On Dec. 15, 2024, Jalen Hurts sat down for his postgame press conference following a decisive 27-13 victory in which he threw two touchdowns and ran in a third. It was an impressive performance after a full week of NFL fans and analysts criticizing his play. Now it was time to flex a bit, which if you know anything about the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, is atypical.
“So that’s what y’all wanted to see, huh?” The confident retort from Hurts was coupled with a blinding pendant featuring his “Breed of One” mantra around his neck. The internet immediately took notice of the light show at the podium. His chain instantly became a new barometer for celebrity jewelry. If your diamonds aren’t dancing like that, then your chain isn’t up to snuff.
The man behind the chain is Gabriel the Jeweler. It was actually made for Hurts in 2022 and is one of the numerous pieces that the Eagles QB has purchased from the New Jersey-based jeweler throughout his playing career.
“He is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. We want to make sure that we give him the best,” Gabriel tells Complex. “A lot of people followed me and a lot of new orders came in because of that video.”
Like Hurts, Gabriel also likes to keep a low profile. He doesn’t usually do interviews. He doesn’t strive to be a front-facing jeweler like some others in the industry. The 44-year-old wants his work to speak for itself. In his 25-year career, he’s become a go-to for professional athletes. He says his list of clients is over 500 athletes long. It includes a who’s who of names like Odell Beckham Jr., AJ Brown, Saquon Barkley, Aaron Donald, Antonio Brown. Despite his decades in the business and the hundreds of pieces he’s created, the Hurts clip is the most talked about.
“Every time there is a rapper that has a shining diamond piece on, the internet is saying they went to Hurts’ jeweler even though it didn’t come from me,” says Gabriel. “It feels good for your work to be recognized.”
Ahead of Hurts and the Eagles taking the field on Super Bowl Sunday, we spoke with Gabriel about the viral moment, his history as a go-to jeweler in the sports world, future goals, and more.
How did you initially connect with Jalen Hurts?
AJ Brown. AJ and Elijah Moore are best friends. They’re like brothers. And I was very close to Elijah Moore. He introduced me to AJ Brown. Then, he introduced me to Jalen and DeVonta Smith.
So all the Eagles? I saw you’ve worked with Saquon Barkley too.
Saquon is like family. We knew each other from the Giants.
What is your reaction to the internet comparing every chain to the one you made for Jalen?
It feels good when you’ve put in 25 years of work. I like it to be compared to my stuff because it makes me look better. If you take my piece and you put it next to somebody else’s piece, there is a big difference. It makes me happy that they see the difference. But I don’t want to be out there in the spotlight. That’s not what I’m looking for. I’m already set with my clientele now. I don’t want to have more buzz or get busier. It is very hard for me to deal with everyone. But it’s nice to have your work recognized.
That moment kind of pitted you and your pieces against all the other jewelers. Do you embrace that competition?
I’m not the only one that makes nice stuff. A lot of jewelers out there make beautiful stuff. The difference between me and them is the service. If somebody has an event and he needs all his jewelry cleaned that day, we’ll make sure that it’s done that day. We are not going to tell him to come back in two weeks. If I have to have all my workers at the factory stay overnight and do it because he has an event, it is going to get done. If I have to fly somebody over, I’ll fly somebody over.
Why did Jalen’s chain look so crazy in that press conference clip?
First of all, the lighting was very good. Second of all, the quality was very good. The way I set my diamonds, I put ’em very close to each other. Jalen never bargained. He said he wanted the best and we gave him the best. That’s why that piece was shining like that. Every piece of jewelry that I make is made the same, but especially in his situation, all the diamonds were so compact. The light was going straight to the diamonds. A diamond is like a mirror. You need some lighting to make it shine. I’m not going to lie to you and tell you, “Oh, I’m the only one that could make that type of quality.” Every jeweler could get that quality. A lot of the jewelers try to cut corners to make a bigger profit. There’s a reason why not every jeweler has 500 athletes.
The internet is also talking about how rapper money isn’t like athlete money.
It’s true. I don’t deal with rappers, but a lot of ’em get free stuff from jewelers for publicity. Most of the jewelry given out is moissanite or lab-grown diamonds. It’s for the person that doesn’t want to spend the money or cannot afford to. You could have a chain for $50,000 with real diamonds or you could accomplish the same thing for $8,000. A lot of the rappers do not care. But athletes, you see their contracts on TV. It’s millions and millions of dollars. So of course, you cannot compare rapper jewelry to athlete’s jewelry.
How did you initially get into the jewelry business?
I was born in France. When I came to the United States in 2000, I started working with my family business. They were dealing mostly with the general people for over 100 years [in jewelry]. I was always into sports and I wanted to do something different. Being able to deal with these guys, soccer players or football players, makes me feel good. I’m happy and I thank God that I was able to do it.
Who was your first big athlete client?
The one that took me to the next level was definitely OBJ. Every time a customer wanted a piece of jewelry, they would send me a picture of OBJ with my jewelry on. OBJ took me from national to international.
Who would you say you’ve made the most jewelry for?
Probably OBJ.
Is there a favorite piece that you’ve made?
The butterfly I made for Antonio Brown. That’s one of my best. It had a lot of mechanics to open and close the wing.
What’s the most expensive piece that you’ve made?
I can’t say names, but probably a million dollars.
Is that common?
No. It’s usually between $50,000 and $200,000.
What are your future goals with the business?
To be honest with you, I think I achieved everything. Coming from where I came from, with no money, I achieved everything I wanted to achieve. I don’t want to be famous. I don’t want to be Jacob the Jeweler. I just want to try to do better jewelry than I’m doing now, better designs, new ideas.