As a teenager, Jacob Arabo was working for a traditional jewelry manufacturer in the New York City
Diamond District on
47th Street and making his own jewelry in his family's house at night. Eventually, he moved his makeshift workshop to a permanent factory in the Diamond District. At this point, Arabo specialized in gold jewelry, creating his own designs. However, he was still working for clients within the jewelry industry by producing traditional jewels for distributors and retailers. In 1986, at the age of 21, Arabo founded the retail jewelry company Diamond Quasar, doing business under the
Jacob & Co brand making his own designs for private clients. By the early 1990s, he had established his own kiosk in New York's Diamond District. His innovative pieces caught the attention of the late rapper
Notorious B.I.G., who gave him the moniker "Jacob the Jeweler," and introduced him to his entertainment friends. The moniker has also appeared in rap songs by
Jay-Z,
Nas and other
rappers. Other clients include various prominent entertainers and athletes, including
Madonna,
Rihanna,
Pharrell,
Elton John,
David and
Victoria Beckham,
Jennifer Lopez,
Salma Hayek,
Sofia Vergara,
Michael Jordan,
Mariah Carey and
Canelo Álvarez. Arabo created a
quartz watch collection called the Five Time Zone in 2002, which combined bold primary colors with multiple time zone technology and was worn by both men and women.
Naomi Campbell,
Bono,
Angela Bassett,
Derek Jeter, and other celebrities have worn watches from the collection. One of the features of the Five Time Zone Watch was its interchangeable
bezel, in which a stainless steel bezel can be replaced with a bezel paved with diamonds. The watch was highly customizable, and Arabo made several versions of the watch for his clients, including
Leonardo DiCaprio for his charity and designer
Virgil Abloh. Arabo moved from the Diamond District to a mine-inspired flagship boutique at
57th Street and
Park Ave in 2004. In 2007, Arabo founded Jacob & Co. SA in
Geneva, Switzerland, and introduced his first high-watchmaking timepiece, the Quenttin. It was the first watch to have a vertical
tourbillon and a 31-day power reserve, at the time the world's longest power reserve. In 2013, Arabo created the Epic SF24, a two-time zone watch that uses a patented fully mechanical split-flap system to display the time in 24 cities around the world. Inspired by the old split-flap board at airport and train terminals, it was the first time a system like this was used in a mechanical watch. Arabo's company Jacob & Co. released the celestial-themed Astronomia Tourbillon in 2013, initially introduced at Baselworld 2013. In 2019, Arabo was invited to create the crown and serve as a judge for the Miss World America 2019 pageant. The crown was crafted of 18k
white gold and adorned with 164 carats of Colombian emeralds and 95 carats of diamonds. ==In popular culture==