Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Shoppers on the prowl for out-of-this-world accessories matched with brilliant bargains were dazzled by the plethora of gems and jewels on display at the 2013 Jewellery Arabia.
Around 50,000 visitors flocked to the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre during the five-day-event, 4,000 up on last year, which featured around 600 exhibitors from 30 nations including Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore and the UK.
Stalls glittered with a range of jewellery, luxury timepieces, precious stones, antiques, objets d’art, pearls, pens, jewellery packaging and new technological advances in the industry.
The annual event has constantly attracted visitors on the lookout for great deals as well as one-of-a-kind pieces.
Nisha Sajeev, a 39-year-old housewife, from Um Al Hassam, takes advantage of the special offers and rarely leaves empty-handed.
Mrs Sajeev, who attended with her cousins, said: “I come here every year because of the great collections and affordable prices. This year the collections were truly unique. I especially loved the diamonds on show. I believe they did a much better job this year in offering a wider selection of jewels.”
Aside from shoppers, many exhibitors made return appearances such as Gems Pavilion from Bangkok, Thailand, who received an overwhelming response.
Pranisa Achariyasripong, co-designer, sales and marketing executive, said: “This is our fourth time at Jewellery Arabia. We keep coming back for the friendly customers that like our European designs. Our style is ‘smart elegant’ but far from traditional.
“What makes us stand out is our technique and collection which appears to have movement.”
While their window boxes were frosted with a massive collection of diamonds, their gems were the main attraction, especially a pair of emerald and diamond drop earrings worth around BD2 million. Their jewels included diamonds, semi-precious and precious stones and their pieces ranged from BD3,000 upwards.
According to Sarya Ahmed, 34, a life coach, from Budaiya, it’s the craftsmanship that sets them apart. Mrs Ahmed was trying on a pair of earrings she had her eyes on last year. She said: “I usually come to the exhibition to check out what’s available in the market.
“I came back to Gems Pavilions as I regretted not buying a pair of earrings from them last year. I prayed they still had them and I was in luck. They are very stylish.”
Another stall crammed with customers was international designer Wendy Yue for her meticulously-crafted and whimsical jewellery.
The Hong Kong native, inspired by her worldly travels, uses diamonds and gems to create a range of flamboyant jewellery, including nature-themed pieces, figural (mainly animals), colourful, statement jewellery and limited editions.
Her designs are carried by the finest boutiques across Europe and the United States. It was a treat for many fashionistas in the kingdom as her design team transformed the window box set displays into a rainforest environment sparkling with stones.
Yozora Michelle Ahlf, Wendy Yue’s niece, said: “This is our second appearance at Jewellery Arabia. We feel that there is a product niche for us here and that customers really respond to the uniqueness of our designs.
“When Wendy sees a stone, she envisions what it can become. Whether it’s a beautiful blue or an opal she will see the sea and design collections and pieces around that. She uses diamonds, black diamonds, tanzanites, a lot of opal and green turquoise. The green turqoise is something that is relatively new and is doing extremely well. We find that people here have really responded to her work.”
According to Wendy’s team, the hottest items were the double finger rings, cuff-earrings and statement bracelets. On display was a pink sapphire, yellow diamond, white diamond and opal double-finger ring worth $12,840.
Miss Ahlf said: “One of Wendy’s specialties is creating graduating colours. For example, she will use about seven shades of pink.”
Across from Wendy Yue was Asia Jewellers launching Gant watches and limited edition Escada time-pieces.
Lakshmi Kewalramani, press officer for Swiss Watch Groupe FZE, said: “It’s the first official launch of Gant at Jewellery Arabia and we have launched in the Middle East this year. Customers are responding well to it here.
“We have already sold a couple of watches. Gant is a classic brand that is very affordable. It starts off at around BD50 to 1,000. It’s a sleek watch that can be worn with everything.”
Escada also showcased a white and gold watch and a silver and black watch for the first time costing around BD450. Miss Kewalramani said: “This is the first time these watches have ever seen store level. There are only 22 of them produced in the world and can be purchased at Asia Jewellers.”
Al Zain Jewellers also showcased a first at the exhibition, Karima Sharabi’s Collection that is best described as deep-rooted and meaningful.
Ms Sharabi, 33, from Saar, is a Bahrain-based artist shaping Arabic calligraphy into captivating items. Her 12 Golden Totem collection features necklaces, bracelets and rings in different Arabic words that appear as animals, people or objects. The word knowledge for example is shaped like an owl pendant and a guitar is Amen.
Ms Sharabi said: “It started off because somebody wanted their name in Arabic but in a shape. I did that and other people saw it. Before you know it, my designs gained a lot of interest. It especially attracted the younger Westernised Arab women.
“Also, I do the shape so that the word has a very spiritual deep meaning. Arabic really helps because it’s a language where each word already has a deep meaning.”
The collection starts from BD100 including gold, diamonds and semi-precious stones, such as turquoise.
Her sister Jennie, 28, a graphic designer, had attended the exhibition to support her as well as admire Al Zain’s Maharaja Collection. She said: “I like the Eastern-looking jewellery because it’s really authentic. You can see the Asian influences in it too.”
Silver was also on show at the Kan Zaman stall, a boutique located in Al A’ali Shopping Complex in Seef. Kan Zaman general manager Nuha Hamdan featured silver bracelets, statement necklaces, pendants and earrings starting from BD12. She also brought a family friend, Jordanian jewellery designer Nadine Shami, to feature her gold jewellery designs.
Miss Shami, 23, studied art and design in London for three years and returned to Jordan to follow in the family footsteps. Her family has one of the most popular jewellery businesses in Jordan, Shawkat Shami.
She said: “I always wanted to design my own collection and had my first launch last March. Now I’m working on my second one and I thought of presenting some of my pieces in Jewellery Arabia. There were a lot of interested people, especially from Saudi. I also met many international designers and jewellers and learned a lot. I have gold with diamonds and precious stones.”
Her pieces inspire a younger audience as Miss Shami tends to create edgy, yet girly pieces, such as hand bracelets which she refers to as ‘kiss of the hand’, ear cuffs, and Lady Gaga-inspired knuckle rings.
Her jewellery starts from BD200 to BD2,000, except for her statement finger ring worth BD3,365 including around 3.49 karats of diamonds and weighing 13.92 grams of gold.
Adding to the Jewellery Arabia experience, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) conducted complimentary seminars to educate the public on gems and jewellery.
Experienced GIA instructors provided visitors with information on different facets of gems and jewellery. Topics included diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, how to read GIA grading reports and tips when purchasing jewellery.
Some unwelcome visitors, however, didn’t need any instructions to make their mark on proceedings. Despite security measures, a thief made off with a diamond necklace worth more than $1 million from a display cabinet belonging to Lebanese jeweller, Chatila.
Police are looking for a man of Chinese origin to help with their enquiries and the investigation continues. Criminologists say jewellery fair thefts are sometimes intricately planned, rather than opportunist, with some items even stolen to order.
