Christopher Aire (born December 25, 1964) is a Nigerian born

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmithing, goldsmithing, stone setting, engraving, ...

and timepiece designer. He is the president of Solid 21 Incorporated and the founder of his eponymous brand, Chris Aire.

Early years

Chris Aire was born in Ivue-Uromi,

Edo Edo (), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the '' de facto'' capital of Japan from 1603 as the seat of the Tokugawa shogu ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. His father Joseph Agimenlen Iluobe was a Nigerian oil mogul and businessman and his mother, Victoria Isesele Iluobe was a homemaker. He graduated Immaculate Conception College, Benin City, Nigeria. Thereafter, his father wanted him to join the family business. Aire started helping his father manage the family oil haulage business but quickly realized that he had a strong desire to work independently. After working briefly for his father's company Iluobe Oil, he decided to leave Nigeria and move to the

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to further his education and attend California State University Long Beach. While in college, Aire worked menial jobs in fast-food restaurants and pursued his education during the day. He graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

and directing. Breaking into the acting scene proved to be unsuccessful, so Aire decided to channel his talents towards

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

. He joined a group called

Raw Silk Raw Silk was an American dance music, dance band which originated in New York City, New York. History Raw Silk first signed to West End Records, a popular Paradise Garage, garage label for which they recorded songs that became moderate hits. T ...

, collaborating and performing with the band for a few years. The band did not experience the type of success he had hoped for, so he decided to break away in hopes of creating a solo career. Later, He accepted a job as an apprentice to a jeweler in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California, called P-5 Jewelers. Soon after, he enrolled at the

Gemological Institute of America The Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is a nonprofit institute based in Carlsbad, California. It is dedicated to research and education in the field of gemology and the jewelry arts. Founded in 1931, GIA's mission is to protect buyers and s ...

, Carlsbad where he received his diamond-grading diploma.

Career and brand

In 1996, after six years of apprenticeship with P-5 Jewelers, he set out on his own. He had saved $5,000 to start his namesake brand that designs and sells fine jewelry and watches. Shortly after founding Chris Aire, he met

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was a point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best know ...

, an

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

superstar who was then with the Seattle SuperSonics. Payton showed interest in his designs and invited Aire to see him in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

at a charity event the following month. In Miami, he landed a substantial order, solidifying his position in the jewelry market Aire opened his first

boutique A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in anc ...

at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

, Nigeria, in 2012. In 2014, Aire moved his United States office from downtown Los Angeles to his US flagship boutique in Beverly Hills.

Recognition and titles

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' described Aire as "The King of Bling". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' magazine called him "The Emperor of Ice". Aire has been featured in several other magazines such as ''Forbes'', ''Wall Street Journal'', ''IDEX'', ''JCK MAGAZINE'', ''Elle'', ''Vogue'', ''Black Enterprise'', Robb Report, Watch time, ''QP'' magazine, ''Rapaport'' magazine, and ''Los Angeles Magazine''. He has also been featured on

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, Konnect Africa, ''Washington Times'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', and the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

Personal life

Aire is married to Diana Atinuke Durojaiye. They have three children. He is based in Los Angeles and visits Nigeria often.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aire, Chris 1964 births Nigerian jewellers 21st-century American jewellers Living people California State University, Long Beach alumni American artists of Nigerian descent