00:11Υπότιτλοι AUTHORWAVE
00:30The pearls are personal. They're part of his family history and cutters. Before oil and gas transformed the Gulf, pearls
00:37were a major source of income here, traded from the region to markets around the world.
00:42When I was about maybe eight or less than that, but I opened my eye, my father working only with
00:50the pearl, our neighbor with the pearl, our relatives with the pearl, the whole region with the pearl buying and
00:56selling. So I loved it.
00:59A lot has changed since then. Now in its 22nd edition, the Doha Jewelry and Watches Exhibition brings together 49
01:07exhibitors and more than 500 brands from 30 countries.
01:10This year, that includes Manish Malhotra, one of India's best known fashion designers. After more than three decades creating looks
01:18for Bollywood, he's now bringing that same eye to jewelry.
01:22You could wear a plain outfit, but it's the piece of jewelry that actually speaks about the style. It actually
01:29speaks about your taste. And I think a look for me is incomplete without jewelry.
01:35So it's diamonds. And it's called the hat fool. Hat means hand in Hindi. And fool means flower.
01:45Traditionally worn by Indian brides, the piece has been reworked in diamonds and taken into contemporary fashion. And it's already
01:52found some famous fans, including Rihanna.
01:56There's plenty of luxury on display here, but look a little closer. And some of these pieces tell a much
02:01more local story, drawing on Qatar's past and reimagining it for a new generation.
02:09I use this beautiful pearl to represent our legacy in loving and appreciating the pearls.
02:17Qatari designer Noora Al-Ansari founded Papillon Jewelry 15 years ago, but her connection to the exhibition goes back even
02:24further. Now she's exhibiting here herself.
02:28This is our ninth time to be part of the DJWE. I'm really proud of myself.
02:35This piece takes its shape from the distinctive spiral of the Fanar Mosque. Part of the proceeds go to Education
02:42Above All, a foundation working to expand access to education.
02:46But beyond design and craftsmanship, there's also the question of exactly what you're buying. To the untrained eye, telling diamonds
02:54apart isn't always straightforward.
02:56That's where Qatar's Kimberly Laboratory comes in, using technology to distinguish between natural and synthetic diamonds.
03:03And so how quickly can you guys here find out if it's natural or synthetic?
03:08Two minutes. Or less than two minutes.
03:12The lab looks at everything from color and clarity to cut and weight. And for someone spending serious money on
03:18a stone, the reason for doing it is pretty simple. Knowing what you're buying.
03:25For all the international names here, there's also a clear effort to give homegrown designers a bigger platform.
03:32Visit Qatar says putting them side by side gives local talent greater visibility while keeping Qatar's own jewelry traditions part
03:39of the story.
03:39Jewelry is really a family, like, you know, history. It comes with heritage. It comes with a story and local
03:46narrative as well.
03:47When we are talking DJWE, we always bring back the history of the pearl, the history of the essence of
03:54our ancestor collecting these kinds of treasure and experiencing the story behind it.
04:01And that brings the story back to where it began. Hussein Al-Fadhan grew up surrounded by the pearl trade.
04:07He went on to build an empire that stretches far beyond jewelry. But his first passion has never really left
04:13him.
04:29There's no shortage of expensive jewelry in this room. But talk to the people behind it. And the value isn't
04:34always measured in diamonds, gold or pearls.
04:37Sometimes it's a childhood memory, a family business, a tradition that has been handed down, or one that's being reinvented.
04:45And more than a century after pearl divers went out into the Gulf searching for their fortune, that connection to
04:51the sea is still here, finding its way into what Qatar's jewelers create today.
