This week on The Business of Watches, a brand we don’t talk about a lot on this channel – Jacob & Co. Complicated, audacious, and expensive, Jacob & Co. watches hold a unique position in the industry. The brand enjoyed a strong 2025, growing sales and volumes, according to estimates by Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult, bucking the industry trend.
And the brand recently got some high-profile exposure on the wrist of the Roland Garros winner with French Open champion Alexander Zverev wearing Jacob & Co. during his matches and on the podium.
We sat down in Geneva with Benjamin Arabov, the Chief Executive Officer of Jacob & Co., to talk about the brand’s operations and strategy. You might be surprised at how Jacob & Co. watches are produced, the size of its production, and how the brand is being impacted by the war in the Middle East.
But first, some business news headlines, including looming job cuts at one of Switzerland’s most important and respected watch brands, which are the result of shifting trends impacting the industry.
Sources: Morgan Stanley and LuxeConsult
And finally – looking ahead to next week’s episode, number 30 in the history of The Business of Watches, we’re planning a special Q&A episode and will gather some of the Hodinkee team, including editor-in-chief James Stacey and editors Mark Kauzlarich and TanTan Wang, to answer your business-related questions. Want to offer up a question? Please drop it in the comments below. We’re looking forward to hearing from you and answering your questions on all things watches and business!
There’s plenty of watch business and strategy to discuss, and we hope you enjoy the conversations. Be sure to leave any thoughts or questions in the comments section, and we’ll do our best to respond. Want to subscribe so you never miss an episode? This new show is being published to the original Hodinkee Podcasts feed, so you can subscribe wherever you find your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or TuneIn.
Show Notes
0:40 Rolex And Cartier Are In Another League – A Deep Dive On The Pains And Gains In Morgan Stanley’s “Swiss Watcher” Report (Hodinkee)
1:13 Chopard plans to cut jobs in Val-de-Travers (Le Temps) (French, paywall)
2:59 Chopard plans to cut around 30 jobs (RTS Info)
3:20 Swiss Watch Export Data for April (FHS)
4:35 Jacob & Co.
5:45 CEO Benjamin Arabov Triples Sales In Five Years (Bilan French))
10:20 Jacob & Co. Collaborates On Exclusive Watch With Salman Khan (Watch Pro)
13:46 Concepto Watch Factory (company website)
14:35 Jacob Arabo / Arabov (Wikipedia)
15:17 Astronomia Regulator
18:50 Our Favorite Guilty Pleasure Watches Of 2018 (Hodinkee)
21:15 Godfather II Watch (Jacob & Co.)
25:01 In-Depth: How The Five Time Zone Shaped Modern Watch Culture (Malaika Crawford Hodinkee)
