The Qatar Years of Culture initiative presented the jewelry collection inspired by Amazigh and Moroccan traditions, specially commissioned from Mimia LeBlanc Jewelry, at the Fashion Trust Arabia awards show in Marrakech.
The Years of Culture commissioned three custom pieces from Myriam Labiad to celebrate the Qatar-Morocco Year of Culture 2024. In the design of these pieces, Labiad was inspired by Amazigh jewelry (known as Berbers in English) made by the indigenous populations of the Maghreb region of North Africa, as well as Andalusian influences. The first piece in the collection is called the Hawwara Pendant. This is a remarkable pendant made of natural lapis, gray diamonds, cabochon rubies and a mother of pearl inlay, drawing inspiration from the Royal Silver Jewelry Collection of Morocco, which was exhibited at the Museum of Islamic Art earlier this year as part of the Qatar-Morocco opening exhibition. This pendant pays homage to the Amazigh town in the province of Taroudant in Morocco, where Mimia LeBlanc’s mother comes from.
Another coin, known as the King Mohammed V Pendant, draws inspiration from the Amazigh tradition of using coins as ornament and uses a rare Moroccan coin depicting the late His Majesty Mohamed V. The third coin resembles to an ancient Moroccan necklace, the Serdouk, representing a phoenix decorated with rubies, emeralds, diamonds and white mother-of-pearl, mounted in frosted yellow gold.
