Introduction
Ever wondered how to start a luxury watch business in one of the world’s most competitive markets? In this exclusive Q&A, we sit down with Ads, the founder of 57 Jewelers in London’s Hatton Garden. He transitioned from a career in music to building a multi-million pound enterprise. He shares the exact steps he took, the challenges he faced, including a devastating £1.2M burglary, and how he rebuilt it all. If you want to start a luxury watch business, this is your blueprint.
Founder Success Story QnA
What is your business?
So we’re 57 jewelers based in Hatton Garden. We do all sorts of jewelry, uh, buy and sell, um, part exchange as welcome as well. We just don’t deal with silver, mainly gold, platinum, diamonds, etc.
What year did you launch 57 jewelers?
2023.
Since you’ve launched, how much revenue have you made?
So we’ve all in I’d say probably about 2 million, but what happened was we got burgled and lost more than half. So on May the 29th, yeah, I haven’t even spoke about this before. We lost 1.2 million. Nothing was insured. So that was that was a learning lesson for us, but alhamdulillah, we’re we’re back up now. We’ve got probably about 800 to 900 grand in stock.
You started off in 2023 and you started your store in Hatton Gardens. Why did you pick this location?
Just because as you can see bro it’s like it’s the busiest um jewelry district there is I’d say in the UK. Yeah. So we just thought if we’re going to be doing this properly and trying to fires every day. There’s no nowhere else better to come than to the gardens.
When we talk about setting up in Hatton Gardens, what are the steps that someone would need to take to get their shop?
To get a shop is pretty um easy, bro. You just got to speak to the landlord and get the shop. But the the tricky bit is getting people to buy from you, getting jewelers to trust you. So when we first got here, obviously I had my own personal jewelry from music. So that was our stock. And then every day showing our face, showing our face, showing up every day, every day, every day. Built trust with some jewelers, got put into trade groups, and then yeah, from there, we’ve just been sailing away, bro.
How do you build traction and how do you even get your first customer?
Uh, it’s all based on trust, bro. With me, the the the advantage I had was I came I transitioned from music to to jewelry. So a lot of people that would listen to my music, they kind of know me through my interviews, my music, my shows. They knew I was a trustworthy person. So that step was kind of easy for us. I had loads of like my people that used to listen to my music come in and to buy stuff from you, etc.
It’s good you being famous and from your music background, but in terms of maintaining the traction in a whole new space, how have you kept that up?
Just hard work, bro. Yeah. Yeah. This is much harder than music. Like anyone that does jewelry can tell you, bro, like it’s it’s it’s a 24-hour 365 job. There’s there’s no sleep, no rest in this thing, bro.
You mentioned your music background and now you’re in a jewelry game. What sort of inspired that transition into this?
I’ve always been into jewelry since I was young, before I was even rapping. All my old school pictures, you’ll see me wearing chains, rings. So, I’ve always been into jewelry. But as I got older, older, older, and my son got older, I realized I don’t want him to follow my footsteps in music. I’d rather him get into a business. So that that was one of the main reasons. And the second main reason that the first main reason was obviously the music is haram. So I didn’t want to keep displeasing Allah. So that’s why I transferred into something halal.
Can you walk us through the story of how your first client happened?
Yeah. So our first client was a brother called Vic. Yeah. Uh, he came through my Odd Ads Instagram. When when I first made the jewelry page, I gave it a shout out on my Odd Ads page. And our first client was a brother called Vic. I’ll never forget him. Literally, that was the first client I served. He came for a Dow swap. So, it wasn’t like he wanted a watch or anything big. He wanted So, a DA was the face of the watch. He just wanted his one taken out and a new color put in.
How much did you charge him for that?
I done it at cost price. Uh, it costed me 150. I charged him 150.
What would you say your first big trade sale was?
Uh big trade sale probably our third week in we sold it wasn’t massive but it was for us it was good. Um it was a buy metal root bear steel and gold root bear. We sold it for 16k and um I think we paid 15k for it.
How much did you have to save and invest into the business and where did that money go?
So when we started, like I said, I started first with my own jewelry. And once I sold all of my personal jewelry, I realized, hold on, I can actually do this properly. And then that’s when I took the big leap and I invested, it was a quarter mil into the shop for stock, etc.
There’s a lot of jewelers here. How do you stand out in a place like this?
Um, so we tried to be the cheapest, number one, and um, I think we are the cheapest. And number two, bro, we we have a a strong social media presence, so that’s what helps us a lot and stand out from quite a few other jewelers. And obviously, the trust is high.
What’s your relationship with the rest of the jewelers here?
We’re all We’re all like a family in here, bro. If I ain’t got something and a jeweler behind me’s got it or on the left of me’s got it, then they’ll give it to me. I can make the sale, obviously return them their money for it and keep my little commission. And vice versa, if a jeweler needs something that he don’t have, then we would always give them the product, let them sell it, and return us the money when they’re ready.
In your first year of business, how much revenue did you make?
So, in our first year of business, our profit was 1.3 million, but we probably had about 3.5 in sales.
How long did it take you to make your first million?
Uh, if we’re talking saleswise, uh, we made our first million in sales within 3 to four months.
What would you say has been the most expensive piece of jewelry or watch you’ve sold?
Uh we’ve sold uh one of one um no one of three RM and we sold loads of AP skeletons, rose gold ones. They’re like 150k and we sold one one of three RMS which was like a 300 400 bag.
Could you break down the percentage of sales between watches and jewelry?
Yeah, of course. So in watches nowadays anyway, um the market has completely gone down. So, we probably make, it depends on the watch, but anywhere between £300 to £2,000 profit on each sale, but jewelry, if we’re talking Cubans, rings, earrings, etc., then the margin is much bigger. So, it could vary. Like on a Cuban, we could make probably 5 to 6K profit.
What are the typical margins for a jewelry business?
Uh, just depends. Each jeweler adds their own drink. So, I can’t speak on other jewelers, but for us, we have small margins, but we do volume, so that’s what we aim for.
Since you’ve launched, how many items have you sold?
Since our launch in April 2023, May 23, I would say probably over like 10,000 items.
What are the typical overhead costs of running a business in Hatton Gardens?
Uh the main thing would obviously be the rent. Yeah. Uh it just varies. If you have a store, um it will probably be about 10 to 15k a month. If you have an office like this, then you’re looking probably around 2K a month. And then the arcade varies. If you’re downstairs, it’s around 1.8K a month. Upstairs, where we are, is 2.5K a month.
What would you say has been the most successful content strategy for you?
Um, just to stay consistent on the Instagram res. Yeah. And um we’ve recently launched our YouTube channel as well. So yeah, just staying consistent so the algorithms pick it up and then they push your stuff out more. Do you know the funny thing? We’re not on Tik Tok people keep ripping our videos and putting it on there so it’s free promo for us. But um yeah, mainly just staying consistent on the Instagram res. And if you check our Instagram stories, we always have a minimum of like 30 40 posts up. So it keeps the engagement high with the audience.
Have there been some high-profile clients that you’ve sold to?
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So we’ve done very high profile like amber rose. Um what was she getting? She wanted a custom pendant. Oh. So it was a rose. We made her an amber rose literally. So, it was a amber rose diamond pendant. So, um I say that was our highest client that we’ve had, but we’ve had loads of UK artist.
Have there been some particular moments or challenges you faced that have really troubled you?
Yeah. Yeah, 100%. So, on May the 29th, 2024, at about 4:40 a.m., we got we got burgled for majority of our stock. It was 1.2M got um ripped out of our office. Literally, they just broke in and took everything. It was kind of like a setup thing. Someone left the window the back window open. The security wasn’t in that day. The alarms never went off. So it was just yeah it was just a whole setup and um we literally got left with a ring tray which was worth about 50k. But the maddest part is about it is that five of the watches that got burgled from us. So about 50 watches got stolen loads of Cubans but five of the watches wasn’t ours. It was other jewelers that we had borrowed. So from the 50k ring tray we still had to pay off 100k to the jewelers whose watches got burgled that was left with us. Yeah. So it was literally on minus 50. M but um we kept grinding and then from then till now alhamdulillah we’re back up on our feet and the stock is around 8 to 900k again.
Some people online would say watches and jewelries can be seen as bad investments. What would you say to stuff like that?
Yeah. So if in general if you have a a Rolex and you ice it out, uh it’s not a great investment, but uh people get the there’s a difference between an investment and buying safe. So we have loads of bust downs that we sell for 9K. Yeah. And we will take it back in at 9K or another jeweler may offer you more for it. So they’re not they’re not losses, but they’re not investments. It won’t go up in price unless it’s a certain bus down. So for example, uh we sold a bus down rose gold olive. Yeah. So because the olive face is the investment in the watch, we didn’t ice out the doubt. We just iced out the the casing of the watch. So that could go up in future if the olive gets discontinued. Whether you have a bust down olive or a plain one Mhm. the value will still increase regardless.
What piece of advice would you give them if they wanted to start up a jewelry business?
Um, the main thing is stay consistent and show your face every single day to traders. So, for example, the arcade, make sure you’re in there every day. Um, trying to get deals, selling, buying, and um, yeah, the the the more trust you build up with traders. Eventually, someone will vouch for you, put you in a trade group, like the WhatsApp groups, we call them trade groups, and then you’ll start getting stuff at trade price.
What are your future plans for 57 jewelers?
Yeah, 100%. So, we’re waiting for a a shop to free up on the front line of Hatton Garden so we can have our flagship store. So, um, and yeah, and we want to take it to DXB as well. So, that should be inshallah sometime this year. Yeah, we’ll have an office opening up in DXB and yeah, we just want to take it all the way, bro. 57 to the world and back.
Ads Business Stats
Ads’s journey with 57 Jewelers is a testament to rapid growth and resilience. Despite a major setback, the business has shown incredible financial performance, driven by high-volume sales and strategic positioning in Hatton Garden. Below are some of the key stats that define his success.
- Achieved the first £1 million in sales within just 3-4 months of launching.
- Reached £3.5 million in total sales during the first year of operation.
- Suffered a £1.2 million loss due to a burglary in May 2024, from which the business has fully recovered.
- Successfully sold over 10,000 individual items since launching in mid-2023.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Year 1 Sales | £3.5 Million |
| Year 1 Profit | £1.3 Million |
| Items Sold (Y1) | Over 10,000 |
| Current Stock Value | £800,000 – £900,000 |
Ads Method
The success of 57 Jewelers isn’t just about being in the right place; it’s about a deliberate, hard-working method. Ads built his empire on a foundation of trust, aggressive pricing, and a relentless work ethic that sets him apart in a crowded market. Here’s a breakdown of his core methods to start a luxury watch business effectively.
- Leveraged his pre-existing fame from his music career to build initial trust and secure his first customers.
- Made daily presence in Hatton Garden a non-negotiable to build relationships and credibility with other traders.
- Positioned the business as the cheapest option to attract price-sensitive customers and drive high-volume sales.
- Fostered a collaborative environment with other jewelers, working on commission to access a wider range of stock.
- Maintained a powerful and consistent social media presence, especially on Instagram Reels, to build a global brand.
Ads Tools
To manage and grow his multi-million pound business, Ads utilizes a focused set of digital and communication tools. His approach is lean and effective, prioritizing platforms that offer the highest engagement and direct communication channels with his network and clients. These tools are essential for anyone looking to start a luxury watch business with a strong online and offline presence.
- Instagram: The primary tool for marketing, using consistent Reels and a high volume of daily stories to maintain engagement and drive sales.
- YouTube: A recently launched channel used to further build the brand and share the journey of 57 Jewelers.
- WhatsApp: Used extensively for “trade groups,” enabling instant communication and deal-making with other jewelers for stock acquisition.
- Smartphone: The primary content creation device, proving that expensive equipment isn’t necessary for effective social media marketing.
Key Notes
Ads’s story provides several critical lessons for any aspiring entrepreneur, especially those in high-stakes industries like luxury goods. The path to success is paved with hard work, strategic risks, and the ability to overcome significant adversity. These are the key takeaways from his journey.
- Trust is the most valuable currency in the jewelry business; it must be earned daily through consistent, honest interactions.
- The business is a 24/7 commitment, requiring far more dedication than many other industries, including music.
- Always insure your high-value assets; the £1.2 million loss was a painful but crucial lesson in risk management.
- Competitive pricing can be a powerful strategy to gain market share quickly, especially when combined with high volume.
- Resilience is key. The ability to rebuild from a massive setback is what separates successful businesses from failures.
Get Started in Just 5 Steps
Inspired by Ads’s journey? Here’s how you can start a luxury watch business or enter the high-end jewelry market by following a condensed, actionable five-step plan. This framework captures the essence of his strategy, from initial groundwork to scaling your new venture.
- Leverage Your Network: Start by tapping into your existing contacts and audience. Use your personal reputation to secure your first few sales and build initial momentum.
- Secure a Prime Location: Position yourself in the heart of the industry, like Hatton Garden. A physical presence in a reputable district builds instant credibility.
- Build Trust Daily: Show up every single day. Engage with other traders, be reliable, and focus on building long-term relationships rather than just making quick sales.
- Master Social Media: Create consistent, engaging content on platforms like Instagram. Show your face, share your story, and showcase your products to build a strong brand presence.
- Price Competitively: In the beginning, focus on offering the best prices to attract customers and drive volume. This will help you build a customer base and establish your reputation in the market.
Conclusion
Ads’s story with 57 Jewelers is a powerful example of how passion, strategic positioning, and incredible resilience can lead to extraordinary success. From a music career to a multi-million pound jewelry empire, his journey provides a clear and inspiring roadmap for anyone looking to start a luxury watch business. The key takeaways are clear: build trust, work relentlessly, and never be afraid to rebuild after a setback. The world of luxury jewelry is competitive, but with the right strategy, it’s a world you can conquer.