Life Style: Christie’s Dubai turns itself into a garden of jewels to attract Gulf collectors

DUBAI: Christie’s Dubai has transformed itself into a veritable garden until Feb. 3 to present its latest jewelry-selling exhibition, “Garden of Wonders,” featuring pieces estimated between $10,000 to a whopping $4.5 million. 

Partnering with A2Z, an art advisory service founded by Abdulrahman H. Al-Zayani for private clients in the Gulf who wish to expand their jewelry collections, the exhibition is an opportunity for visitors to dive into an exotic garden filled with jewelry inspired by nature.

The exhibition features a finely curated selection of pieces made from precious gemstones including diamonds, sapphires, emeralds and rubies alongside a large selection of important natural saltwater pearl pieces, including pearls originating from the Gulf region. 

“It is a privilege for Christie’s to work with A2Z. Our friend, Abdulrahman, has been a colleague for years now, but he was a collector even before he was a colleague. He’s always had good eyes and is an esteemed friend,” said Julien Brunie, senior director and international head of private sales jewelry at Christie’s, in an interview with Arab News.

Brunie went on to explain how the partnership with the art advisory is a way for Christie’s to ensure quality and selectivity in the pieces they offer. 

“Christie’s is the world’s leading auction house since 1766. We have a fabulous network of experts, clients, friends and collectors. But we don’t have Christie’s branded pieces to sell. So, we bring to the market what we think is the best,” added Brunie. 

The exhibition is led by a stunning diamond bracelet by Harry Winston comprising 99 emerald-cut diamonds of 141.00 carats in total with a central stone of 11.32 carats. Made in 1975, this comes from a private collection in the Middle East. 

Al-Zayani, who founded A2Z advisory in 2018, spoke about the designers and jewelers to watch out for at the exhibition. 

“We have bigger, older names such as Harry Winston, Cartier and Van Cleef. And then from the newer names, we tried to collect or curate from all over the world. This time we’re starting from India with jewelers like VAK, for example. Vishal (Kothari) is a very young, dynamic guy based out of Mumbai, and he works very nicely with cutting stones. His prices are not steep yet. He just recently showcased his work at Bergdorf Goodman in New York. So, he’s fun,” said Al-Zayani, adding other up-and-coming names like Greek designer Nikos Koulis, Brazilian designer Fernando Jorge, and London-based jeweler Noor Fares to the list. 

Al-Zayani also pointed to the establishment of Christie’s Dubai as a catalyst for the growing interest in jewelry collection in the Middle East. “I think Christie’s has definitely added a lot by creating this space in Dubai International Financial Center. They’ve spent beautifully on it, and it’s next to the nicest restaurants. It’s a very nice atmosphere and, most importantly, you feel so safe. Even if you’re walking on the street with a $10 million ring, there’s no way anyone’s going to touch you,” he said. 

Brunie chimed in to also point out that the Middle East, in general, has always had good taste when it comes to jewelry.

“We were discussing only yesterday about the collection in the region and that it’s rare to find outdated pieces in the region. You find classic pieces. That’s something that speaks to the taste for good jewels here,” said Brunie.