Jacob Arabo : Founder, Jacob & Co

How have your sales results been for your spectacular Astronomia Gravitational Tourbillon Cage Rotating on 3 Axes ?

We have had far more orders than the three limited series with a total of 36 pieces allowed us to produce, so the result is very pleasing. We should undoubtedly consider introducing new versions to meet the demand. Naturally it’s a must for collectors, but it is also far less fragile than we feared when looking at it, aside from being very comfortable to wear. I am well-placed to talk about this as it is part of my personal collection and I wear it regularly.

 

How does the creative process take place at Jacob & Co ?

Formally, it is put in place during the week that I spend in Switzerland every month, engaged in discussions with the design and technical teams. This is all about sharing my ideas and listening to their proposals. I take advantage of these opportunities to tackle questions regarding sales and quality control. But fundamentally, design ideas come to me in the course of my travels, be it to China, India, Russia and the United States, from which I also draw inspiration, and then I formalize this vision with my employees. Sometimes it’s much simpler, like the Palatial that I designed with my father in mind. As regards the jewelry creations, we also have designers in Switzerland now, in addition to those based in New York and in Italy. As long as nobody tells me what to create, as long as I continue to enjoy doing it and my clients enjoy buying, I will continue in this vein.

 

What are the next developmental steps lined up for the brand ?

In terms of products, further variations of the existing lines will be developed and we will add a new collection of rectangular watches to the brand portfolio next year. As regards market growth, the United States remains our key market but we envisage moving closer to China, Japan and Russia, as well as France, which is the world’s number one tourist destination. In Switzerland we mainly have a clientele of collectors who focus on our five points of sale. We need to pay closer attention to South America and find a distributor there because I can see considerable potential in this region.


Brice Lechevalier is editor-in-chief of GMT and Skippers, which he co-founded in 2000 and 2001 respectively. He has also been CEO of WorldTempus since it joined the GMT Publishing stable, of which he is director and joint shareholder. In 2012 he created the Geneva Watch Tour, and he has been an advisor to the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève since 2011. Also closely involved in sailing, he has published the magazine of the Société Nautique de Genève since 2003, and was one of the founders of the SUI Sailing Awards in 2009 and the Concours d’Elégance for motor boats at the Cannes Yachting Festival in 2015.

Review overview
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