Qannati, a young luxury brand known for producing individual bespoke watches and bracelets, has unveiled its first collection of bracelets that provides a more accessible alternative to its unique offerings while still providing custom elements.
Named “Legacy,” similar to its fully bespoke pieces, it is a collection based on a personal investment-quality gemstone that is incorporated into the bracelet as its centerpiece.
“Traditionally, precious gemstones are hidden away in safes or vaults, out of sight and out of reach,” said Mahmood Qannati, who founded the luxury brand that bears his name in 2018. “We invite you to bring your gemstone to life in a way that you’ve never imagined. Transform your family heirlooms or investment gemstones into exquisite, wearable art pieces that will captivate and inspire.”
Qannati is a multi-cultural luxury brand that challenges the tradition of Swiss high horology and high jewelry with unique timepieces and bracelets that are described by the company as works of art for your wrist.
A Multi-Cultural Luxury Brand
Mahmood started the company in the Kingdom of Bahrain where he lives with a philosophy based on 4,500-year-old Mesopotamian symbolism. Its timepieces and bracelets are defined by the shape, proportion and harmony of the “Flower of Life,” a “sacred geometry that is believed to be the underlying essence of the universe,” Mahmood says.
He combines this ancient symbolism with French design and craftsmanship, and Swiss movements.
The timepieces and bracelets are designed in Paris by Place Vendôme jewelers, Frédéric Mané and Jothi-Seroj. Mané is a well-regarded French high jewelry artist who serves as the artistic director of Qannati, designing each creation. Jothi-Seroj is a French jeweler and sculptor known for creating exceptional miniature sculptures for adornment. He sources and crafts the materials used for the elaborate decorations for the pieces.
Together they work with clients to produce complex and intricate timepieces and bracelets based on the specifications of a collector. In addition to precious gems, the pieces may include family heirlooms and anything else the client deems as important to tell a particular story, which is often personal. For example, one bracelet includes a piece of dinosaur bone, another contains a piece of metal from the NASA Discovery spacecraft. Each piece takes anywhere from two to eight months to complete.
“We are the only brand that takes relics and heirlooms and embed them into all of our pieces. We view timekeeping as an art,” Mahmood says. “What we do very well is bespoke based on the client’s story or moment he wants to capture. Frédéric Mané transform that moment into a work of art. It’s an art piece delivering a message. That is why every piece we make is one-of-one. That is because every person is unique and their life moments are unique.”
The watches, known as “Quantum Timepieces,” are defined by a unique 360-degree view of a sculpted bejeweled universe. The size of each Quantum Timepiece is 43.5mm x 45mm. After the design and symbolic craftsmanship are completed, the watches are manufactured in Switzerland and powered by an inhouse Qannati Swiss automatic movement made by Qannati Master Watchmaker Sebastien Rousseau. The movements are also upgradable and customizable, Mahmood says. One of the things that make the watches distinctive is that they are designed from the outside in. In traditional Swiss watchmaking, much of the watch design is dictated by the watch movement, the internal mechanism that powers and keeps time in a watch. For the Quantum Timepieces, the outside design is prioritized.
Making an even bigger and bolder statement on the wrist are the Eternity Bracelets, defined by large domed sapphire crystals that brings attention to the elaborate artistry inside. Each bracelet is 45.5mm x 47mm and is shaped like a timepiece but it doesn’t tell time. Instead, Mahmood says they are “designed for the wearer who has mastered time, and who prefers to lead rather than to track time. The Eternity bracelet is a time capsule to freeze one’s precious moments in a timeless manner.”
This unique approach to watchmaking and jewelry design has allowed Qannati to earn critical acclaim and several awards. Mahmood says the award that is closest to him is the 2022 Janus Heritage and Innovation Label of Excellence award from the French Institute of Design.
The Legacy Collection
The Legacy Collection allows new customers the ability to purchase smaller versions of the Eternity Bracelets with the same philosophy and the same design details from the artists and craftsmen in Paris and Switzerland. To further personalize their bracelet, the person can select a background for their gemstone from a selection of precious materials, including diamond flakes and mother of pearl.
“This choice adds depth, character, and a personal touch further enhancing your unique style to your wearable art piece,” Mahmood says, adding that the Legacy Collection provides a way for persons to preserve their personal legacy, enhance the investment of their gemstone by placing in a piece of art that is created with exceptional French craftsmanship.
Now instead of being in a safe, Mahmood says the owners of these investment quality gems can be used as work of artistic adornment.