Taking place as the debut show at the stunning new Exhibition World Bahrain, Jewellery Arabia 2022 will be three times larger than the previous edition and showcase a dazzling display of a huge range of finished jewellery, watches, precious gems, pearls and perfumes.

In a fitting tribute to Bahrain’s much-awaited premier show, Jewellery Arabia will be the opening event at the expansive newly-built Exhibition World Bahrain in Sakhir.

Bringing together more than 650 brands, the event forms a stunning display of classic and contemporary design, a huge range of finished jewellery, watches, precious gems, pearls, clocks, fine writing instruments, luxury accessories and more from around the globe. Added to this list this year is a wide variety of perfumes.

Taking place from November 22 to 26, the show will span over an area three times larger than the previous edition. Scent Arabia, the Kingdom’s first luxury fragrance event, will debut alongside Jewellery Arabia 2022, showcasing a vast selection of luxurious fragrances from across the region and the world. Jewellery and perfume enthusiasts alike will gather to experience a variety of fragrances and limited-edition pieces.

“Jewellery Arabia will take place across six halls while introducing a host of new features, unforgettable experiences and specialised pavilions to celebrate its 30th anniversary,” says Mohaned El Mahgoub, General Manager of Informa Markets Bahrain, the show organiser, in an interview with Arabian Knight.

“Jewellery Arabia show space has tripled in size compared to the 2021 event, with an expected 25% increase in exhibitors,” El Mahgoub reveals. “It will have widened shopping walkways, and offer an improved exhibitor and visitor experience.

Spanning across 54,000 sq m, the exhibition will provide visitors with access to a wider range of renowned exhibitors from highly coveted regional and international brands, and new brands taking part for the first time, as well as various food and beverage retail outlets and more, says El Mahgoub.

“We are delighted to be hosting this year’s Jewellery Arabia at the newly launched Exhibition World Bahrain. Accommodating a larger number of exhibitors, this year’s event will leave an impressionable mark on all visitors, as we aim to host an unforgettable visual experience with enhanced services and an array of products from the most prestigious brands across the world,” he promises.

Renowned watch and jewellery houses will be making a return appearance at Jewellery Arabia 2022, while a considerable number of new exhibitors will also be seen at the show.

Some of the major exhibitors participating in the show are: Bahrain Jewellery Centre, Asia Jewellers, Kooheji Jewellery, Boucheron, Joyau Jewellery, Mattar Jewellers and Mia Moon. New brands at the show will include: Chaumet, Tiffany & Co, Graff, Kismet by Milka, Sandy Tabet Jewellery, Lustro and Nsouli Jewellery.

The show will also have a pavilion known as Gold Souq, portraying a traditional Bahraini souq for 21k gold; and one for Rising Stars, where the show will put the spotlight on up-and-coming designers from the region and showcase unique and contemporary pieces from new and growing jewellery brands. There will also be a Singapore Pavilion and an Indian Pavilion.

For the first time, Jewellery Arabia is partnering with several experts from the jewellery and perfume industries with the aim of enriching and widening the overall event experience for its visitors, reveals El Mahgoub.

The partnerships include:

•   Dubai Design Academy (DDA): Based in Dubai and attracting students from all over the region keen to learn how to make jewellery, DDA is making its debut in Bahrain through Jewellery Arabia. As there is no jewellery-making training facility in Bahrain, interested students usually need to travel abroad to build their skills. But this time, Jewellery Arabia serves as a learning platform of choice for ‘jewellers in the making’, thanks to its collaboration with DDA.

     Dubai Design Academy is providing courses and workshops aimed at a wide range of profiles, from established jewellery professionals wishing to improve their skillset to young talent looking to learn the basics of jewellery making as well as the jewellery aficionados with a creative streak. DDA is providing a special 15% discount for all students coming through Jewellery Arabia.

•   Katerina Perez: Jewellery Arabia, for the first time, will have a collaboration with world-renowned Katerina Perez, a globetrotting jewellery aficionado whose passion has blossomed into a thriving career as an authoritative voice in the industry. With 15 years of experience in jewellery, features in publications such as VO+ and the Financial Times, Perez is one of the first writers to bring fine jewellery online. She now works as a brand consultant, collection curator, and educates the industry not only in person but also through her Instagram channel that is followed by 400,000 jewellery enthusiasts. For the first time, she brings her expertise to Jewellery Arabia through personal shopping sessions with visitors as well as short talks giving out her best tips on how to buy jewellery.

•   Anais Fournial: As part of the introduction of Scent Arabia this year, the event welcomes a professional perfumer straight from Paris. Former student and current instructor at the eminent ‘ISIPCA Paris’, the perfume and cosmetics training institute founded by fragrance master Guerlain in 1970, Anais Fournial is also a creator of bespoke perfumes for individuals, F&B, hospitality, events and world-renowned perfume brands. Featured in Forbes and French Gala, Anais Fournial will offer her expertise through a series of workshops and talks where visitors will have the chance to create their own fragrance and discover the dynamics behind perfume making.

Speaking on the thinking behind the introduction of Scent Arabia this year, El Mahgoub explains: “With the projected growth of the perfume industry worldwide, we are witnessing a noticeable increase in the sale of niche fragrances across the region. The launch of Scent Arabia aims to cater to the needs of these consumers by showcasing a wide range of high-end perfumes that are not available within the region.”

“We are receiving great interest from regional and international brands to participate in this event,” he says.

“By partnering with international experts and offering unique workshops and insights, Jewellery Arabia is improving both the visitor and exhibitor experience at the event while increasing the product variety in order to cater to all jewellery and watch enthusiasts,” he adds.

“Jewellery Arabia is more than a place to shop, it is a one-of-a-kind event where passion for jewellery, watches and now perfume brings people together,” he concludes. 

– By Sree Bhat