News

Q&A WITH ABTIN ABBASI, FOUNDER OF A JEWELLERS

In just over a week – Thursday November 18th, to be exact – we return to the Bloomsbury Big Top for the 2021 Artist & Manager Awards.

Adding the glamour this year will be A Jewellers, the London-based luxury boutique jewellery studio who are providing our special red carpet reception. One of the UK’s most dynamic brands, A Jewellers have attracted an enviable client base including some of the world’s most prominent musicians, entertainers and sportspeople and built a significant following over social media, particularly on Instagram where they have more than 250k followers.

To give MMF members a better insight into the business and how they’re working with the artist community, we sat down with founder Abtin Abbasi for a quick chat.  

Hi Abtin, hope you’re well. Could you tell us a little more about A Jewellers and how the business was established? 

When I was 18 or 19, a watch was offered to me. I didn’t know anything about watches, but I took it and people told me to go to Hatton Gardens to sell it. When I went there, everything fell into place of what I wanted. I liked the buzz, the hustle and bustle. I began selling gold watches and diamonds building my network of buyers over the years, finding customers to sell to and building the brand. I started with artists and celebs that really put me on the map and that’s when I started with A Jewellers.

When did A Jewellers first come onto the radar of the artist community? What was your first collaboration?

Jewellery is part of the culture. Part of the Hip Hop and rap scene all around the world, it’s always been a part of things. It’s cool, it’s blingy and shiny. Originally from the streets, people would buy jewellery when they make that bit of money to kind of show off and show they’re cool. It’s now gone into the fashion scene with celebrities rocking big chains and bling.

How have things expanded since then, and which collaboration are you most proud of?

We started setting watches in ways that weren’t done before and continued building this brand that’s fresh, innovative, and creating special pieces with jewels that others outside the UK couldn’t get their hands on. It got to a stage where we just became extremely popular and took over the jewellery scene for our niche and what we do in the UK and Europe.

Some of my big milestones include presenting AJ Tracey a custom-made special piece we created for him and the first time he saw it was on stage at his show.

You’ve got an incredible Instagram following and an expanding YouTube Channel – how important is social media to the business and its expansion?

Social media has been at the core of our success. It all started with our inner circle of friends and contacts; and organically grew from there. More and more people were asking us to show more of what happens instore, so we decided to start a YouTube channel to give followers an opportunity to experience what it’s like day to day. You must remember that many of our followers are international and have never even been to London – so the UK culture, which we strive to be part of, is what they are intrigued by.

We’re delighted you’re supporting the Artist & Manager Awards and our red carpet reception. What can guests expect on the night? 

Yes, we’re very happy we were invited to be part of the AMA awards, it was a natural obvious partnership. As for what guests can expect on the night – I wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise!