Doha Jewelry and Watch Exhibition

The 5th annual Doha Jewelry and Watch Exhibition was held from February 12-17, 2008. This was the largest expo of its kind in the Gulf States. The event had coincided with the wedding season here and the much enthusiastically celebrated Valentines Day (by the way I hope you all had a happy youm al hub!).

We went with our 2 younger children in tow. N is getting to the age where she is beginning to appreciate the finer things in life, and was looking forward to spending some quality time with her mom. Security guards however, stopped us at the entrance and we were told ‘No baby’. We were both disappointed, but K insisted that since we had come this far, I should take a look. I eventually went alone, which felt strange since I did not see female shoppers by themselves, though I did see many groups of women. The event was attended mostly by Qatari’s along with a few expats; at least this was my observation the day I had attended.

I had gone with the assumption this would be similar to the Jewelry Mart back home, a place I had frequented a few times and which carried items in all price ranges, both designer and costume jewelry, with everything in between. This exhibition was mainly a high end affair. Organizations such as Boucheron, Bulgari, Cartier, and Henry Winston were just a few of the big names present. I saw pearls the size of kumquats and precious stones the size of walnuts (so much for the fruit & nut category). There was a lot of ‘bling’ and eye candy, to say the least. I fell for a pair of diamond and ruby earrings, but upon inspection of the price tag, 650,000.00 riyals, I decided I could (and should) live without them. Most items did not have price tags; I guess they did not want to induce sticker shock. Nonetheless, many pieces were undeniably gorgeous. So, after wandering around for a while, I ultimately left empty handed.