Jacob Arabo Quotes

I wanted to put something iconic in this watch, and The Godfather came to mind. Once I had the idea, I thought, "Let me try to contact Paramount Pictures, and let’s see what they say." They did the research and their due diligence, and ultimately they liked the idea and gave me the license.

I’m investing my time and money to develop technology that’s never been done before. Basically, most of the watchmakers in Switzerland thought my ideas were impossible to do and I’m driven by impossible. I love the impossible. For me to make it in this business, if I don’t bring something new to the table, there are so many others that are offering the same thing. Why would anyone buy from me? I keep trying to develop new technology with my watchmakers. I design and I produce.

When I was just a boy, my father gave me a world time watch and I was fascinated by it. I think this is what led me to develop the Five Time Zone watch, that really started our watchmaking journey.

Jacob style, the way I like it is the way I wear it. You see (it) you can’t miss it. It’s bold, it’s eye-catching, it’s a piece of jewelry that would make you happy.

After we made the Five Time Zone, with five time zones and a world map, I received phone calls from Italian, French, Russian, Japanese and Chinese distributors to buy watches. To me, that was a great achievement, because we were an American company, making watches in Switzerland without a Swiss office. I now have a Geneva office with 10 staff members including engineers, graphic designers and a sales team.

I wear all the watches we produce, mostly as a test so I can live with them before we bring them out. Aside from that, the watch I wear the most is the Astronomia, as that is the most important watch to my company. It revolutionized high watchmaking and now we make a number of different versions of this model.

During a challenging time, I realized the full potential of my team, who stood up to the plate in an incredible fashion.

I have not yet begun to create.

I only made the first watch in 2001. Before that I couldn’t afford to make them. Then, I felt comfortable enough to make my own watches, because it’s not easy to make watches. It’s much harder to make watches than jewelry. It’s a closed industry; there are very few players and it is very difficult to make it in that atmosphere. I thank God I was lucky enough to become one of them and again, the reason they accepted me there is because of my designs. Otherwise it’s so difficult in Switzerland. If they don’t want to work for you, there’s no money that could change their minds. It’s a very small industry. It’s a very small circle of people. So I’m very pleased, very happy that it’s working out for me.

Our collaboration with Donnie Yen highlights the creative spirit that has become synonymous with Jacob & Co. Donnie Yen embodies the style and spirit of the Jacob & Co lifestyle.

Since he was 18 years old. He came to buy a piece of jewelry from me that cost $1,200 and he chiseled me down to $900. I always believed in Pharrell and I knew he was going to grow in the music industry, so I introduced him to the Japanese designer, Nigo. Then [they] became partners and that opened up many doors for Pharrell. Then he totally took off.

I want to create things that haven’t been done before. It’s about making the impossible a reality.

I am very proud that I have been able to build a company with almost 35 years of history, with two headquarters, one in New York City and one in Geneva. I am proud that I have been able to assemble a team of the finest professionals in the watch industry.

What’s winning still today is design. It’s all about design. Stones are stones. You can buy them almost anywhere today. So it’s all about design, it’s how you wear them, how you place them. So that’s what we’re doing. I design jewelry for people…. My idea is to give the ‘wow’ effect. If a princess comes here and I can show her something and she goes, “Wow, I have never seen anything like this in my life.” If she’s been shopping for the last 25 years, she’ll have seen everything. That’s my success.

It is a very complicated new timepiece. Additionally, whereas in the previous Astronomia, there were three crystal windows, this watch is fitted with one entire piece of sapphire, allowing for views all the way around. It also features a three dimensional Earth globe in the center. It … is unbelievable.