00:24For Hussein Al-Fardan,
00:26one of Qatar's best-known businessmen and jewelers,
00:29Pearls are personal.
00:31They're part of his family history and Qatar's.
00:34Before oil and gas transformed the Gulf,
00:37Pearls were a major source of income here,
00:39traded from the region to markets around the world.
00:42When I was about maybe eight or less than that,
00:47but I opened my eye,
00:49my father working only with the Pearl,
00:50our neighbor with the Pearl,
00:52our relatives with the Pearl,
00:54the whole region with the Pearl, buying, selling.
00:57So I loved it.
00:59A lot has changed since then.
01:02Now in its 22nd edition,
01:03the Doha Jewelry and Watches Exhibition
01:06brings together 49 exhibitors
01:07and more than 500 brands from 30 countries.
01:10This year, that includes Manish Malhotra,
01:13one of India's best-known fashion designers.
01:16After more than three decades creating looks for Bollywood,
01:19he's now bringing that same eye to jewelry.
01:22You could wear a plain outfit,
01:24but it's the piece of jewelry that actually speaks about the style.
01:29It actually speaks about your taste.
01:31And I think a look for me is incomplete without jewelry.
01:35So it's diamonds.
01:37And it's called the hatful.
01:39Hat means hand in Hindi.
01:41and fool means flabber.
01:45Traditionally worn by Indian brides,
01:47the piece has been reworked in diamonds
01:49and taken into contemporary fashion.
01:51And it's already found some famous fans,
01:54including Rihanna.
01:55There's plenty of luxury on display here,
01:58but look a little closer,
01:59and some of these pieces tell a much more local story,
02:02drawing on Qatar's past
02:04and reimagining it for a new generation.
02:09I use this beautiful pearl to represent
02:12our legacy in loving and appreciating the pearls.
02:17Qatari designer Noora Al-Ansari
02:19founded Papillon Jewelry 15 years ago,
02:22but her connection to the exhibition goes back even further.
02:25Now, she's exhibiting here, herself.
02:28This is our ninth time to be part of the DJWE.
02:33I'm really proud of myself.
02:35This piece takes its shape
02:37from the distinctive spiral of the Fanar Mosque.
02:40Part of the proceeds go to Education Above All,
02:43a foundation working to expand access to education.
02:46But beyond design and craftsmanship,
02:49there's also the question of exactly what you're buying.
02:51To the untrained eye,
02:53telling diamonds apart isn't always straightforward.
02:56That's where Qatar's Kimberly Laboratory comes in,
02:59using technology to distinguish
03:01between natural and synthetic diamonds.
03:03And so how quickly can your guys here find out
03:06if it's natural or synthetic?
03:08Two minutes.
03:09Or less than two minutes.
03:12The lab looks at everything from color and clarity
03:15to cut and weight.
03:16And for someone spending serious money on a stone,
03:19the reason for doing it is pretty simple,
03:21knowing what you're buying.
03:25For all the international names here,
03:28there's also a clear effort to give homegrown designers
03:30a bigger platform.
03:32Visit Qatar says putting them side by side
03:34gives local talent greater visibility
03:36while keeping Qatar's own jewelry traditions
03:38part of the story.
03:40Jewelry is really a family,
03:42like, you know, history.
03:44It comes with heritage.
03:45It comes with a story and local narrative as well.
03:47When we are talking DJWE,
03:49we always bring back the history of the pearl,
03:52the history of the essence of our ancestor,
03:55collecting these kinds of treasure
03:58and experiencing the story behind it.
04:01And that brings the story back to where it began.
04:04Hussein Al-Fadhan grew up surrounded by the pearl trade.
04:07He went on to build an empire
04:08that stretches far beyond jewelry.
04:10But his first passion has never really left him.
04:14What I see, I see the real sea.
04:16Very rare to find the pearl.
04:18My love is with the pearl.
04:21Because it's my root,
04:22and I start seeing a thing when I was young.
04:25My family is working in that.
04:29There's no shortage of expensive jewelry in this room,
04:31but talk to the people behind it,
04:33and the value isn't always measured
04:35in diamonds, gold, or pearls.
04:37Sometimes it's a childhood memory,
04:40a family business,
04:41a tradition that has been handed down,
04:43or one that's being reinvented.
04:45And more than a century after pearl divers
04:48went out into the Gulf searching for their fortune,
04:50that connection to the sea is still here,
04:53finding its way into what Cutter's jewelers create today.
