A $2 million diamond-studded guitar was the glittering showpiece at the official opening of Jewellery Arabia 2015 yesterday. Held under the patronage of His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the five-day exhibition is being held at the Bahrain International Exhibition and Convention Centre (BIECC) in Sanabis.
The Premier took a three-hour tour of the exhibition, visiting various pavilions and company stands, as well as being briefed on the extra-special guitar by its maker Aaron Shum Group president Aaron Shum.
“This guitar has 400 carats of diamonds, 1.6kg of gold and took 68 people two months to make,” Mr Shum told the GDN. Record “We got the Guinness World Record for most valuable guitar at Baselworld Watch and Jewellery Show in March this year in Switzerland. “It was made toward the end of 2014 and the beginning of this year, after we became the first Hong Kong or Chinese company to be accepted into Hall 1 of Baselworld.
“We were the newest and smallest company there, so we wanted to do something big and gain attention, so we made this guitar and got the world record at the fair. “We thought a guitar would be great because it matched with jewellery and music – and that artists would love to take photos with it and play with it. “We had Jermaine Jackson from the Jackson Five play it in Hyde Park to an audience of 40,000.”
Meanwhile, Bahrain Jewellery Centre marketing manager Joursvad Abdulhamed revealed that his company’s pavilion was the largest it has ever been this year. “We have 40 companies over 1,200 square metres, with companies such as Patek Philippe, Tiffany, Piaget and Hublot,” he said.
“Our most expensive piece is a $1 million Hublot diamond watch. “The exhibition is important for us because it’s the largest one in the region and we’ve taken part for 24 years. “The companies send their representatives here to show unique pieces themselves.” Asia Jewellery board of directors chairman Mohammed Mahmood Jaffar told the GDN that the expo gave visitors the opportunity to view unique pieces.
“We ensure we take part every year, because it is not just a Bahrain or Gulf-level exhibition, it’s a worldwide show,” he said. “We have participants from all over the world, from India and China to Turkey and Jordan. “Having these international companies helps the expo be a worldwide standard. “The expo also has a huge number of visitors, not just from Bahrain, but large numbers from Saudi and other countries as well, including European countries.
“The companies send unique pieces from their manufacturers directly, so that they are displaying things that you cannot usually find in the shops during the rest of the year.” Turkish Ambassador Hatun Demirer said this year had the largest Turkish presence in the exhibition’s 24-year history. “It’s the first time we’ve had such a large Turkish presence and it is increasing every year, which is good news,” she said. “We’re doing well in the jewellery business, our jewellery exports last year was $2.5 billion and it’s increasing every year. “Taking part in Jewellery Arabia is important because there’s a huge market in the Gulf region, and this is the biggest jewellery exhibition so I think the Turkish companies are trying to utilise it as well.”
Jewellery Arabia 2015 is open daily until Friday from 4pm to 10pm and from noon to 10pm on Saturday. Entrance is free.
This year is the exhibition’s largest edition yet, with more than 600 exhibitors from over 30 countries in a 21,000 square metre display area. The Indian Pavilion is the expo’s largest with 56 companies, followed by the Hong Kong pavilion with 46.
