Esmod Dubai to tap emirate’s global fashion appeal via new jewellery & photography courses

Dubai is one of the cheapest places in the world to buy jewellery. Dubbed ‘The City of Gold,’ it is a major international hub for gold and diamond jewellery where buyers can choose from a wide range of tax-free luxury goods. Per capita gold consumption in Dubai is the highest in the world, with more than two-thirds of the population buying gold at least once a year.

As the recognized fashion capital of the Middle East, Dubai has also become a popular destination for fashion photography. Every major fashion brand is represented in the city’s malls and retail shops, and traditionally-styled clothes are also highlighted alongside high-class and modern fashion boutiques. This accessibility to tax-free high-end clothing along with the huge disposable incomes of its residents has turned Dubai into a fashion haven where fashion shows and photo-shoots have become very common.

Esmod Dubai, the leading French fashion school in the region, is complementing Dubai’s emergence as a leading jewellery and fashion photography site through its new three-month Jewellery Design and Fashion Photography Workshops both starting on  January 20, 2011.

“Now that our school has successfully pioneered fashion education in the Middle East, our next goal is to enhance other elements of the fashion world such as jewellery design and fashion photography. Dubai has the right mix of modernity, tradition and mystique to emerge as a hub for these two exciting fields. We have partnered some of the top jewellers and photographers to come up with new courses that will further broaden and enrich the fashion landscape of Dubai and the entire region,” said Tamara Hostal, Director and Founder of Esmod Dubai.
 
The Esmod Dubai Jewellery Design Workshop will cover important aspects of the craft such as the history of jewellery, the creative process, elements and principles of design, tools and beading techniques, drawing and rendering styles, portfolio design and presentation. It is open to those interested in the business aspects of jewellery or who just want to create their own contemporary jewels and accessories and be more informed about design and gemstones.

The Esmod Dubai Fashion Photography Workshop, on the other hand, is open to lovers of both photography and fashion. It covers light manipulation and proper camera use, the history of fashion photography, indoor and outdoor techniques, portrait and beauty photography, use of Adobe Photoshop software tools and photo shoot planning, presentation, submission and exhibition. By the end of the course, students will be able to prepare and execute creative fashion photo sessions and even properly market themselves as fashion photographers.

All participants will receive a certificate of completion. The short courses precede the start of Esmod Dubai’s latest batch of students under its 3-year French diploma program on Fashion Design and Pattern Making which starts January 23, 2011.

Since its inception in 2006, Esmod Dubai, French Fashion university group, has been accommodating a steadily growing number of students in its mission to capitalise on the region’s booming fashion industry and the steady drift of the Middle Eastern consumer towards haute couture. The Dubai campus now embraces students from 40 different countries, of which over 60 per cent are GCC nationals and UAE locals.

Diamond dealer Backes & Strauss is hoping a foray into diamond jewellery will help its branded business account for as much as 50 per cent of its bottom line in 10 years’ time, Group CEO Vartkess A Knadjian told Emirates Business recently.

The company, which has earned a name for itself as a luxury watchmaker in the past five years, hopes to diversify its product line with a range of high-end jewellery. Launched last month, it is the brand’s first jewellery line since the 1870s.

“They are unique, one-off, diamond-based pieces and have been designed in keeping with the brand’s heritage and its reputation for reinvention over the years,” says Knadjian.

Well-known for its focus on ideal cut diamonds, Backes & Strauss was founded in 1789 in Germany and is the oldest diamond company in the world. Over its 200-year history, as the economic situation changed, the company focused on different areas of the diamond business, from manufacturing jewellery produced around Europe, to polishing and distribution following the discovery of diamonds in South Africa, to trading in diamonds for most of the twentieth century.

Fifty-five-year-old Knadjian, who has worked at the firm since 1976, led a management buyout in 2003. Three years later, in November 2006, he launched a range of watches created in partnership with Franck Muller, among the most innovative watchmakers in the Swiss industry today.

“My idea was to leverage the tradition, history and name of the company – and I thought the most natural thing to do would be to go into jewellery,” he says.

Watches currently account for five per cent of the firm’s overall business, with all the manufacturing done in-house in Franck Muller’s Watchland complex. Some of the brand’s most successful models are diamond-studded wristwatches for men and its bespoke watch service is also a significant part of the business.

Knadjian describes the foray into jewellery as a move to add value to the brand and ensure its future.

“It’s laughable that someone can spend five minutes on the internet and call themselves diamond experts,” he says.

“That devalues the beauty and the intrinsic value of the gemstones. But going forward, it could quite possibly become the norm that people who haven’t spent the requisite five or seven years training to understand diamonds are making decisions that impact the business. So I’ve opted to go into an area where we can stand apart and add value, to ensure the future of the brand.”

The jewellery line will feature three main collections, Knadjian said: one will draw on certain aspects of the Backes & Strauss watches, another will be a contemporary range inspired by the company’s rich heritage, in particular its 19th century jewellery catalogue, while the third will feature bespoke pieces that incorporate elements of the watches into wearable jewellery.

The range will be available in the UAE through its partner Al Tayer, which currently retails Backes & Strauss watches at Azal in Emirates Towers Boulevard.

The diamond industry was among the most high-profile victims of the recent recession and 2009 was a particularly tough year.

While gold benefitted from its status as safe haven, sales of diamonds plummeted. Yet, high-end, one-off pieces did well, particularly at auctions.

“I learned a lot from the recession,” says Ethiopia-born Knadjian, who trained as an economist. “It’s been a tremendous learning curve to understand the frailties of the market. What I thought when the crisis began and what I’ve seen a year later is the complete opposite,” he says.

“People have become more discerning and are looking for quality, they want handmade top-quality items now because they want to buy one beautiful watch rather than five, as they did before.”

Which ties in beautifully with Knadjian’s business philosophy. “We want to be something special, not something you can buy at every other store,” he says.

Named after the famous quarter of Paris that is synonymous worldwide with elegance, luxury and prestige, SAINT HONORE continues to assert its influence in the world of fashion and jewellery with the launch of the new Coloseo. The new watch combines Swiss-made precision and accuracy with Parisian chic and style.

Beautiful and sleek, this watch is in harmony with the latest fashion trends, and blends a classical round shape with fine ingredients such as lacquer, mother-of-pearl, diamonds and onyx.

Saint Honore watches are luxurious and immediately catch the eye with their feminine lines mixing luxury with affordability. This will probably be the new trend as the economy continues to take jabs at the luxury industry.

The mixture of elements such as diamonds and lacquer give the watch a strong identity from the small trapezoid partitioned off areas of enameling spread across the bezel. The white lacquer illuminates the bezel with its finest reflections.

The mother-of-pearl dial magnifies the refined design of the dial, with an “open” date aperture providing an elegant contrast. Located at 3 o’clock, the diamonds form an original off-centre pavé that emphasizes the unexpected design of the crown protector. Like icing on a cake, the crown is topped with black onyx for a perfect finish.

SAINT HONORE is a French company specializing in elegant and prestigious timepieces. The company established a signature watchmaking firm in 1885.

Different models of COLOSEO are available: deep black or white mother-of-pearl dial, with or without inset diamonds, all on a leather or metal strap.

Coloseo has a stainless steel case, a white lacquered bezel with crown protector set with 21 diamonds (0.12 carat). The crown is topped with a black onyx. A quartz movement is incorporated in the design. In addition it has a white mother of pearl dial set with 12 diamonds (0.07 ct) Coloseo is water resistant to 30 m with a white leather strap on deploying buckle. To top it all up, it is Swiss Made.

Faithful to its tradition of innovation, the stunning new SAINT HONORE watch would be the perfect choice for the most discerning of customers.

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