126 years ago 1890 headquarters dubai and geneva key people fred mouawad alain mouawad and pascal mouawad products jewelry watches number of employees 500 2013 website mouawad mouawad is a privately held swiss and emirati luxury goods company that makes fashion accessories jewelry and retail company that sources diamonds and gemstones designs manufacturers and sells jewelry collections objects of art and luxury watches . 1 the firm has headquarters in geneva switzerland with a middle east headquarters at jumeirah lakes towers in dubai . 2 founded in 1891 in beirut lebanon by david mouawad 3 the firm is now led by 4th generation co guardians fred mouawad 4 alain mouawad and pascal mouawad . 5 6 7 the firm s jewelry and watch design and manufacturing divisions are located in switzerland 8 and asia pacific . 9 contents 1 history 1.1 first generation 1.2 second generation 1.3 third generation 1.4 fourth generation 1.5 diamond collection 2 premier diamond alliance 3 guinness world records 4 references 5 external links history edit first generation edit the mouawad company and brand began with david mouawad 1865 1951 who spent more than two decades in new york and mexico 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 the trade of watch and jewelry repairs with his passion for creating intricate clocks and fashioning one of a kind pieces commissioned by wealthy clients . 6 10 second generation edit his son fayez mouawad 1917 1990 expanded the business in the 1950s when he moved to saudi arabia . 11 he was able to capitalize on the middle east s increased oil wealth by making personalized jewelry for people in the area . 12 as jeweler to kings and the aristocracy fayez fashioned outstanding pieces and unique creations often commemorating important state events . third generation edit the firm moved into the european and worldwide market under fayez s son robert mouawad . he had initially studied in europe to become a doctor but returned after being convinced by his father to join the family business . he started as a salesman with mouawad in order to learn the business from the ground up later entering into an agreement with his father to take over the business as the sole president . in the early 1970s robert moved the headquarters to geneva switzerland . he took many risks with the firm by purchasing some of the world s largest diamonds . he expanded the brand into europe asia and north america and began producing watches in the early 1990s . he s also contributed to the jewelry education and research through support of the gemological institute of america whose campus in carlsbad california is named in his honor . 13 robert mouawad acquired a historical residence in beirut lebanon to host his collections of fine arts and antique pieces and in 2006 established the robert mouawad private museum for his collections of books ceramics architectural elements pottery ancient weapons carpets jewelry objets d art and rare precious stones . 14 fourth generation edit in 2010 robert mouawad left the firm to focus on his real estate group the robert mouawad foundation and his museum . he officially retired on january 1 2010 and the company was then led by his sons fred mouawad and pascal mouawad . 15 16 alain mouawad joined to head up the watch division in january 2013 . generations of the mouawad family david mouawad fayez mouawad robert mouawad alain fred & pascal mouawad diamond collection edit 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 ahmedabad which is a pear shaped diamond that weighs 78.86 carats with a d vs1 grade . 17 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 . 18 19 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 . 20 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 . 21 the jubilee is the largest diamond in the mouawad collection . 22 the mouawad liliac is considered one of the top ten pink diamonds in the world and is owned by mouawad . 23 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 . 24 premier diamond alliance edit mouawad also manufactures rough diamonds as a diamond trading company dtc sightholder through its joint venture company with premier gem corporation premier diamond alliance . 25 as a de beers dtc sightholder the premier diamond alliance is part of a list of less than 80 sightholders worldwide whose principal business is the distribution and supply of diamonds through sourcing sorting beneficiation cutting and polishing valuing and sales . formed in 2012 the premier diamond alliance offers a conflict free route supply of certified diamonds to the wholesale market . guinness world records edit mouawad has four guinness world records the most valuable necklace in the world 55m the mouawad l incomparable diamond necklace featuring the world s largest internally flawless diamond the incomparable diamond 407.48 carats . 26 27 the most valuable handbag in the world the mouawad 1001 nights diamond purse 3.8 m . 28 the most luxurious and expensive piece of lingerie ever made the very sexy fantasy bra 11m 29 the most expensive single pear shaped diamond in the world the mouawad splendor 12.8 m . references edit first look johnny wujek and pascal mouawad s jewelry collab . retrieved 20 november 2013 . mouawad . category watches & jewellery . david robert mouawad website . david mouawad . retrieved 8 august 2014 . fredmoauwad fred mouawad website . fred mouawad . retrieved 8 august 2014 . pascalmoauwad pascal mouawad website . pascal mouawad . retrieved 8 august 2014 . a b about mouawad mouawad company website . our story . retrieved 7 april 2013 . interview with pascal mouawad co guardian of mouawad jewellery company . retrieved 22 september 2013 . mouawad gen ve . retrieved 8 august 2014 . locations mouawad company website . locations . retrieved 7 april 2013 . the mouawad magic . retrieved 26 march 2012 . christies jewelry guide . retrieved 26 march 2012 . about us . retrieved 7 april 2013 . campus overview . gemological institute of america . retrieved 7 april 2013 . a new cultural conception . retrieved 7 april 2013 . middle east media llc . robert mouawad announces his retirement from the mouawad jewellery group . retrieved 26 march 2012 . arab news . a new era for mouawad . retrieved 26 march 2012 . famous diamond articles . ahmadabad diamond . retrieved 5 april 2012 . famous diamonds . the indore pears diamonds . retrieved 5 april 2012 . moawad company site . mouawad diamond collection . retrieved 5 april 2012 . antique jewelry history . queen of holland . retrieved 5 april 2012 . encyclopedia britannica . jubilee diamond gem . retrieved 5 april 2012 . mouawad diamond collection . jubilee diamond . retrieved 5 april 2012 . the jewelry blog . top 10 pink diamonds . retrieved 5 april 2012 . law crossings . diamonds are everyone s best friend . retrieved 5 april 2012 . diamonds website . mouawad premier gem form supply alliance . retrieved 8 august 2014 . the most valuable necklace in the world 55m the mouawad l incomparable diamond necklace . retrieved 10 july 2014 . the record breaking incomparable yellow diamond necklace by mouawad . retrieved 25 march 2013 . the most valuable handbag in the world the mouawad 1001 nights diamond purse 3.8 m . retrieved 10 july 2014 . mouawad mondera diamond . external links edit company website robert mouawad homepage roberge gia website v t e designer labels etienne aigner akris armani aspinal asprey max azria badgley mischka balenciaga balmain victoria beckham laura biagiotti manolo blahnik ozwald boateng hugo boss burberry tory burch cacharel ally capellino pierre cardin cartier cavalli c line chanel chlo jimmy choo dior s. t. dupont dolce & gabbana adolfo dom nguez dsquared2 escada etro fendi salvatore ferragamo gianfranco ferr fiorucci tom ford fossil diane von f rstenberg jean paul gaultier givenchy gottex goyard gucci heatherette daniel hechter herm s herrera tommy hilfiger marc jacobs donna karan kenzo calvin klein michael kors lacoste lacroix karl lagerfeld helmut lang lanvin guy laroche ralph lauren yves saint laurent judith leiber nanette lepore monique lhuillier phillip lim loewe longchamp christian louboutin l o marciano maison margiela lana marks marni stella mccartney alexander mcqueen carlos miele issey miyake missoni moschino mouawad moynat thierry mugler mulberry fred perry pinto zac posen prada emilio pucci paco rabanne oscar de la renta rochas sonia rykiel elie saab sabyasachi proenza schouler paul smith kate spade anna sui elie tahari samantha thavasa tiffany s tony bowls valentino giambattista valli kris van assche john varvatos versace viktor & rolf louis vuitton alexander wang vera wang vivienne westwood jason wu dan liu wooyoungmi giuseppe zanotti rachel zoe ermenegildo zegna retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title mouawad & oldid 741928978 categories 1908 establishments in