Impeccably groomed, with her matte pastel pink lips and face-framing honey blonde hair, Ibtissam Saab is multi-tasking in Marrakech. “Yes, perfect, like that please,” she instructs the man fixing her new in-store display case. She is simultaneously flipping her computer camera around to zoom in on a set of deep blue tanzanites and bright green emeralds. These are perfectly cut into gleaming, smooth pear-shaped jewels, set opposite one another in a surprising colour contrast, framed by the rhythmic swirls of a bangle she designed herself. “This is a quintessential example of my personal style”, explains Saab, “You have this bold combination of colours, which are very positive and very happy, but they are set in a classical way that makes the piece timeless, even if unusual.”
The bracelet, which frames the blue and green stones within swooping curves that lift gently away from the wrist, is elegant and feminine. And as Saab correctly notes, the piece could have been made in another era. Like many of her creations, the lines and proportions are undeniably classic, their shapes and shadows elegantly reminiscent of another time. She tells me that her favourite periods are Cleopatra’s reign, the Roman Empire, and – skipping forward hundreds of years – Art Deco in the early 20th century.
The display case she was installing is her first retail showcase in Morocco, which opened in November. Her primary outlet is La Collection Privée at City Walk in Dubai, and she already has a London sales point in her sights. The nature of her field however – which isn’t only extremely high-end, but also very personal – means that more often than not, the sales transaction takes place in the intimacy of her clients’ homes. “I sit and talk with my clients’ husbands and their children, they tell me their plans and their dreams. They ask for my advice and let me in to their lives, so we become friends,” Saab says.
This model of building personal relationships is familiar in Arab countries where established brands have long used such practices to sell their wares. She explains that as much as working at Chopard taught her about the jewels themselves, it was there that she developed the art of building and maintaining client relationships. What is different about Saab however, is that her clients are uniquely women, and not, as you might think, men buying for their wives, daughters or girlfriends. “There is something about the character of my designs that women want to buy for themselves.”
Saab found her place with Chopard when she graduated from university in Monaco with a Masters in economics. After being accredited by the Gemological Institute of America, she spent a few years in London before moving permanently to Dubai, from where she now travels for her one-on-one meetings. Although most of her designs reflect the traditions of European jewellery, for her, there’s a dominant Moroccan influence, which makes sense because that’s where she is from. “When you go to Marrakech, your senses are filled with a different aesthetic and I think that’s where my love of vibrant colour combinations come from, like corals with pearls, or rubies with yellow sapphires.” The only metal she uses is 18-carat gold and she makes everything at her Dubai workshop, with the help of a craftsman in Italy for the more complicated creations.
Most importantly, Saab doesn’t restrict herself to what is fashionable. She explains that if there’s a particular trend she loves, she will go with the style but her general design attitude is one of longevity, eclecticism and inclusivity. She’s more interested in details and forms that traverse cultural tastes as well as generations. “My rings or my earrings might suit a Russian lady, a Chinese lady, an Indian, an Arab, or somebody from Kazakhstan. And equally, they can work on a woman of any age. I don’t imagine a specific muse. I just ask myself – Would I wear this? Would I hand it down to my daughter? Would I get the right type of attention by wearing this piece? – if the answers are yes, then I go ahead and if not, I don’t produce it.”
Her items are all unique and one-of-a-kind, decidedly so. “Today, we live in an era where many people can buy the same piece, especially with online shopping, you can be anywhere in the world and just click-click-click,” she continues, “Then, you go to a dinner and two or three ladies are wearing the same piece, which personally, I don’t find attractive. Every woman deserves to have something original, especially if she has paid a lot of money for it.”
Saab’s design work starts from sourcing stones, which can take several months if she doesn’t find the right combination, that perfect cocktail of colours and forms. “I always make a mood-board before each collection but when it comes to the individual pieces, you have to look at the stones because no matter what I draw, if you don’t have the right gems, then you can’t realise that image.”
This deference to the stone shows Saab’s respect for the essence of her medium – the jewels themselves. Her favourite material to work with is coral. It’s one of the few organic stones – along with pearl – she likes, for its softness and natural appeal, plus it reminds her of days spent on the Italian Riviera visiting Capri. “Coral is becoming increasingly rare because our oceans are so polluted, so I like that these small pieces can be given a second life on the hands of different ladies”. More than her expertise in gemology or her dab hand at client relationships, Saab is a personable romantic and this may be the key magnetism of her vivacious adornments.
WHO Ibtissam Saab
WHERE Dubai-based
WHAT Jewellery designer
WHY Ibtissam Saab is an emerging jewellery designer from Morocco. Trained at Chopard, based in Dubai and with retail outlets in Marrakech, Dubai and soon, London, her work is expanding its reach, and popularity.
