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Stunning jewellery collections and elegant timepieces are the hallmarks of Jewellery Arabia which is staged at the Bahrain International Exhibition Centre until Saturday.
Now in its 17th year Jewellery Arabia 2008 was opened under the patronage of Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa yesterday for VIPs and invited guests.
Jewellery Arabia offers jewellery lovers the opportunity to view and buy from a diverse range of collections spanning from exclusive designer pieces such as Cartier, De Beers and others alongside popular local producers of fashion accessories such as Bansari Jewellers at the Gold City complex in Manama.
The store is currently one of over 600 exhibitors of the Sanabis exhibition. Owner Chandrakant Babulal Kagdada said: "This is our second time at the Jewellery Arabia exhibition and the event has enabled us to introduce our brand on to an international stage."
Bansari, known as 'flute' in Hindi, first opened its doors to customers in 2001.
Mr Kagdada, better known as 'Chandu', has lived in the kingdom for 32 years and explained: "I was in India looking after our family business in Gujarat when my brother first came to Bahrain to work as a goldsmith.
"Before opening our own store at the Gold City, my brother and I managed the Sona Jewellers with a local partner.
"We have been in this trade for many generations now. In the early 90s most of our immediate and extended family travelled to the island to expand and build our businesses.
"Bahrain is a very peaceful country and the moment I landed on this island I decided that it would be the place I would like to spend the rest of my life."
Today, at the age of 58, he is set to pass over the reigns to his son, Maulik, 22, and enjoy his retirement.
Mr Kagdada, from Adliya, said: "He joined the business right after graduation and his first step into managing the store was to introduce our store at the Jewellery Arabia exhibition."
Bansari specialises in a range of jewellery including pieces featuring original Bahraini pearls, fine gold and brilliant diamonds.
This year's show is the largest in the Jewellery Arabia series to the point where an impressive 1,750 square state-of-the-art structure has been constructed at the front of the Exhibition Centre to accommodate the increased demand for space by exhibitors.
"Since its inauguration in 1992, Jewellery Arabia has grown into the third most important international jewellery and watch exhibition in the world," said Fawzi S Al Shehabi, director of sales and marketing at Arabian Exhibition Management, the organisers of the event.
"Jewellery Arabia has achieved international status as a leading selling exposition of renowned designer jewellers and watchmakers, having grown from a local event 17 years ago into one that now has nearly 600 exhibitors, 60 per cent of whom are international exhibitors while the remaining exhibitors will be represented by local and regional jewellers, including pavilions from Asia Jewellers, the Bahrain Jewellery Centre, Taqi's Jewellery, Al Zain and Al Mahmood Pearls.
"We actively support and promote the work of our local jewellery houses."
Jewellery Arabia is open daily from 4pm to 10pm for trade visitors and private collectors by invitation only. An exclusive ladies morning will be held tomorrow from 10am to 1pm.
