Irina Shayk takes in the dazzling displays of the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition
The Voice of Chandigarh|Travel Trade Reporter:
Exquisite jewels and timepieces from more than 500 renowned luxury brands have been wowing the crowds at this year’s Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition (DJWE). Among the visitors to the official opening was Irina Shayk, wearing a Couture dress by Alaïa, and a bracelet and a ring from Bulgari’s Serpenti Jewellery Collection as she attended the region’s largest show of its kind for the first time. The 19th edition of DJWE runs until 25 February 2023 introducing new brands, limited edition collections and extraordinary showpieces from Qatar and the world.
DJWE platforms stylish local companies and talented artists alongside established powerhouse fine jewellery and watch brands. This year’s highlights include a special array of rare and exquisite pearls from the Hussein Alfardan Gallery, a personal collection of natural pearls and part of Alfardan Jewellery. Louis Vuitton has debuted its Fantasy necklace, a must-see 2.56-carat monogram flower-cut diamond. And Valentino has partnered with Qatar’s Education Above All (EAA) Foundation to reveal a limited-edition collection of Valentino accessories.
The 19th edition of DJWE also sees the return of Qatar Tourism’s Qatari Designers initiative, a long-running platform which demonstrates Qatar Tourism’s ongoing commitment to nurture local, creative talent. Established in 2017, the initiative has historically provided some of the country’s most recognised contemporary jewellery and watch brands with a springboard to help elevate their developing businesses.
Chairman of Qatar Tourism and Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, commented: “Qatar’s contemporary, yet classic, approach to luxury and style has made DJWE the flagship event it is today – a showstopping occasion that captures regional and global imaginations on an annual basis.
“Every year, DJWE provides thousands of visitors the opportunity to admire hundreds of priceless pieces up close, and to meet some of the world’s most respected designers. This year we expect more than 30,000 visitors from around the world to come and view leading jewellery brands as they reveal their latest collections, in Doha.”
This year’s DJWE highlights include:
Louis Vuitton’s Fantasy necklace
The Fantasy necklace interlaces the iconic yellow gold chevron motifs with diamond-paved triangles and Vs in white gold. It can be worn in three different ways and is paired with a spellbinding ring; whose body of gold chevrons rises to a crowning 8.73-carat round diamond that seems to be gazing at the woman wearing it.
A Classic Valentino collection with a difference
These limited-edition Valentino jewellery accessories are specially made for children in need who are supported by Educate A Child (EAC). The charity campaign – an initiative from Education Above All, supports the hardest-to-reach out of school children around the world facing barriers to education, ranging from poverty to discrimination. The Valentino items are embellished with a dangling EAC child logo in either crystal, metal or pearl.
Al Darwish Jewellery
A new partnership sees the addition of IDT Gemological Laboratories at this year’s DJWE, giving visitors the opportunity to have their jewellery examined and certified by an internationally certified institute.
Phillips
Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, the watch department at Phillips auction house – dedicated exclusively to the world’s finest collectors’ watches – is unveiling a selection of watches ahead of its Geneva Spring auctions, participating at DJWE for the first time.
The Piranesi Infinity Ring
A beautiful natural Ceylon Sapphire totalling nearly thirty carats, in a one-of-a-kind setting by Piranesi, called the Infinity Setting.
Luvor Collections
A stunning series of Luvor collections draw inspiration from mother nature. The Blue Lagoon collection features majestic pieces of blue sapphire ovals and diamonds, taking inspiration from the Blue Lagoon, where bluish coloured geothermal fluid combines with the heat and the cold. The Paradise collection features 95 carat pear emeralds and yellow diamonds, inspired by the autumn season and changing colour of the leaves.
Major local exhibitors
Front and centre of the event are showcases and displays from major local brands:
- Alfardan Jewellery: Established in 1954, Alfardan Jewellery has been a pioneer in the region, hosting the exclusive Jewellery and Watches Exhibition for the first time in 1977. The event became public event in 2003 and the DJWE we know today
- Ali Bin Ali Luxury: Qatar’s leading luxury goods retailer established in 1945, with boutiques across the Gulf
- Al Majed Jewellery: Formed by a young pearl trader back in 1943, Mr. Ali Al Majed’s family business selling jewellery from across the region and Europe continues through his sons
- Fifty One East: A Qatar department store with unique pieces from world-renowned jewellery and watches labels including Rolex, CHANEL, Boucheron and TUDOR
- Al Muftah Jewellery: Founded in 1984, the business caters to Doha’s growing number of fashionable elites, as an importer and retailer of watches and gold ornaments with diamonds, precious stones, and pearls
- Blue Salon: Doha’s high-end luxury department store since 1981 that has established itself in the heart of the capital as a leader in the latest designer collections and must-have luxuries
- Amiri Gems: One of the premier jewellery and watch retailers in Qatar
