In 2002, Jacob Arabo introduced a quartz‑powered Five Time Zone watch in New York, a design that instantly attracted hip‑hop icons like Jay‑Z and Kanye West.
The watch's success was rooted in Arabo's childhood fascination with a dual‑timepiece his father gifted him at 13 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where he first dreamed of creating a time‑keeping masterpiece.
After fleeing the Soviet Union in 1979, Arabo left high school at 17 to support his family, enrolled in a jewelry‑making course, and opened his own factory near New York’s Diamond District, later moving to Sixth Avenue by 1986.
Word of his bold, gem‑set pieces spread through New York’s hip‑hop scene, earning him the moniker ‘Jacob the Jeweler’ and drawing artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., Jay‑Z, and Beyoncé into his clientele.
The Five Time Zone watch combined a bold aesthetic with multiple time displays, but its quartz movement left Arabo craving more complexity; in 2007 he launched the Quenttin, a Swiss‑crafted timepiece featuring seven mainspring barrels and a vertical tourbillon.
Jacob & Co. now balances its bling‑centric roots with high‑watchmaking prestige, and the brand is set to unveil a new limited‑edition chronograph in September, continuing its fusion of street style and technical mastery.