Christopher Aire on becoming Los Angeles' premier jeweler to the stars.
The Nigerian-born jeweler reached the scene's mountaintop, taking one hell of a journey to get there.
In 1998, a chance meeting in the parking lot of the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey presented a fork in the path of Christopher Aire’s life. He was presented with the breakthrough moment of his jewelry-making career, tasked with a cross-country flight from Los Angeles to Miami and a credit card limit of $1,500, an insurmountably costly trip for a mid-20s hustler. If he failed to make this sale, his budding career would collapse in its infancy. There would be no financial or emotional recovery from this moment. But for Aire, scared money don’t make no money. But as we sit and chat, it’s an instance that brings a smile to his face at the hint of mentioning, because he knows that it’s the exact moment that his life changed forever. The Nigerian-born jeweler has amassed an impressive Rolodex of clients since he started his own business in 1996. From Muhammad Ali and Paris Hilton to Will Smith and 50 Cent, the biggest and brightest have clamored for and obtained his pieces.
“One of them was my diamond earrings which are five-carat, which I still have today. I also bought a diamond bracelet and a pendant with the stones that were like three carats each,” Gary Payton said when asked about his favorite pieces from his first orders from Aire. “I spent about $100,000 or $200,000, but it was still a great price for me to get all that stuff because it could have been worth a lot more. But Chris took a chance on me, letting me go out and let people see his pieces.”
Even though Aire has fully integrated himself into the fabric of Los Angeles’ finest, continually working with celebrities consistently, his appreciation for his earned status never wanes. As he rattles off past clients like Angelina Jolie, Snoop Dogg, and Cedric the Entertainer, a wry laugh escapes, as if he still cannot believe his own accomplishments.
“No, it never does. I love it, I always feel like it is a privilege,” Aire said when asked if working with Hollywood’s finest ever gets old. “I never take anything for granted. I don’t take my clients for granted. I don’t take seeing my pieces on certain people for granted. I’m always humbled by it, I’m happy, and I hope they continue to do it.”
Aire’s appreciation for his current status and success stems from his humble beginnings in Southern California. Right before his 18th birthday, he moved to the United States against his father’s wishes, furthering his education instead of running his oil company. He attended California State University Long Beach, where he developed a penchant for hustling to sustain himself without his father’s support. His first exploits involved attempting to break into the music industry, but couldn’t find a way to make it pay the bills.
His focus shifted when he met Pouria Banayan at what he described as a “self-awareness” seminar. At this five-day intensive workshop, the duo struck up a quick friendship blossomed of their mutual love for jewelry and interest in its business. Aire, who was scraping by as his music career hit a wall, expressed the urge to break into the industry via investing. Pouria, whose father Paul Banayan was in the jewelry business, presented himself as a willing helper.
“I was homeless for a little bit, as well,” Aire said during our lunch at a Calabasas restaurant, “He knew, because every once in a while I’d come and hang out at his house, and not go home. So he was like, ‘Why don't you come work for my dad a couple of times a week, so you start learning about this business and make informed decisions.’ The two days a week ended up being a full-time job.”
This apprenticeship at P-5 Jewelers under Paul Banayan turned Aire into an invaluable member of the company and a recognizable figure in the industry. He’d accompany them to shows and conventions, slowly going to more and more critical exhibitions. Eventually, he began attending shows as the sole merchant representative for the company.
After about six years of working under Banayan, Aire decided to venture out on his own. With just $5,000 saved and a pact to never compete with his mentor, Aire rented a 350-square-foot office with a modest group of employees. For him, it was important to respect the people that opened the door for him.
“You have to honor those who make a way for you, you have to respect that,” Aire said. “Fear is one of the reasons a lot of people don't teach you things. They’re afraid that once you learn it, you’ll take it from them. I didn’t want to be one of those people.”
He officially formed his business in 1996, first reaching out to major distributors such as Town and Country and Samuel Aaron and Sons to avoid crossing paths with Banayan. However, upon realizing that they were just buying his platinum-based designs to copy them overseas, he switched his focus and decided to truly do his own thing. Partially inspired by his love for music and music artists, he began designing unique pieces for entertainers and athletes. However, Aire had virtually no access to the stars he wanted to turn into clients. He had to do a little digging.
“That's when I started trying to get information where they would be and I started doing light stalking,” Aire said while laughing. “Honestly if I was eating somewhere, and I saw one of them, I would walk up to them.” Carrying a bag filled with his best pieces, Aire would stake out these stars and pitch to them. The hustling spirit from his college years hadn’t left him.
The moment came when the Seattle SuperSonics played the Los Angeles Lakers in 1998. Aire had his sights set on NBA legend and point guard Gary Payton, with the ultimate goal of capturing an order from him. He found out that Seattle was staying at the Ritz Carlton in Marina Del Rey, and made his way over there. Aire set up shop at the hotel bar and camped out with his suitcase full of earrings and watches, sipping on water for nearly four hours to settle his nerves, game-planning his big pitch to Payton. Once Payton emerged into the lobby and into the street to board the team bus, the ravenous crowd of media surrounded him. Determined, Aire broke through the crowd and made his initial pitch.
“Chris was trying to get his jewelry off, came up to me and said, ‘I’m Chris Aire, I’m a new guy coming out and I’ve got a lot of jewelry coming out. Would you want to take a look at it?’” Payton said over the phone.
Surrounded by the media, Payton put his arm around Aire and put him in contact with the people on his team. They set up a meeting at an off-season charity event in Miami, where Aire would meet with Payton and others to sell his jewelry. The problem was that Aire barely had any money to his name.
“It was an opportunity and I didn’t want to miss it,” Aire said. “I had a credit card that had a $1,500 limit or something. It was enough for me to buy just a one-way ticket and a hotel room in Miami.”
Armed with nothing but a bag of jewelry and a dream, Aire traveled to Miami to meet Payton. It was his best chance to date of landing anything substantial, on his own terms.
“I told my guys to take him up to the room we were in,” Payton said. “He did a great presentation with some stuff that I really loved. It was all stuff he could make too. I was like, ‘Yo, this is cool.’”
At the conclusion of that meeting, Aire secured an order from Payton for $50,000, the largest he’d received at that point. Earrings, bracelets, chains, Payton wanted it all. One of his favorite pieces, a five-carat diamond earring that he still has today, came from that sale.
“I just felt as though this weight was lifted off,” Aire said. “I felt so elated and grateful because had he not given me that order, I don’t know how I would have made my way back to LA.”
He and Payton’s relationship blossomed, where at first Payton would call Aire at any time and get a jewelry deal done. More and more, Payton would bring Aire along to events, connecting him with the people that he knew and developing a friendship that became unbreakable. When Payton got married, Aire crafted his wife’s wedding ring. They go to each other’s events, hopping in a car at the drop of a hat. But from the moment that they met, it was easy to tell that Aire was the type of person that Payton should work with and become close to.
“Chris’ stuff was a much better quality, and he was a much nicer person than the other jewelers,” said Aaron Goodwin, who is Payton’s agent. “Now, they’ve been working together for 24-25 years now. My point to him was that this is the type of person you want to have a long-term relationship with. I definitely wanted him to buy from Chris because none of the others looked like Gary, him, or I.”
For Payton, their relationship has developed far past the confines of business.
“He’s just like my brother, it’s not about business anymore,” Payton said. “It’s about trust, he looked out for me and I looked out for him. It’s all about our friendship, family and our love for each other.”
Buoyed by Payton’s initial co-sign, Aire began collecting contacts among the NBA’s finest. He met Houston Rockets legend Kenny Smith. Shaquille O’Neal became one of his biggest clients, doing some of his earlier advertisements. The names kept stacking up, adding people like LeBron James and Michael Jordan to his client list. Then, being centered in Los Angeles, Hollywood’s stars took notice. At this point, the list of people he’s worked with resembles the VIP list at the Oscars after-party, with acting legends such as Forest Whitaker, Regina King, and Don Cheadle rocking his pieces at the peak of their popularity.
Now, Aire is everywhere and anywhere. During the lead-up to Super Bowl week, he was at Snoop Dogg’s celebrity golf tournament, flicking it up with people like Coolio and Payton. Then, he was at the actual game sitting in the lower bowl, where the cheapest tickets were upwards of $6,000. A couple of days later, Aire flew out to NBA All-Star Weekend, rubbing shoulders with the families of the players whom he provided with some of the most coveted pieces on the market.
“He gave me a watch the other day, and I took it to the Clippers game with the Warriors,” Payton said. “And four people wanted to buy it. I gave them Chris’ number so they could get in touch with him. My son (Gary Payton Jr.) wants it now too, so now he’s going to get one. In a short time, he’s already come up with four different people that want to buy a watch from him”
He’s undertaken tremendous risks to establish himself at the very top of the industry, all while maintaining the trust and adoration of those he works with. Where Los Angeles can be a city that chews up and spits you out, Aire has maneuvered through the obstacles by staying true to himself. It made him stand out, especially in the late 90s era when everybody was looking for an opportunity at someone else’s expense.
“When you’re legit and you want somebody on your side, they need to come genuine,” Payton said when asked about what makes Aire stand out. “They can’t come with the scamming stuff, you don’t want people thinking you’re a bad person. Chris has a good reputation, everybody wants to deal with him.”
Credit: chrisairebeverlyhills/IG
Now, Aire regularly travels all over the world with his jewelry, connecting with the highest-profile clients possible. It’s poetic that his career kicked off with a hail-mary flight to Miami, and now he can traverse across the globe without care. But even as he continues to experience other cities, he still views Los Angeles as his home base, both physical and spiritual. It’s a mindset that’s rare, where the glitz and glamour can cause the city to be viewed as fake or disingenuous.
“Los Angeles is full of little tribes and villages,” Aire said. “If you find your tribe, and you’re faithful to your tribe, your tribe will be faithful to you. When you find people of substance, that shows that you yourself have substance.”
“I happen to be one of the people who love Los Angeles, and I’ve traveled around the world quite a bit. When I’m back here, I feel like my soul lives here.”