Designers from the Middle East

The artistic and cultural wealth the Arab world offers us has an The artistic and cultural wealth the Arab world offers us has an extremely loyal partner in the careful and vigilant eye of its designers,who capture, gather and interpret every single suggestion, detail and hint, from decorative to historic elements, and from architectural to literary references. We know well that jewellery, with all its players,has the enormous knowledge and immense capacity to drawon a chest of inestimable value, constructively and, above all, with unprecedented artistic sensitivity. It is from here that we are setting out on our short journey today, in search of a creative reality that has captured the Middle Eastern identity with pride and poetry.

«I see my jewellery as a way of communicating what it means to be«I see my jewellery as a way of communicating what it means to beyoung, Arabic and proud. With my creations, I want to be the proofand custodian of our extremely rich cultural heritage,» says Nadine Kanso, founder and designer of the Bil Arabi brand (which literallymeans 'in Arabic'). And she does it very well, considering that it hasonly been 11 years since her signature has been using the Arabic alphabet, its calligraphy, the beauty and sinuosity of the shapes and that stylistic sentimentalism that also dominates the latest Khatt collection to its maximum advantage. Twenty-eight letters of the alphabet transformed into rings, ear cuffs, bracelets and pendants,strictly in gold, diamonds and polychrome enamels. «The collectionis highly innovative, abstract, graphic and everlasting. It focuses onsignetl rings and pays tribute to my cultural background.»

Explicit aesthetics tell a lot about her and contrast with the young designer's unquestionably more abrupt and austere style, Ralph Masri. Masri's world is one of architectonic modernity. It acts as a bridge between the past and present, and reaches an ultra-modernist goal, as his latest collection Modernist shows. Twenty-four items all created in dualcolours, such as, white gold with diamonds and blue sapphires, andpink gold with dark pink sapphires. This is jewellery that translates the 1950s modernism of Le Corbusier and Oscar Niemayer into beauty and that boasts worldwide recognition in having known how to refine and embellish geometries and minimalism. Deema Hefzi,to refine and embellish geometries and minimalism. Deema Hefzi,who was born in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and graduated from the Academy of Arts in San Francisco, takes a totally different direction.Hers is a journey through art and jewellery that, while refuses anyboundaries, is free to create ‘fusions’ to leave room for fascinatingartistic imagination. This is where her collection of tiaras made ofnumerous crystals all assembled together, comes in. These crownsbring back the golden leaf headbands in Byzantine paintings, stylistically transmitting a strong connection to her roots. For 2018?Everything will be made using precious stones!