Mouawad

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Mouawad
Type Private
Industry Retail
Founded 1891
Headquarters Geneva, Switzerland
Key people Fred Mouawad, Alain Mouawad, Pascal Mouawad
Products Jewelry, watches
Employees 500+ (2012)
Website Mouawad

Mouawad is a privately held multinational jewelry and timepiece company that designs, manufacturers, and sells jewelry collections, haute joaillerie, objects of art, and luxury watches. Mouawad is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and has its Middle East headquarters at Jumeirah Lake Towers in Dubai. Mouawad was founded in 1891 in Beirut, Lebanon by David Mouawad and is led by 4th generation co-guardians Fred Mouawad, Alain Mouawad and Pascal Mouawad.1

Mouawad's jewelry and watch design and manufacturing divisions are located in Switzerland and Asia Pacific.2

Contents

History

David Mouawad first learned the jewelry trade in New York and Mexico before opening a small jewelry shop in Beirut in 1908.3 Following in David's footsteps, his sons, grandsons and great grandsons have continued to carry on and grow the company into an international brand.

First generation

The Mouawad Company and brand began with David Mouawad (1865–1951) in the last decade of the 19th century. He spent more than two decades abroad learning the craft of watchmaker, goldsmith, and jeweler before returning to Beirut in 1891. He opened a small shop in Beirut in 1908 where he combined his day-to-day trade of watch and jewelry repairs, with his deeper passion of creating intricate clocks as well as fashioning one-of-a-kind pieces commissioned by wealthy clients.4

Second generation

David Mouawad's son Fayez Mouawad (1917–1990) expanded the business in the 1950s when he boarded a boat from the port of Beirut and moved to Saudi Arabia.5 Fayez was able to capitalize on the Middle East's increased oil wealth by making personalized jewelry for people in the area. 6

His work earned the patronage of the upper echelons of society. As jeweler to kings and the aristocracy, Fayez fashioned outstanding pieces and unique creations, often commemorating important state events. Subsequently the name Mouawad became well-known in the region.

Third generation

Mouawad moved into the European and worldwide market with the help of Fayez's son Robert Mouawad. Robert studied in Europe to become a doctor but returned after being convinced by his father to join the family business. He refused to be given anything and started as a salesman with Mouawad in order to learn the business from the ground up. Robert entered into an agreement with his father to take over the business as the sole president. In the early 1970s, Robert expanded Mouawad by moving the headquarters to Geneva, Switzerland.7

Robert took many risks with Mouawad throughout the years by purchasing some of the world's largest diamonds. He expanded the Mouawad brand into Europe, Asia, and North America and began producing watches in the early 1990s. Robert has also contributed to the jewelry education and research, especially through support of the Gemological Institute of America whose campus in Carlsbad, California is named in his honor.8

Robert Mouawad acquired an historical residence in Beirut, Lebanon to host his collections of fine arts and antique pieces and in 2006 established the Robert Mouawad Private Museum to offer a cultural legacy and reference for collections of books, ceramics, architectural elements, pottery, ancient weapons, carpets, jewelry, objets d'art and rare precious stones. .9

Fourth generation

In 2010, Robert Mouawad left Mouawad to focus on his real estate group, the Robert Mouawad Foundation, and the Robert Mouawad Museum and on January 1, 2010, Robert oficially retired and the company was then assumed by his sons Fred Mouawad and Pascal Mouawad.1011 Alain Mouawad came on board to head up the watch division in January 2013. Under Fred, Alain and Pascal, the vision is to continue the company's growth and focus on haute joaillerie, masterpieces, boutique jewelry and the Mouawad watch line.

Four Generations of the Mouawad Family
David Mouawad 
Fayez Mouawad 
Robert Mouawad 
Fred and Pascal Mouawad 

Jewelry collections

Mouawad prodcts and collections include diamond and precious gem jewelry, timepieces, custom-made jewelry, objects of art and masterpiece suites. Over the years, Mouawad haute joaillerie, masterpieces and collections have been worn by celebrities, royalty and models such as Heidi Klum,12Jennifer Lopez, Angelina Jolie and Paris Hilton.13

Diamond collection

Over the years the Mouawad family has acquired a collection of diamonds that is one of the world's finest in private hands. A good number of the largest diamonds in existence take their place among the gems in the collection. These diamonds include the Ahmad Abad which is a pear shaped diamond that weighs 78.86 carats with a D-VS1 Grade.14

Mouawad is the owner of the Indore Pears which are linked to the Malabar Hill Murder. In January 1925, armed men attacked a car in Bombay which was being driven by an official of the Bombay Corporation. The passenger in the vehicle was a young Muslim woman who was the subject of the attack. The official was killed and four British officers came to the aid of the woman. Robbery was not the motive for this crime as the young woman was believed to be a dancer at the Court of Tukoji Rao III. The woman escaped from being a concubine and the murder was believed to be retaliation. It was agreed that the crime on Malabar Hill could not be ignored: Mumtaz Begum had recognized her assailants as an aide-de-camp of the Maharajah and members of the Indore army and mounted police. The Maharajah's involvement in the crime was never made public but he was asked either to appear at the subsequent official inquiry or abdicate in favor of his son. In the following year he chose the latter course. While traveling in Switzerland after his abdication, he met Nancy Ann Miller, a rich young American. Amid much publicity the couple married in 1928. The bride embraced the Hindu religion and subsequently became known as the Maharanee Shamista Davi Holkar. In 1946 Harry Winston bought the two pear-shaped diamonds, weighing 46.95 and 46.70 carats, which the Maharanee had worn on many occasions. The diamonds were purchased several times throughout the years until they were purchased by Robert Mouawad in 1987.1516

The Queen of Holland is another diamond in the Mouawad collection. Its origin is unknown; however, it was believed to have been brought from South Africa to the Netherlands. It was first cut in 1904 by F. Freidman & Co. who made it a cushion-cut and named it after Queen Wihelmina of the Netherlands, which is incorrectly referred to as Holland. The diamond was re-cut sometime after the 1960s into its current weight of 135.92 carats. It is judged to be internally flawless and 'D' color by the Gemological Institute of America.17 This diamond was also formerly owned by William Goldberg.

Mouawad is the owner of the Jubilee Diamond. The Jubilee Diamond was known as the Reitz Diamond and is a colourless, cushion-shaped diamond weighing 245.35 carats (49.07 grams). It is the sixth largest diamond in the world and originally named after Francis William Reitz who was the president of the Orange Free State at the time the diamond was discovered in the area. 18 The Jubilee is the largest diamond in the Mouawad collection.19

The Mouawad Liliac is considered one of the top ten pink diamonds in the world and is owned by Mouawad.20 The Mouawad Lilac is estimated to be worth $20M (USD) and weighs 24.44 carat. It is an emerald cut pink diamond that is so saturated with color that it gives off a purplish, almost maroon, hue.21

Boutiques

Mouawad operates fourteen stores in ten countries including Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Oman, Malaysia, Qatar and Singapore. In 2012 new stores opened in Doha, Qatar, Kuwait City, Kuwait, Muscat, Oman, Beirut, Lebanon and Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.22

World records

Guinness Book of World Records held by Mouawad Mouawad has been honoured by the Guinness World Records four times with their most recent award for the Mouawad L’Incomparable Diamond Necklace—the most valuable necklace in the world—featuring the world’s largest internally flawless diamond, the Incomparable diamond (407.48 carats).23

In 2010 Guinness awarded Mouawad for creating the most valuable handbag in the world—the Mouawad 1001 Nights Diamond Purse ($3.8M).24

In 2003 the Very Sexy Fantasy Bra received a Guinness for being the most luxurious and expensive piece of lingerie ever made. The design was for the 2003 Victoria Secret Very Sexy Fantasy Bra which was estimated at that time to be worth $11M. This bra was worn by Heidi Klum in the 2003 Victoria Secret Fashion Show.25

In 1990 a Guinness World Record was awarded for the Mouawad Splendor—at the time, the most expensive single pear-shaped diamond in the world (estimated at $12.8M).

Gallery

Mouawad Diamond Collection
Ahmad Abad 
Indore Pears 
Jubilee 
Mouawad Lilac 
Mouawad Magic 
Premier Rose 
Queen of Holland 
Mouawad Splendor 

References

  1. ^ About Us, Mouawad Company Website. "Our Story". Retrieved 7 April 2013. 
  2. ^ Locations, Mouawad Company Website. "Locations". Retrieved 7 April 2013. 
  3. ^ "The Mouawad Magic". Retrieved 26 March 2012. 
  4. ^ About Us, Mouawad Company Website. "Our Story". Retrieved 7 April 2013. 
  5. ^ "Christies Jewelry Guide". Retrieved 26 March 2012. 
  6. ^ "About Us". Retrieved 7 April 2013. 
  7. ^ About Us, Mouawad Company Website. "Our Story". Retrieved 7 April 2013. 
  8. ^ "Campus Overview". Gemological Institute of America.  Text " http://www.gia.edu/gem-education/carlsbad#campus-overview " ignored (help);
  9. ^ "A New Cultural Conception". Retrieved 7 April 2013. 
  10. ^ Middle East Media LLC. "Robert Mouawad announces his retirement from the Mouawad Jewellery Group". Retrieved 26 March 2012. 
  11. ^ Arab News. "A New Era For Mouawad". Retrieved 26 March 2012. 
  12. ^ Silicon Angle. "The Heidi Klum Collection For Mouawad Jewelry Showcase". Retrieved 26 March 2012. 
  13. ^ Style Seen Daily. "Pascal Mouawad Opens His Mansion To Celebrate 68th Golden Globes". Retrieved 26 March 2012. 
  14. ^ Famous Diamond Articles. "Ahmadabad Diamond". Retrieved 5 April 2012. 
  15. ^ Famous Diamonds. "The Indore Pears Diamonds". Retrieved 5 April 2012. 
  16. ^ Moawad Company Site. "Mouawad Diamond Collection". Retrieved 5 April 2012. 
  17. ^ Antique Jewelry History. "Queen of Holland". Retrieved 5 April 2012. 
  18. ^ Encyclopedia Britannica. "Jubilee diamond (gem)". Retrieved 5 April 2012. 
  19. ^ Mouawad Diamond Collection. "Jubilee Diamond". Retrieved 5 April 2012. 
  20. ^ The Jewelry Blog. "Top 10 Pink Diamonds". Retrieved 5 April 2012. 
  21. ^ Law Crossings. "Diamonds Are Everyone's Best Friend". Retrieved 5 April 2012. 
  22. ^ "Five Stores Set To Open At Lagoona". Gulf Times (Qatar). 13 March 2012. 
  23. ^ Wikipedia. "Notable Brown Diamonds". Retrieved 7 April 2013. 
  24. ^ The National. "It’s Enough To Make Grumpy Feel Happy". Retrieved 7 April 2013. 
  25. ^ Pedersen, Stephanie (2004). Bra: a thousand years of style, support and seduction. David & Charles Publishers. p. 110. ISBN 978-0715320679. 

External links