The end of November 2009. The capital of Bahrain - the city of Manama welcomes guests. As always, the best watchmakers and jewelers of our time gather in it. They bring with them their latest inventions in the field of watchmaking and jewelry design. It would seem a crisis. But, what’s remarkable, at the annual international Middle East exhibition Jewelery Arabia 2009, all the exhibitors announced in advance arrived. And not a single visitor decided to cancel his visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain. Of course, one can argue about whether all kings can, but a 100% sale of exhibition space and an incredible interest in the exhibition, shown by both the organizers and participants and visitors, cannot be discounted.
So, as always, at the end of November 2009 in the Kingdom of Bahrain, under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Hassan Abdullah Fahro, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Bahrain, the 18th largest Middle East Jewelery Arabia 2009 international watch and jewelry exhibition was organized by Arabian Exhibition Management. The symbolic red ribbon at the entrance was solemnly cut by the long-standing patron of the exhibition, Dr. Hassan Abdullah Fahro. Then Dr. Hassan and his entourage went around all the halls of the exhibition, alternately stopping at the stands that interested them.
At the International Exhibition and Convention Center of the capital of Bahrain, Manama, the leading watch and jewelry houses of Switzerland, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and other countries of the world, the latest world novelties in the field of watchmaking and jewelry were presented. The Bahrain exhibition is traditionally in great demand and interest among visitors and residents of the Middle East. One of the sponsors of this event was Rolls-Royce, which presented at the exhibition together with its distributor in Bahrain a new product - the Ghost car.
As part of the Jewelery Arabia 2009 exhibition, a gala dinner was once again organized by the publishing company MPP Arabia, which publishes the most popular Arabian Watches & Jewelery (AWJ) magazine. During the dinner, the awarding ceremony of the best jewelers and watchmakers was also held, which also became a tradition and was first held in 2005. "The annual award ceremony for the best jewelers and watchmakers is an expression of our respect for the best creations presented in the region and on the international market," said Nader Freich, publisher of AWJ magazine. “The award was established to celebrate the very best in the industry, who give consumers their most prestigious collections of watches, jewelery and writing instruments. We are honored to reward these people.”
During the award ceremony, Premier Middle East Watches, Jewelery & Pens Awards, the best jewelry and watch companies, as well as manufacturers of luxury writing instruments, were awarded in twenty categories. The selection of nominees was carried out on a website specially created for these purposes, and both the members of the jury, consisting of 14 people, and ordinary visitors of the site took part in the voting. The gala dinner and award ceremony were held at the most popular five-star hotel in Manama - Ritz Carlton. The award ceremony was first sponsored by Qatar National Bank (QNB) - one of the largest banks in Qatar and the region. More than three hundred guests from around the world gathered here to become witnesses and direct participants in the presentation of prestigious awards. Among the distinguished guests were Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, a member of the royal family of Bahrain and chairman of the board of Arabian Exhibition Management, organizer of Jewelery Arabia exhibitions; Sheikh Mishaal Al Sudeyri, Permanent Expert on Watches and Jewelry in Saudi Arabia and Member of the Executive Committee of the Jury. In addition, the ambassadors were honored by the ambassadors of Germany, Italy, Lebanon, Jordan and Morocco in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Watch companies received awards in ten categories.
Montres De Witt SA won with the Academia Double Fuseau GMT2 Poetic in the nomination "Best watches with multi-hour zones"; Augemars Piguet - Reference 26353PT was named the "Best Turbillon". OO.D028CR.01. In the "Best Classic Watches" category, the winner is the Petrimony Manual Winding by Vacheron Constantin; "Best Jewelry Watches" - Vacheron Constantin, Lady Kalla Flame; "The best watch with technological innovation" - HUBLOT; "Best Sports Watches" - Audemars Piguet, Ref. 26265FO.OO.D002CR.01. The title "Best Men's Watches" won the model Jaeger LeCoultre - Master GrandeTradition Tourbillon a Quantieme Perpetuel; "Best Women's Watches" - Harry Winston - Talk To Me, Harry Winston, 5th Dial. In the nomination "Best Chronograph", the prize went to IWC Schaffhausen's Aquatimer Chronograph Edition Galapagos Islands, while the German manufacture A.Lange & Soehne with the lange Zeitwerk won the category "Watches with the best design".
Jewelry was rated in five different categories.
Van Cleef & Arpels West Coast Tsavorite Long Nacklace necklace was named the “Best Contemporary Jewelry”, and Chanel Fil de Camelia Necklace became the leader in the Best Diamond Necklace category. The most colorful jewelry set was Cartier's Secrets & Marvels High Jewelery Collection. Piaget's Limelight collection was named “Best Fashion Jewelry,” and Chopard sapphire and diamond earrings became the Best Oriental-Style Jewelry.
Top writing instruments were also ranked in five categories.
Montegrappa pen won the Best Art and Skill category, Chopard's Limited Edition Pompei Fountain Pen won the Best Themed Pen category. Montblanc’s Hundertwasser Limited Edition was named the “Best Advanced and Modern Pen”, and Cartier with the Panthere de Cartier Prestige Fountain Pen won the Best Diamond Pens Collection. And the Montblanc Mahatma Gandi Pen was the leader in the final category, “Best Historical Icon”.
Jewelery Arabia-2009 exhibition once again allowed to note the achievements of the best masters of the watch and jewelry industries. Despite the financial crisis, the luxury market in the Arab East has once again shown its resilience and relevance. The interest in luxury jewelry and watches from limited collections was genuine, and the most interesting and expensive of them were bought up in the exhibition pavilions very actively. We dare to hope that the next Jewelery Arabia exhibition, which will be held in Manama from November 23 to 27, 2010, will also not disappoint exhibitors or visitors.
