Selim Mouzannar
Selim Mouzannar | |
|---|---|
| File:Selim-Mouzannar-B&W.jpg | |
| Born | February 5, 1963 (age 61) |
| Nationality | Lebanese French |
| Alma mater | Institut National de Gemmologie |
| Occupation(s) | Jeweler, activist |
| Known for | Selim Mouzannar |
Selim Mouzannar (born February 5, 1963) is a French-Lebanese jeweler and civic activist. He is the founder and CEO of Selim Mouzannar, his eponymous jewellery house and artisanal manufacturing corporation based in Beirut, Lebanon.
Biography
Scion of a family of renowned craftsman originally from Damascus, Mouzannar’s life has been shaped by training at his father’s jewelry shop in Beirut’s old souks during the heyday of Lebanon’s cosmopolitan make-up.
In 1980, Mouzannar left Lebanon in the midst of the Lebanese civil war and went to study in Paris, France. He graduated with a degree in mineralogy and gemology in 1983 from the Institut National de Gemmologie, coupled with an internship in the Diamonds’ market in Antwerp, Belgium.
From 1984, Mouzannar worked as a production and purchasing manager for a renowned jeweler based in Saudi Arabia. In 1989, he moved to Bangkok, Thailand, managing an international workshop. In the late 1980s, he spent 6 months at the Thai-Cambodian border working in a Ruby mine before deciding to leave the Far-East.
In 1990, Mouzannar headed back to Paris, France where he acquired additional mineralogy expertise from Institut National de Gemmologie. He returned to Beirut, Lebanon in 1993 to establish his own jewelry brand, Maison Selim Mouzannar.[1][2] Mouzannar opened his workshop followed by his flagship store 5 years later in Beirut.[3][4]
Following the 2006 war over Lebanon, Mouzannar launched a new strategy in order to expand his brand internationally and participated in worldwide exhibitions.[5]
In 2012, he received a certification in Jewelry Design from the GIA Gemological Institute of America, followed by a certificate from the École supérieure des affaires (Beirut) Lebanon) in Marketing De Luxe in 2014.
Achievements
2010, Mouzannar is amongst five Middle East jewelry designers who featured at a Christie’s auction.[6]
2011, Selim is nominated as one of the best 5 jewelry designers of the year by Elle Style Awards during a ceremony held in Istanbul, Turkey.[7]
2012, Selim is designated as one of the best 10 designers for the ‘Great Designers’ award by the World Gold Council.[8]
2014, Mouzannar is designated amongst the 30 Lebanese who emerged and influenced Lebanon in 2014.[9]
Awards
2016, Mouzannar wins the "Best in Colored Gemstones" category of the Couture Award in Las Vegas for his "Amal" Necklace.[10] "Amal" (which means hope in Arabic)[11] stages 47 emeralds from the Colombian mine of Muzo, crimped on hexagonal bases, among which are placed 8 trapiche emeralds.[12]
Community
As a member of the Executive Committee of Achrafieh2020, a citizen-led environmental initiative to reinvent Beirut’s historic neighborhood of Ashrafieh as a sustainable and livable space,[13] and as a joint founder of Right to Nonviolence, a NGO based in Beirut, focused on legal activism and advocacy,[14] Mouzannar developed his involvement in the community as an extension of his profession.
Mouzannar was involved in the nonviolent Cedar Revolution of 2005 that forced the departure of the Syrian military from Lebanon.[15]
A profile in the International Herald Tribune headlined ‘Translating violence into wearable beauty’ pointed to the cross-culture of Mouzannar’s collection.[16]
Collections
- Beirut
- Beirut Key
- Bridal
- Fortune
- Heritage
- Hydra
- Istanbul
- Kastak
- Link
- Mediterraneo
- Mille et une Nuits
- Moon
- Plage de Galets
- S Basilisk
- Sunset
- Terra
- Transparence
Boutique / Points of Sales
- Selim Mouzannar, Ashrafieh, Beirut, Lebanon [17]
- Le Bon Marche, Paris, France[18]
- Annoushka at Harrod’s, London, United Kingdom[19]
- Crans Prestige, Geneva, Switzerland
- BonGenie Grieder, Geneva, Switzerland
- Midnight Express, Istanbul, Turkey[20]
- Bloomingdale’s, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- Harvey Nichols, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- YLang 23, Dallas, United States of America[21]
References
- ^ Métiers d'art, Métiers de luxe: Joaillier, Selim Mouzannar
- ^ King of Diamonds.
- ^ Un caractère unique.
- ^ Le Beyrouth des arts.
- ^ Lebanese Jewellery Designers Are Making Waves.
- ^ Creativity and Innovation: Contemporary Jewellers of the Middle East.
- ^ Selim Mouzannar’s Ode to Istanbul.
- ^ The National Jeweler
- ^ les-30-libanais-qui-ont-defait-2014.html.
- ^ [1].
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ Member of the Executive Committee of Achrafieh 2020.
- ^ Co-founder and member of the administrative board of the NGO Right to Non-Violence.
- ^ Young, Michael (2010). The ghosts of Martyrs Square: an eyewitness account of Lebanon's life struggle (1st Simon & Schuster hardcover ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781416598626.
- ^ Translating Violence Into Beauty.
- ^ Selim Mouzannar.
- ^ Le Bon Marche.
- ^ Annoushka.
- ^ Midnight Express.
- ^ [4].
External links
