Jacob Arabo Quotes

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.

Diamonds are this big sign of success. When you wear them, you feel good and when people look at you, they love it, they compliment you; that’s show business.

My father got me a job in summer when I was a teenager, and I became a photographer. That gave me a lot of education about designing and vision and helped me to make the decision that I wanted to design. Because taking a picture of something, you have to see the picture before you take it. And that’s what I usually do. When designing, I already have designs in my mind, already pictured. I already know how they’re supposed to look before they’re even made. So I knew I had this ability and this gift, and when the time came for me to choose who I want to become I couldn’t afford to become educated or go to school for another 8 or 10 years and become a professional…. So I dropped out of school. I was 16 years old. I took government-funded jewelry courses, graduated in four months and became a jeweler.

I have my hand in every aspect of the business. From the materials of the boxes to the choice of colours in our boutiques to the movement designs and the marketing, I review and approve everything. Because my name is on the company, I can’t afford to delegate many of these decisions about design, quality, and more. I am especially involved with our Instagram account. I love being able to communicate directly with our clients and fans.

I always wanted to do something different in my life, where I would be remembered way after my death. My idea was to build something different and new, and bring new innovations, to bring things to people that never been done before. New technology, new ways of setting stones, a new way of cutting stones, not just only to be in a business to make money. I really want to be in this business…. I would like to be the Steve Jobs of jewelry.

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.

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

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.

I am so excited about this partnership. We have the chance to make history, to develop timepieces the world has never seen before, to bring these amazing Bugatti supercars into the watchmaking world. When I look at the Bugatti Chiron sports car, the perfectly refined engineering is so powerful that sometimes it appears to be moving even when it is standing still. That’s the same feeling I get when I wear our high complication timepieces: a rush, a sense of energy, movement and power that can barely be contained.

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.

Geneva is the heart of timepiece craftsmanship, where all our fine watches are made and the Four Seasons Hotel des Bergues is my favorite hotel in Geneva. We have been exhibiting at the hotel for years, so it is the perfect place to begin our boutique expansion in Europe.

I have not yet begun to create.

I think I am fortunate that I approach watchmaking as a watch lover, not a watchmaker. I don’t worry about whether it can be done, I just imagine what my clients and I would be excited to own. Then, I approach the watchmakers and they tell me it is impossible. Then I tell them to try and try and keep trying, and we finally figure out how to do it.

I make it first for myself and then hopefully a few other people like it.