Meet Aubameyang and Hazard’s Hatton Garden jeweler, selling diamond watches and necklaces to Premier League stars for £100k
A JEWELLERS LONDON are the go-to jewellery specialist LOVED by Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Chelsea’s Eden Hazard.
Based in Hatton Garden, they produce bespoke watches, pendants, necklaces and more for the Premier League’s elite.
The business was set up by North Londoner Abtin Abassi, 31, in 2008, and the first footballers through the door included West Ham’s Ryan Fredericks and Crystal Palace stars Patrick van Aanholt and Christian Benteke.
But most recently, the diamond merchants became a hit on social media when A Jewelers shared videos of Aubameyang and Hazard showing off their sparkly purchases.
“Hazard was recommended to us through a friend, and he wanted a custom-made specific piece,” Abassi told SunSport EXCLUSIVELY.
“We made him three pendants on diamond tennis chains, and each pendant had a picture of one of his sons on.
“He didn’t want the pictures to be too clear, he wanted them to look like a sketch.
“We made them all different lengths,the one that sat lowest was his oldest son, the one in the middle was his middle son, and so on.
“The pendants alone had the same-size diamonds, with double-bezel going around each piece.
“The names of each son were engraved on the back too, as well as the picture on the front.”
NO EXPENSE SPARED
Abassi ranks it the most special piece that A Jewellers has ever had the pleasure of creating.
He revealed: It took two months to make, but was a real labour of love.
“It featured the highest quality VVS stone, and in the tennis necklaces we used single stone 15 point diamonds.
“Each stone is 15-20 percent of one carat, and in each necklace there was around 114 stones, and we made three necklaces for him.
“All three pendants had about 60 stones, so it worked out to a total of about 120 carats in diamonds, and the quality was in VVS.”
DIAMOND GUNNERS
Another recent happy customer is Golden Boot-winner Aubameyang who “likes shiny things”, laughed Abassi.
And it seems that when he caught a glimpse of Arsenal teammate Alex Iwobi’s rare Audemars Piguet timepiece, he wanted the same one.
“We sourced him the watch – it was a rare steel and rose gold Audemars Piguet 41mm that’s pretty much impossible to find,” he said.
“Lucky for us, we knew they were going to be valuable in the market and invested in four of them beforehand.
“We actually sold the same one to Alex Iwobi before Aubameyang came to us.
“They were both very happy with the work we did for them. Iwobi has since bought a steel and rose gold Rolex from us, also diamond set.
“While we’re talking to Aubameyang about making him a special diamond pendant.
“When you’re dealing with footballers, they’re very specific when it comes to knowing what they want.”
RAPPER’S DELIGHT
Abassi believes that today’s football stars are heavily-influenced by American rappers when it comes to their choice in jewellery.
Recently, he took an order from Manchester City star Benjamin Mendy after the defender had hung out with members of the famous US hip-hop group, Migos.
“We’re in the process of doing something with Benjamin Mendy, and he specifically asked for tennis necklaces that had to be a certain size and the diamonds had to be a certain size.
“He said he was with Migos, and saw their necklaces and wanted the same.
“But Benjamin wanted his made from VVS stone, so it’s a very expensive order.”
Preferring to keep his individual clients’ spending habits private, Abassi gave us a rough estimate of what footballers are paying for his goods.
“I’d say they are spending from £50,000 upwards on watches and pendants.
“But I can tell you that some have spent in excess of £100,000 on jewellery from us.”
A Jewellers specialise in a type of diamond setting that’s more common in America, and has become a firm favourite for footballers.
“We’re doing work that no one really does in the UK,” Abassi revealed.
“It’s called flower setting. It was popular in America first, and we’ve been doing it for three years here with the help of our diamond setters who we work with in Belgium.
“With flower setting, there’s no edges, no gaps, no spaces… it’s just completely packed to the max, and has about 50 percent more diamonds than a normal diamond set item.
“The way the diamonds are set gives off a honeycomb effect, and that’s what makes it sparkle.”
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Abassi is grateful to all his clients for supporting A Jewellers – in an industry he had to learn about from scratch.
“I’m a self-made kid from North London, my parents went bankrupt when I was young and my family lost everything,” he said.
But it was ambition that spurred him on, and the need to make ends meet.
“I was buying and selling trainers in college and school, and someone offered me a watch, which I didn’t really know anything about,” he continued.
“It was a £600 Breitling, and all I knew was that it was real and the value was quite high.
“I took a risk and bought hit, took it to Hatton Garden to try and sell it as an 18-year-old.
“Eventually, I sold the watch, made a profit, and then put the word out to a network of people to keep offering me things.
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“I kept buying and selling, going to Hatton Garden, and learned this business that way.
“Now, I’m fortunate enough to say I’m about to open my second showroom in Hatton Garden, and have some fantastic clients.”
To see more brilliant jewellery from A Jewellers, check out their Instagram. You can see the collection more extensively on their website here.