way: "Self-confidence and setting the right goals. And also a lot of hard work. These are my main qualities that allow me to move forward. What’s next? Brand expansion. I want to raise it to such a level that it can work without me".
