Wow…

The last 8 months have definitely been a rollercoaster ride. I shall not bore you with too many details, suffice to say, work amongst other activities (will be sharing them with you briefly) have kept me away from my blog.

Let’s Talk Jewellery… 

Last month, we saw the 16^th edition of Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition 

 With more than 27,000 visits over the six days, an Indian Pavillions (as part of the Qatar-India Year of culture – 2019) and a charity auction (with proceeds to Education Above All Foundation) , the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition (DJWE) 2019, concluded on a high note, making this year’s exhibition the largest in terms of participation, with more than 500 brands from over 10 countries covering an areas of 29,000 square metres.

The 16^th edition saw the participation of the Young Qatari Designers (YQD) initiative for the third year in a row, where a special pavilion was dedicated to the 12 young Qatari designers, under the patronage of Prime Minister of Qatar and Minister of Interior H.E. Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Here are some of the designers, whom I had the privilege of meeting.

Leila Issam Abuissa

“Anything Art” A motto Leila Issam has held dear to her heart at a very young age. During a time when children exhibit signs of whether they will grow into appreciators of Art or its architects, Leila clearly had the qualities of the latter.

With a Baccalaureate in French Literature and Philosophy; a combination she felt necessary in order to better understand the discipline that continues today in her thinking process of creating luxury products. She then moved to Paris to study art and design where she experimented with different fine art techniques, as well as design in all its forms be it conceptual or interior.

it was only after she moved to Florence did the Jewellery world strike her from every angle, thus began a quest for an Art form she would take on as her own.

Hissa & Jawaher Al Mannai.

It all started out as our past time when the two sisters repurposed their mother’s unwanted accessories and recreated new designs from it. Using their creativity, they went on to create fashionable necklaces and bracelets made of crystals, marbles, ropes, elastic and ribbons. They began their private collection and sometimes adding other accessories and vintage pieces, with this a dream was born, to create their own masterpieces, Their fascination and passion for jewellery saw them travelling extensively, this was necessary for them to establish Ghand – derived from the sugar crystals and how they look exactly like diamonds

“Our philosophy is to be imaginative and creative in our designs; our signature pieces are versatile”. Their personalities are so evident in their creation, a combination of Hissa’s taste for the bold and Jawaher’s preference for simplicity.

Fajr Al Attiya,

For Fajr, it all began with designing bags, however her love for beautiful aesthetics took her one step further into the world of precious metals and gems. Inspired by nature’s most beautiful creations, Fajr set out to cast the beautiful sites into eternal jewelry pieces that will be treasured. This led to the birth of Trifoglio in 2015 and the launch of her first collection in early 2016 followed by her first range of luxury leather good.

 

The popular The DJWE Forum, returned for the second year, with the participation of Qatari and international experts, designers and professors of history and arts in the jewellery and watches industry. The most prominent of these were Mr. Alex Popov, President of the Moscow Diamond Exchange, Geoffroy Ader of Artcurial, and Melvyn Kirtley, senior gemmologist at Tiffany & Co.

The sessions included discussions on Qatar’s rich heritage and the history of jewellery and pearls in Qatar. Among the distinguished academic speakers at the forum were Dr. Najla Ismail and Dr. Jochen Sokoly,

The prestigious French watchmakers Objectif Horlogerie presented free “Discover Watchmaking” workshops for all, and renowned expert Geoffroy Ader presented daily high-level educational talks, with the Qatar Watch Club in cooperation with the Turkish Watches Club. Jewellery workshops were held, dealing with precious stones, and providing advice on the evaluation of diamonds.

This was definitely an opportunity to feat your eyes on exquisite pieces of jewellery and watches.

For more information on the designers:

Follow Leila Issam Abuissa @leilaabuissa

Follow: Hissa & Jawaher @ghand_jewellery

Follow: Fajr  @trifoglio_qatar

 

What did you enjoy most about the DJWE2019?