Move over Tiffany…I’ve discovered some new favorites houses!
Yesterday, I attended the Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition 2015. According to the event’s website, “The Exhibition distinguishes itself from other exhibitions as the chosen venue for international product launches in the world of jewellery and watch design and manufacturing. Our aims are to establish the highest standards for the exhibition; to attract high end and exclusive exhibitors and affluent fashion-conscious visitors; and to achieve a matchless reputation with a wide range of international investors as a leading exhibition for jewellery and watches in the industry.”
Upon entering, I headed straight for Cartier’s display, and promptly fell in love with half a dozen pieces, including this spectacular necklace:
Now, it’s important to comprehend that this is NOT COSTUME jewelry. These are NOT RHINESTONES, they are diamonds and rubies. The sparkle this piece exuded was mind boggling. Here is what Cartier has to say about it:
“Reine Makéda necklace -platinum, one 15.29-carat oval-shaped ruby from Mozambique, one 3.51-carat D IF round-shaped rose-cut diamond, one 5.10-carat E VS2 pear-shaped rose-cut diamond, cabochon-cut and faceted ruby beads, pear-shaped rose-cut diamonds, calibrated diamonds, brilliant-cut diamonds. The ruby chocker and the diamond necklace can be worn separately.”
Many of these spectacular pieces were priced in the millions. For example, my favorite piece from the exhibition was going for a mere 1.8 million USD. I looked at a beautiful crown/tiara that was in the 17 million USD range. And the fact that, on this next-to-the-last day of the exhibition, many cases were empty, indicating that pieces had been sold, was startling. I saw women trying on necklaces that could have been displayed in museums. I saw customers sipping coffee and karak (for more info on karak, click here), and nibbling on dates, negotiating multi-million dollar deals on soon-to-be heirloom jewels. I saw jewels that blew my mind, in settings that made my jaw drop…literally.
Here, for your viewing pleasure, I present my favorite piece from the entire exhibition: the “Lumières d’Eau necklace” by Chaumet de Paris, in white and yellow gold, diamonds, sapphires, pear-shaped yellow diamond and oval-cut blue sapphire. It seems I have a fondness for fancy yellow diamonds. Especially ones that are gigantic and virtually flawless. It seems I also have a fondness for Chaumet. They ethically source their jewels and metals, and are committed to an organization that is dedicated to protecting the world’s bees. I can get behind that, for sure.
This is another spectacular piece by the same house: the Lumières d’Eau necklace in white gold, diamonds, amethysts, violet sapphires, opal and one cabochon-cut white opal. The fire in the cabochon-cut opal was hot and dazzling.
After spending several hours drinking in the opulence of this jewelry show, and after interacting with many of the houses’ representatives, I came to the conclusion that, should I at some point in my life come into a fortune and care to invest in jewels, I would probably want to deal with Chanel, Cartier, Chaumet, or two other houses, one from Brazil and one from Dubai. The representatives from these five houses acted with incredible class and grace, treating me as if I might actually be in the position to purchase their pieces. They were respectful and friendly, even after I indicated that their gems were not anywhere near within my budget. Instead of moving on to the next potential customer, they spent time escorting me through the exhibits and discussing the intricacies of the pieces on display; giving me histories of the houses; describing the manufacturing process (all done by hand, of course!); and explaining who might purchase such exquisite works. I was both impressed and grateful for their professionalism.
To check out galleries presenting much better photography than mine, please click on the links below:
And, for some more amateur photography from yours truly, here are some other pieces that particularly caught my eye:
I actually got to try on one of these lovely pearls that are hand painted on the top. The green pearl (third from the left) looked fabulous dangling from my neck and was tempting at only $3,800 USD:
And for the gentlemen:
feisty living 