00:00Qatar is already well-established market in the luxury business in general and watches and
00:06jewelry of course part of this luxury industry. Middle East is an incredibly important market
00:12because of the passion, the knowledge, the history that really is born from the Middle East.
00:17Luxury is a way of life here.
00:22Hello, welcome to Qatar 365 with me, Adil Halim. On this episode, we're back at the
00:28Doha Jewelry and Watches Exhibition. The world-renowned luxury event has returned to Qatar for its 21st
00:35edition. I'll explore how watches can be both functional and fashionable as I try on some of
00:40the most cutting-edge and high-end designs on the market. But first, Ioana Hu's goes window shopping
00:46at some of the most established international jewelry brands.
00:51It's glitz, it's glamour, but above all, the Doha Jewelry and Watches Exhibition is a treasure trove
00:57of craftsmanship and some of the world's most dazzling designs. Once a diamond in the rough,
01:03over the past two decades, the prestigious event has grown into one of the most celebrated exhibitions
01:07in the market, cementing Qatar's position as a luxury tourism destination.
01:13Doha Jewelry and Watches Exhibition hosts more than 500 brands from all around the world,
01:19from about 32 countries. And we are talking about Qatar. We are talking about not only a destination
01:26attraction when it's come to the entertainment and festival, but also we are talking about the
01:30luxury tourism. We want to showcase the readiness of our infrastructure, hosting such kind of a mega
01:36project that definitely brings visitors and those who have the enthusiasts to learn more about the
01:42luxury that awaits them inside.
01:44There are plenty of up-and-coming designers here hoping to bedazzle visitors and make a name for
01:49themselves in the jewelry industry. But some of the biggest stands have been reserved for brands
01:54that have been around for decades and some even centuries.
01:59One of the exhibition's crown jewels, the Tiffany & Co. Pavilion,
02:04an American luxury jewelry house founded in 1837.
02:08Middle East is an incredibly important market because of the passion, the knowledge, the history
02:13that really is born from the Middle East. Luxury is a way of life here. Tiffany & Co. has been a great
02:19part of it and it's a very important market to us because of the incredibly important clients that we
02:24have here. So this is really about showcasing the best of what Tiffany & Co. has, which are exceptional
02:30diamonds, colored gemstones and of course pearls.
02:33The highlight of the Tiffany & Co. Pavilion is this display, a collection of jewelry that is all about
02:39celebrating the natural heritage and pearl diving traditions of the Arabian Peninsula.
02:45We are extraordinarily proud to be featuring some exceptional pearls that are really we're bringing
02:51back home. They're from the Gulf, they're in incredible creations featuring diamonds inspired by the
02:57great Jean Schlumberger who's one of our iconic designers at Tiffany & Co. and really features
03:03incredible silver, near white, large beautiful pearls that really highlight the unique nature of these
03:10beautiful gemstones. While many of the exhibition's jewelry pieces are unique and exclusive, the yearly
03:18event is accessible for all free of charge. Meaning that for five days visitors can come to admire the
03:24beauty on display at the Doha National Convention Center, whether you're here to spend big or just have a
03:29little browse like me.
03:35Now from an annual temporary exhibition to a permanent collection, I've come to the Museum of Islamic Art to
03:41check out some extraordinary pieces of jewelry. To help us understand the significance of these precious
03:46stones, I sat down with Dr. Muniya Shekhab-Abudaya, Mia's Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs.
03:52Some of those daggers and that's the finial.
03:57Dr. Muniya, the museum hosts an expansive jewelry collection with pieces that come from all over the
04:02world. In terms of numbers, how many pieces do you have here and where do they come from?
04:06So the Museum of Islamic Art holds a collection of approximately 500 jewelry pieces, which is actually a
04:13fairly small part of the collection. If we think of the total number being approximately 12,000 pieces.
04:21On display, there's around 150 pieces of jewelry from Morocco, Spain, all the way to Southeast Asia,
04:29Indonesia, the Philippines even. So it really shows the diversity of pieces that are being produced in the
04:36Islamic world from the 9th century all the way to the 20th century. So it's a wide range of the Islamic world.
04:45Are there some commonalities or stark differences you see when you kind of compare the pieces?
04:50There's actually a lot of differences because it shows that there's a syncretism between indigenous techniques and
05:00any of the jewelry that would have been already produced in specific regions of the Islamic world and
05:08how it's been reused and refined in the Islamic period. So for example, if we look at Spanish jewelry from the
05:17medieval period, it shows very much an influence of what was produced in Europe and same in Indonesia. For example,
05:25you have a lot of use of techniques that already belonged to Southeast Asia and to Indonesia in
05:31particular in previous periods before Islam was introduced in these regions. So some of the pieces
05:38come from the Islamic world from the 8th to the 13th century, around the time when Iran was expanding
05:43its political influence and becoming a key player. How did this influence Iranian art? The 8th to the 13th
05:51century was a very pivotal period for not just Iran but also Iran and Central Asia in terms of jewelry
05:59making and I would say that it's very close to what has been produced in Egypt and Syria between the
06:069th and 12th century in terms of techniques at least because they would have been using some of the
06:12antique techniques but would have refined them. So you find a lot of gold that would have been used at that
06:19time with a little bit of enameled metal work as well which would have been combined with precious stones
06:26and jewelry making. So of course this is the medieval period for the the entire Islamic world is a time
06:35when the techniques and the production of jewelry has been very influential I would say for the later
06:43centuries. Now we're in the South Asian Gallery. One of the most famous pieces here is the Varanasi
06:49style diamond necklace. Varanasi necklace has been done in North India it's really representative of
06:56South Asian jewelry during the Mughal period so it is set with very precious stones including
07:02diamonds and diamonds were really part of the the the production in India. In general South Asia has been
07:10very prolific in jewelry making using precious materials such as jade that would have come from
07:18China and Eastern Asia. They would have been using as well emeralds that come from Colombia that were
07:25coming from through the Portuguese trade and later on with the British trade and then you have the use of
07:31spinels. We have a few pieces here in this gallery which people confuse with rubies because they are a bit red but
07:39they are actually pinkish red they're not exactly as red as rubies and spinels would have come from
07:45present-day Bangladesh or present-day Sri Lanka which were also somehow part of South Asian dynasties and so
07:53this would have been traded into into present-day India to make those jewelry pieces.
07:59The hope is by hosting a platform where a diverse range of exhibitors are under one roof Qatar will
08:07continue to establish itself as a leading destination for luxury shopping. I got a chance to check out some
08:13incredible timepieces on display. For Maha Al Ferdan the Doha Jewelry and Watches exhibition has a special
08:21place in her heart. She fondly remembers visiting every year as a child. The exhibition is quite literally
08:29part of the family business and now so is she. Since I was a kid they've been bringing us every year
08:37I was young and I would come I would come walk around see the jewelry since I was younger and my
08:44cousins my siblings as well so every year we learn more we know more we understand it more and finally
08:52this year I joined the family business. Along with four of her cousins Maha is part of the third generation
08:58of Al Ferdans bringing an injection of youth to the company and what better place to leave their mark
09:03on the legacy brand than at an international exhibition. And it started 20 years ago when my
09:09grandfather Hussein Al Ferdan decided that he wanted to have a showcase to show the diamonds the jewelry
09:16and so every year we're here we have one of the biggest pavilions actually in the Doha Jewelry Watches
09:24exhibition and we show all the brands that are under Al Ferdan Jewelry. There are more than 500 brands
09:33from 30 countries represented at this exhibition. This is the 13th straight year Ayd Adwan has been
09:39coming to the DJWE on behalf of 140 year old Swiss luxury watch brand Breitling. Middle East region is
09:47very important region for Breitling globally and Qatar is one of the most important market for us here and
09:54this is one of the reason why we are coming here of course to meet with our local retail partner and
10:01in the same time to meet all our clients our friend of the brand our partners here in the country.
10:09Adwan remembers the exhibition's early days he's seen significant growth in the size and scope of what
10:15he calls a global gathering. It was a smaller and less brand and as we said before Qatar become more
10:22and more destination for luxury brands and we see the growth of the exhibition we see a lot of new
10:28brand which myself even I don't know so it's good chances for us as I said to to show our product but
10:34also to learn about the watch and jewelry industry in general. Another Swiss luxury watch manufacturer on
10:41full display here is IWC Schaffhausen. Originally founded as the international watch company the brand has been
10:49around since 1868. More than 150 years and since then we are very well known for being the engineers of
10:58time and also for our craftsmanship and for our innovation. For many international brands this
11:05exhibition not only allows them to showcase their luxury craftsmanship to their Gulf clientele but
11:11also to foster growing cultural exchange. Our presence in the region is extremely important for us and
11:17Qatar is one of the most key country in the region and of course we want to spread the world but we want
11:24to show also to show the region how much it is important for us at an international level.
11:36From glitzy jewels to elegant timepieces we hope you enjoyed discovering how the luxury retail sector
11:41continues to grow in Qatar from here at the 21st Doha Jewelry and Watches exhibition. But that's all the time
11:48we have for now. For more check out Euronews.com and connect with us through our hashtag. Thanks for
11:52watching and we'll see you next time on Qatar 365.
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