The House of Jewellery Design: Damas Opens Its Doors at Place Vendôme Mall in Qatar
The concept boutique encapsulates the brand’s new identity
With interiors inspired by a natural palette of sand, beige and gold and a beautifully curated display of exclusive creations, entering Damas’s new redesigned concept boutique at Place Vendôme feels like opening a treasure trove jewellery box. Gently undulating walls and curved furniture mimic the graceful movement of the region’s desert dunes, whilst Arabic patterns adorn earth-toned walls, encapsulating the relationship between the brand and the Middle Eastern region.
Damas’ deep-rooted Arabic heritage and identity is a key facet of the new opening. “This boutique has been completely designed in-house by our creative department,” Luc Perramond, Chairman and CEO at Damas Jewellery, tells Bazaar. “It hasn’t been envisioned by an outside interior designer or architect, but by our own people who understand the DNA of the brand. We’ve really expressed our identity and our Arab roots in the space. We are from the Middle East, for the Middle East. The patterns, the design, the style – you can feel the Arabic influence. At the same time, there’s a real sense of modernity and accessibility. This is a luxury store but we didn’t want it to feel elitist. We want it to be inclusive, open, friendly; somewhere that clients look forward to visiting.”
Operating under the mantra “from the region to the region”, Damas has positioned itself as the ultimate house of jewellery design in the Middle East. Its focus on storytelling and narrative has seen the brand shift to design-led collections with the Arab woman as its muse. Heritage-inspired collections meet everyday exquisite fine jewellery, with leading international brands sitting alongside Damas’ most coveted in-house collections, including the mesmerizing Alif, the house’s core collection that embodies women’s achievements; Dome, with its regal elegance of Arabic architectural elements; and Lace, with its intricate, arabesque-inspired pieces. Designed with the Arab woman at their heart, these collections are an ode to the region’s pioneering ladies: the confident, the bold, the tender, the delicate, the traditional, the modern, and every woman with her own unique tastes and desires.
The seamless meeting of past and present, history and modernity within the boutique also speaks of the evolving Damas clientele. “When I joined two years ago, we were a gifting destination,” says Luc Perramond. “Whilst that it still part of who we are, what we have seen with the introduction of our exclusive collections is more, increasingly empowered, women buying for themselves, and a younger demographic emerging. Damas is seen as something very desirable to them.”
Taking the helm at the peak of the pandemic was no mean feat. “We were in lockdown, most of our stores were closed across the Middle East, so it was quite a challenging time,” Perramond continues. “It was also, however, an opportunity to think hard about the future and the reinvention of Damas. We knew we needed to address those self-purchasing independent, empowered women, and we also knew that our focus on storytelling would become even more important. Clients are no longer looking for a generic piece of jewellery. They want a story behind it. We have a team of designers who understand that vision and express it through exclusive collections. Everything you see in-store is exclusive to Damas; you will not be able to find it anywhere else. We have creativity, heritage, modernity, and innovation at Damas. It’s an exciting time.”
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