High hopes for DJWE 2023, says Qatari lady designer

Renowned homegrown jewellery brand ‘Papillon’ will showcase its bridal collections and several other exquisite pieces that reflect Qatar’s rich culture and heritage at the 19th edition of Doha Jewellery and Watches Exhibition (DJWE).
“I have a lot of pieces to showcase during the DJWE but this year we are focusing more on the bridal sets (diamond, as well as traditional gold) special for the exhibition,” Papillon owner and designer Noora al-Ansari told a recent media event.
Papillon is one of the more than 500 local and international jewellery and watch brands at the DJWE 2023, scheduled to take place from February 20 to 25 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre.
Some of the brand’s popular collections such as Dazzah and Solitaire offer jewellery diamond sets and traditional 21karat gold sets ranging from necklace, earrings, and bracelets, in addition to perfumes, oud, and saffron.
Papillon showcased some of its popular collections in previous editions of DJWE, including the Royal collection. “Born in the heart of India”, the Royal collection was “inspired by the Maharajas and the classic designs that were first created for the greatest royal families in Europe.”
Noora is known as the first Qatari designer who owned and opened a boutique in Qatar. Established in 2011, she said Papillon opened its first boutique at Gulf Mall in 2015 and has moved to the luxury section of Place Vendome.
About opportunities during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Noora said the event allowed Papillon to promote not only its collections but also Qatar’s rich culture and tradition – highlighted in the design of its pieces.
“For them (football fans from various parts of the globe), it was more of come and see, to understand our culture. I had a lot of collections that are part of our tradition, the 21karat traditional gold collection.
“So they were just stopping by to understand what’s the idea behind the patterns, from where it (every jewellery piece) came, and most of them were more into looking into a nice simple pearl, pendant or earring because they knew that pearls are very much related to our culture and heritage,” al-Ansari said. “FIFA time was amazing, I had the chance to meet a lot of people from Germany, Mexico, Poland, so it was really a nice experience for us”.
In buying a jewellery piece, Noora underlined the importance of asking and understanding the ‘4 Cs’: Cut, Clarity, Carat and Colour.
“For example, they used to tell us, where is this diamond from? They will tell it is from Belgium, but it’s not only that, you need to ask what you call the four Cs when it comes to jewellery. So no one was explaining this to us until I did my research and then I realised that it’s more than just to say diamonds from Belgium,” Noora added.