[4] Arabov was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR as the youngest of five children and the only male, to a Bukharian Jewish family.

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.

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.

[12] He found work at a local wholesale jewelry factory that made mass-market pieces earning $125 a week.

[9] In 1986,[13] at the age of 21, Arabo founded the retail jewelry company Diamond Quasar,[14] doing business under the Jacob & Co brand making his own designs for private clients.

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.

[15] Other clients include various prominent entertainers and athletes, including Madonna, Rihanna, Pharrell, Elton John, David and Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek, Sofia Vergara, Michael Jordan, Mariah Carey and Canelo Álvarez.

[17] Naomi Campbell, Bono, Angela Bassett, Derek Jeter, and other celebrities have worn watches from the collection.

[24][25][26][27] 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.

[30] Arabo was featured in the 2004 video game Def Jam: Fight For NY, in which the players' hip-hop characters compete to earn cash with which they can buy jewelry from Jacob the Jeweler.

[1] Arabo was arrested in 2006 on accusations that he and others conspired to launder about $270 million in drug profits for the Black Mafia Family.