It took a while for Sabo to become a saboteur.

“I've been planning this for three years,” says Thomas Sabo.

One can assume that it was an intense time.

Because of the lockdown, the jewelry entrepreneur was able to concentrate well last year, especially in peace and quiet on a Mediterranean island.

And this idea is not just his sole creation.

Behind the new Saboteur brand are his creative wife Rita and his son Santiago.

Alfons Kaiser

Responsible editor for the section “Germany and the World” and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Magazin.

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They talked a lot about style, inspiration and life in general, says Thomas Sabo, who has been building one of the best-known German jewelry brands in Lauf an der Pegnitz near Nuremberg for almost four decades, which until now has only been running under his own name.

“We discussed it until we had the feeling that something was developing there,” says Sabo.

Now he has expanded his own name: Saboteur is supposed to be a brand that combines spirituality and geometry and looks unusually minimalist.

Rita Sabo is responsible for the “Sacra” collection, father and son for the “Elemental” and “Body-Jewelry” collections.

Are there also skulls, like on some of the jewelry from his main brand?

Thomas Sabo laughs.

In any case, they are not absent.

"We have long been back to pre-crisis level"

But why is there a need for a new jewelry brand at all? “I've never thought about that,” says Sabo. The Franconian entrepreneur tackles this project with the self-confidence of the self-made man. His main brand, Thomas Sabo, expanded over the decades from jewelry to watches, sunglasses and perfumes. At Saboteur, the Sabos also think big: Internet sales began in mid-November, two stores are opened in Vienna in February, soon after in Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Frankfurt, then in London and Paris. This fully equity-capitalized start-up already has good start-up opportunities in terms of its organization. Because logistics,Administration and IT can fall back on the corresponding departments in the parent company with around 1300 employees around the world and probably not very small three-digit million sales.

The corona crisis does not scare him with the new project. "We got through the pandemic well and have long since returned to the pre-crisis level," says Sabo. The medium-sized company, which has the company entirely in family hands, can react to current developments more quickly than large corporations. He himself is responsible “for the emotional bond with the suppliers”, as he says. He has known many of the manufacturers, most of which are based in Thailand, for decades.

This also helps him to proceed in a way that conserves resources.

Saboteur jewelery is made of 925 sterling silver, 18k yellow and white gold, minerals and white and black Fairtrade diamonds - and with prices of around 500 to 1000 euros (with upward and downward swings), it is significantly more expensive than the original brand.

If it really is “jewelry for eternity”, as the boss imagines, then one can definitely speak of sustainability.

The watches, made in Switzerland, are also geared towards durability.

After all, one should inherit it.

“Mega simple, mega cool,” says Thomas Sabo.

This also suggests that they are moving with the times.