A new generation of UAE jewellery designers are aiming to make their mark on the global luxury stage – and establish themselves as the Middle East’s answer to powerhouses like Bulgari, Tiffany & Co, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Cartier.
As the nation cements its position as the world’s leading trading hub for gold, jewellery, gemstones and diamonds, it is also seeing homegrown design talent emerge, with each up-and-coming newcomer determined to ensure their handmade offerings – whether they are delicate keepsakes, bold and adventurous pieces, or timeless accessories – become the next collectable item that fashion editors across the world rave about and people clamour to own.
Home to the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group (DGJG) – a non-profit trade association that counts more than 700 members and represents companies accounting for almost 80 per cent of the regional jewellery trade – the UAE is positioning itself at the centre of the global jewellery industry. The DGJG itself has played a driving role in establishing Dubai’s status as the ‘City of Gold’, catering to the Middle East’s robust jewellery demand, and it is also among the reasons why Emirati designers are recognising that this is their time to shine.
Salama Khalfan, photographed by Julia at The Factory ME
They certainly don’t lack ambition, as Muna Al-Haddad’s horizons demonstrate. UAE-born and UAE-based, she aims to transform her brand Ghenej – launched in 2009, and comprising jewellery influenced by her enduring passion for poetry, Arabic calligraphy, and painting – into a worldwide brand to be reckoned with. Asked about her goals, she doesn’t hesitate: “I want to become an internationally renowned jewellery designer”
Al-Haddad, and others, have already made strides toward securing the visibility they are seeking, within their home nation, across the MENA region, and beyond. It’s testament to their talent, but they see it as merely a platform for what they hope to achieve – giving the jewellery world something it has never seen before.
They also believe their own insights into what the wearers of their pieces want, and how they would like their jewellery to reflect their personality, gives them an advantage in a market that is always looking for something fresh and exciting. Salama Khalfan‘s brand, Alezan – a collection of fine, bespoke, and individually-handmade jewellery – is driven by the Middle East’s equestrian heritage, but she feels it also chimes with the way the modern woman sees herself, no matter where she is in the world.
The main inspiration behind the collections is her horse Penelope with Khalfan – a former showjumper – with her brand’s name being the literal French translation of ‘chestnut’, the colour of her horse’s coat. “She is a horse that has a lot of harnessed energy,” says Khalfan. “She is forceful and strong. When you ask her to go for it, she gives 120 per cent. This is the kind of woman I wanted to design for.
Salama Khalfan’s jewellery, photographed by Julia at The Factory ME
“I love creating things that become part of the woman. When she moves her head, when she dances, the jewellery also moves and flows with her.”
This approach epitomises the extent of the creativity and imagination that exists within the emerging Emirati jewellery design world, with those at the centre of it feeling their own unique perceptions – and the ability to turn them into luxury reality – can create something that will not just appeal to a local or regional market, but will turn heads around the world.
Al-Haddad aims to do this through channelling her enduring passion for poetry, Arabic calligraphy, and painting, into her jewellery. Having designed her first item while in her 20s, she launched Ghenej in 2009, and says: “In the Arab world, we have a very beautiful heritage that includes jewellery which does not exist today.
“I want to bring back such beauty, ensuring that the generations of today will never forget their culture, and never be denied the beauty that our grandmothers saw.”
Proof that her personal vision can translate into wider appeal comes from the track record she has already established. Her first collection – Turathy – was displayed in Dubai’s Harvey Nichols store in 2009, making it the first Emirati jewellery brand to launch in an international store, with Bloomingdales soon following suit. Al-Haddad, who now has a private boutique, has since produced a diverse range of further collections, variously inspired by poetry, the Arabic alphabet, Gulf leaders, equestrianism, and pride in her country, leading to her receiving the Sheikha Shamsa bint Suhail Award for Creative Women in the UAE and gaining a clientele that includes UAE royalty. Now she aims to replicate this at international level.
Such lofty ambitions are an indication that young Emiratis are looking beyond conventional career paths and realising that they can make an impact on the world without sacrificing their dreams. In this regard, Azza Al-Qubaisi stands as a trailblazer.
The UAE’s first jewellery artist, corporate gift and awards designer, she – like Al-Haddad and Khalfan after her – originally planned to pursue a more traditional career and further her education in environmental studies. But she believed art was “a calling”, and now the pieces she creates are thought-provoking perceptions of nature.
“I have always had an interest in making things, but initially I didn’t know you could study to become a jewellery designer and make it a career,” says Al Qubaisi, who, after switching career paths, formed a jewellery design workshop ARJMST – an amalgam of her name and those of her siblings – in 2002.
But she admits that the initial response she received was not entirely encouraging. “People thought my work was weird,” she explained. “It was an issue of taste, and what people were used to.
“In the past, it was about a brand, and diamonds, and wearing copies. People were not seeking to be different. Now people want bespoke pieces – they want to be individual.”
All three have their individual influences and sources of inspiration, and their own unique eye for design. But they are united in their ambition – for their jewellery to be as familiar a sight on the streets of New York, Paris, and London as it is in their home country, and for their work to galvanize other young Emiratis into realizing where their creativity can take them.
It is this 360-degree vision – dedication to making an international mark as designers and businesswomen, spearheading a burgeoning Emirati industry that has the potential to gain a high global profile, raising worldwide awareness of their culture through the medium of jewellery, and acting as role models and mentors – that suggests the world will hear, and wear, a lot more from them.
