BizBahrain Magazine Nov-Dec 2017
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
Interview | Jewellery Arabia<br />
Fawzi Al Shehabi<br />
Director of Sales and Marketing<br />
To assist visitors with making<br />
informed buying choices, the world’s<br />
foremost authority on gemology the GIA<br />
(Gemmological Institute of America)<br />
will be offering visitors complimentary<br />
seminars on gems and jewellery.<br />
Fawzi Al Shehabi, Director of Sales and<br />
Marketing, talks to Reena Abraham<br />
about the enduring appeal of the event,<br />
and traces its history to its starting<br />
point.<br />
This is how it all began.<br />
In 1992 we thought of starting a jewellery<br />
exhibition and we created the idea and<br />
the concept in-house. We started small,<br />
occupying just a quarter of Hall 1 at<br />
the Exhibition Centre. Since then in 26<br />
years, the show has grown to over 10<br />
times its original size. We have a wait<br />
list of exhibitors who we would like to<br />
accommodate but we are at full capacity<br />
even after several extensions within the<br />
current venue.<br />
Foremost pearl trading nation in the world.<br />
Yes, we carry forward our island’s<br />
heritage and reputation for the<br />
highest quality pearls and jewellery<br />
craftsmanship. Today we have pearl<br />
exhibitors too, but this is not exclusively<br />
a pearl jewellery exhibition, but the same<br />
standards that Bahrain was known for<br />
are always maintained. When we started<br />
Jewellery Arabia, it was planned as a B2B<br />
- business to business - project but then<br />
we saw there were collectors and private<br />
buyers, so we made it both B2B and B2C,<br />
and it was enormously successful.<br />
Leading exhibition not only in the Middle<br />
East but also in the world.<br />
It is among the top jewellery<br />
exhibitions in the world. Whatever the<br />
region, every country wants to do a<br />
jewellery show, but Jewellery Arabia<br />
cannot be compared with any other<br />
in terms of the quality of visitors and<br />
exhibitors, and the support. One of<br />
its major’s strength is its proximity to<br />
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its<br />
purchasing power of high networth<br />
individuals.<br />
Outstanding Royal patronage and support.<br />
We are very lucky to have His Royal<br />
Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al<br />
Khalifa, the Prime Minister of Bahrain as<br />
the patron and that has immediately lifted<br />
the exhibition to another level altogether.<br />
The support that the government has<br />
<strong>Nov</strong>ember-<strong>Dec</strong>ember <strong>2017</strong><br />
73
Change language