Cover Inside Sabba Paris with founder Alessandro Sabbatini, the jeweller who prizes rarity over recognition (Photo: courtesy of Sabba Paris)
Inside Sabba Paris with founder Alessandro Sabbatini, the jeweller who prizes rarity over recognition (Photo: courtesy of Sabba Paris)
1 / 1
Alessandro Sabbatini, founder of Sabba Paris, walked away from Cartier to create something entirely his own. Now he reveals why true luxury lies in rarity, not recognition
Walking away from Cartier—your dream job since childhood—at 25 takes a certain type of conviction. Alessandro Sabbatini had it—though he didn’t know it at the time. “I thought I had already achieved what I wanted in life,” he tells me over video call from Hong Kong, where he’s showing pieces to a select group of collectors. It’s typical of his approach—low-key, personal, worlds away from the fanfare of traditional jewellery presentations. Back in the French capital, Sabba Paris operates from a single showroom with the discretion of an old-world atelier.
“I was never dreaming about having my own jewellery brand. I was dreaming of designing for Cartier,” Sabbatini admits. The shift came through a conversation that lodged itself in his mind like a splinter. A friend, older and presumably wiser, posed a simple question: if you can design for Cartier, why not for yourself ? “I never thought about that,” Sabbatini says. “It took me two years before really quitting Cartier and doing my own designs.” Those two years were spent learning to distinguish between designing jewellery and designing his jewellery. “When you are designing for yourself, it’s completely another story.”
That story began in Rome when Sabbatini was just ten years old and his mother dragged him to an exhibition about diamonds. It proved to be one of those encounters that reorders a life. “It was a shock for me,” he says. He was transfixed by two Renaissance paintings— works by Piero della Francesca and Botticelli. “I was like, ‘Oh my God’—not just that the jewellery [was] beautiful but also shown in a particular way.” He told his mother right then: “I want to design jewellery.” Most declarations uttered by children are forgotten by bedtime; this one held for a lifetime.
Don’t miss: How Ming Lampson spent 25 years making difficult jewellery look like magic
Above Angel skin coral and diamond “pink girandoles” ear pendants in titanium and gold (Photo: courtesy of Sabba Paris)
Angel skin coral and diamond “pink girandoles” ear pendants in titanium and gold (Photo: courtesy of Sabba Paris)
1 / 1
Originally from a small village in central Italy, he headed to the Richemont Creative Academy in Milan to train, then moved to Hong Kong and finally Paris. In Hong Kong, he encountered jade for the first time— smooth, gentle cabochons that offered something he calls “a magic potion”. They made him realise that faceted stones need not dominate and that jewellery could breathe through contrast. “I don’t like when it’s all flat,” he explains. “The combination between facets and cabochons and other materials gives a three dimensional [aspect] that I really look for.”
This philosophy extends to his use of materials that would make traditional high jewellers raise an eyebrow: titanium alongside platinum, unconventional treatments on metal surfaces, and most recently, cabochon diamonds—a novel concept in modern jewellery. “I love diamonds. I don’t want to be [biased,] but I think that diamond cabochons are really [on] another level,” he says.
“I love things that shine, but not too much. [With] diamonds sometimes, the problem is that they shine too much.”
In case you missed it: Talismanic jewellery is trending, and it says something about how uncertain we feel
His first independent commission came from a collector who understood the precarious position of a young designer with talent but no capital. Over dinner, the man made an offer: find the most beautiful ruby you can, design me a ring, and I’ll buy it. That pinky ring with a Burmese no-heat ruby became the foundation of Sabba Paris. “You cannot imagine,” Sabbatini says of that moment. “Did you really say that?” he asked the man, “because you are making my dream come true.” This is how he built the brand: one piece, then two, and so on, each sale funding the next creation. Today, Sabba Paris operates on principles that run counter to every commercial instinct in luxury. Sabbatini refuses to repeat designs, even in different colourways. “I will never do it. I think it’s respect for the person who has the first piece, first of all. And also, it’s respect for the object itself.” He deliberately limits his presence on social media, understanding that visibility creates demand he cannot— and will not—satisfy. “I just do a few pieces per year, and it ’s a matter of making it as exclusive as possible.” His pieces are posted by galleries and collectors, but rarely by him. “If I post something, I would have multiple people who want the same piece.”
Above A 37.50-carat Burma no-heat “goutte en Bleu Royal” pear-shaped sapphire and diamond elastic necklace (Photo: courtesy of Sabba Paris)
A 37.50-carat Burma no-heat “goutte en Bleu Royal” pear-shaped sapphire and diamond elastic necklace (Photo: courtesy of Sabba Paris)
1 / 1
This isn’t affectation masquerading as mystique. Sabbatini runs three workshops split between Paris and Italy and considers this already too many. His definition of success would make most brand consultants weep: “Stay as small as possible and stay as exclusive as possible. I will never have more than one showroom, which is in Paris.” He invokes Louis-François Cartier’s early days, when the house’s founder had a single shop in Paris and he travelled to clients with trunks of jewels. “I want to approach the next year making [fewer] pieces, not more; making less, but making [the jewellery] more special.”
Despite its rarity, Sabbatini’s jewellery is designed to be worn, not archived. “The piece becomes alive when it’s worn by a person,” he says. “Before, I was doing jewellery that was designed for living by itself. It could be in a box. It could be in a safe. I’m doing [something] completely different [now].” His earrings are tested hundreds of times for comfort and weight. Large stones are set with an ease he calls “nonchalance à la française”—the ability to wear something extraordinary without it wearing you. “ We really want something special, but at the same time, something which is easy to wear.”
This marriage of wearability and craftsmanship reflects his broader philosophy: jewellery marks moments. In Italy and France, celebrations are sealed with jewels—anniversaries, milestones, promises made tangible. “[Jewellery has a] double importance: it comes from the stones and from the material itself; but it’s also the occasion,” he says. “It’s a super powerful object.”
Above Pink rubellite and diamond “Versailles en rose” chandelier earrings (Photo: courtesy of Sabba Paris)
Pink rubellite and diamond “Versailles en rose” chandelier earrings (Photo: courtesy of Sabba Paris)
1 / 1
When Gwyneth Paltrow wore his amethyst bangle on the April 2025 cover of Vanity Fair, it was a validation of Sabbatini’s approach. Sabba Paris’s signature yellow boxes have become treasured by collectors who appreciate jewellery that stands apart, even in collections housing pieces from the world’s most celebrated maisons. The brand’s reputation has grown organically, through whispers in collector circles.
“In a world where everything [has] become so easy to find, I think we have to go back to the difficulty of finding things,” Sabbatini says. “Gems are rare, and you cannot find them easily—so jewels should stay the same way.”
Topics
As the Regional Editor for Watches and Jewellery and Editorial Content Lead for Tatler GMT, Amrita Katara specialises in luxury watch and jewellery coverage across Asia, with expertise in editorial strategy, feature writing and interviews with industry leaders. Her past roles span luxury lifestyle media and client partnerships. Based in Mumbai, Amrita’s work bridges global trends and Asian market insights.
Curated for you
The stories, profiles, and cultural moments featured on our Instagram feed
