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Jacob Arabo (born Yakov Arabov; June 3, 1965) is an American jeweler and watchmaker who founded Jacob & Company in 1986 and grew it to become an international luxury brand. He began strictly as a jeweler with designs that appealed to celebrities who became regular customers.
His interest in watches began at the age of 13 when his father gave him a world time watch. A year later he had a part-time job assisting a watchmaker. According to Arabo, he "loved all the tiny parts and gears" and was "enthralled by his father's ability to breathe life into a movement, to assemble it and then have it actually tell time."
In 1979, at the age of 14, he and his family immigrated to New York City. They lived in Forest Hills, Queens, and he attended Forest Hills High School.
His father worked several jobs but had difficulty earning enough to support his family. Because of family difficulties, at the age of 16, Arabo discontinued his formal education before completing high school and enrolled in a six-month jewelry-making course. He graduated four months later. He found work at a local wholesale jewelry factory that made mass-market pieces earning $125 a week. By the time he was 17 years old he was designing his own pieces at night in his bedroom while working at the factory during the day.
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 .
Arabo started collaborating with entertainers on custom designs. In the 1990s, he was one of the first jewelers to create big diamond jewels for men, a trend that is mainstream today.
Hip-hop artists who were Arabo's clients included Sean Combs, Biz Markie, Jay-Z, Drake, 50 Cent, and Big Sean. Other clients include various prominent entertainers and athletes, including Madonna, Rihanna, Pharrell, Elton John, David Beckham 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. By 2016, there were 99 iterations of the Astronomia Tourbillon.
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.
He is also well known in the entertainment industry for his unique jewelry designs and is mentioned in several hip-hop songs as "Jacob the Jeweler" or just "Jacob".
Arabo was featured in a 2016 cover story in the watch magazine Revolution, titled "The Man Who Would be King." Revolution He was also featured in the watch magazine GMT in a 2018 story titled "Jacob & Co.: Spectacular Horology."
Arabo also appeared in the Explained episode "Diamonds", part of a 2019 Vox Media and Netflix TV documentary series.
In 2020, Arabo made a cameo appearance in Drake's "When To Say When & Chicago Freestyle" music video.
In 2023, Arabo made an appearance during episode 6 of the 14th season of the reality show The Real Housewives of New York City, where Arabo was seen consulting cast member Erin Lichy on her jewelry.
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