Diamond World (DW) May - June 2020
Why Covid-19 will make people fall in love with diamonds all over again | Ban is good - Industry welcomes ban on rough imports | Hong Kong jewellery industry show mettle| An Irrevocable Loss - Arun R. Mehta, Rosy Blue Group
Why Covid-19 will make people fall in love with diamonds all over again | Ban is good - Industry welcomes ban on rough imports | Hong Kong jewellery industry show mettle| An Irrevocable Loss - Arun R. Mehta, Rosy Blue Group
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Design stuDio<br />
Selim Mouzannar hails from a<br />
family of jewellers who served<br />
the Ottoman Empire since the<br />
19th century. As a child, he spent his<br />
time in his father’s workshop in the<br />
heart of Beirut’s historical jewellery<br />
souks. After studying mineralogy in<br />
France and Belgium, he was hired by<br />
a renowned jewellery group to manage<br />
its workshops in Saudi Arabia. Shortly<br />
after, he went to Thailand where he led<br />
the life of a stone hunter in ruby mines<br />
near the Burmese border. It is here that<br />
he had a life changing experience, of<br />
being stalled by a local militia at the<br />
Cambodian border. This misadventure<br />
made him an eternal advocate of<br />
nonviolence.<br />
Selim is passionate about the Ottoman<br />
and Art Deco architecture from Beirut’s<br />
past – a fertile blend of oriental culture<br />
with traces of the Colonial French<br />
presence. He has put all his energy<br />
into restoring his family home in the<br />
old neighborhood of Ashrafieh, where<br />
he currently lives. It is in the comfort<br />
of his ancient home that he finds his<br />
inspiration. Mouzannar likes to confront<br />
the past with the present, which is why<br />
his jewellery represents a heritage in<br />
perpetual movement.<br />
You come from a family of<br />
jewellers. Is it right to say that<br />
you are naturally inclined towards<br />
jewellery?<br />
I don’t believe that just because one is<br />
born into a family of jewellers, he or she<br />
will have a propensity towards the art.<br />
However, growing up in an environment<br />
filled with jewellery definitely enriched<br />
my creative process.<br />
How do you blend your Lebanese<br />
upbringing and design elements<br />
from the royal courts of Ottoman<br />
– because much of your jewellery<br />
is a cross section between the two?<br />
It is mainly the impact of all the things<br />
I lived through and Beirut is steeped in<br />
history, including 400 years of Ottoman<br />
Empire.<br />
I don’t believe<br />
that just because<br />
one is born<br />
into a family of<br />
jewellers, he or<br />
she will have<br />
a propensity<br />
towards the<br />
art. However,<br />
growing up in<br />
an environment<br />
filled with<br />
jewellery<br />
definitely<br />
enriched my<br />
creative process<br />
DiamonD WorlD | may-june <strong>2020</strong> | 109
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