During Paris Fashion Week, the singer Rihanna wore a ring by Majesta, a high jewellery house based in the United Arab Emirates, and the model Anok Yai wore the house’s choker and ear cuffs. Back home, the Saudi label Charmaleena is preparing the first flagship store of its own in Riyadh. The two items sit within a wider season in which Arab-founded fine jewellery houses, several of them run by sisters, have reached a larger audience.
Majesta in Paris
According to Grazia Middle East, Rihanna wore Majesta’s Kali signature ring at A$AP Rocky’s AWGE show during Paris Fashion Week. The ring has two pear-shaped natural diamonds in a setting inspired by a feline claw. Anok Yai wore a Kali choker and ear cuffs at Paris Fashion Week SS27. Hypebae describes AWGE as a surprise show at Paris’s Accor Arena, where A$AP Rocky performed afterwards.
Majesta was founded by the sisters Zahraa and Maahira Mansoor, who grew up in Eswatini, and its designs draw on African landscapes and wildlife. Kali means fierce or intense in Swahili. The collection uses 18-karat gold, natural diamonds and natural gemstones. Grazia adds that Rihanna also wore pieces by another UAE brand, Ailes, in 2024, so the Emirates’ jewellers are not new to her wardrobe.
Charmaleena prepares for Riyadh
Charmaleena was founded in 2012 by the Saudi sisters Hala and Leena Elkhereiji, and Harper’s Bazaar Arabia reports that it has a new flagship store in Riyadh. In an item of 18 September, the magazine said the boutique would bring the brand’s design, Saudi identity and craftsmanship under one roof. Early access is being offered, and more details are expected soon. No opening date, address or size has been confirmed, and both reports come from Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, so the store is best described as preparing to open.
The brand’s Tales & Treasures collection includes the Love Locket. The My Heart Wild At Heart pendant is priced at Dhs22,200 and the matching earrings at Dhs29,300, as reported. Leena Elkhereiji told the magazine that the house does not design around trends but around emotions, memories and cultural symbols.
Sisters at the bench
A feature published by Harper’s Bazaar Arabia on 14 September grouped several regional houses founded by sisters. Three stand out.
House of Janolo. Founded last year by the Abu Dhabi sisters Dujanah and Oloof Jarrar, it makes handmade enamelled pieces with citrine, topaz and kunzite. The House Choker in gold starts at Dhs34,900. Oloof Jarrar said that jewellery should not be static.
L’Atelier Nawbar. Run in Lebanon by the fourth-generation jewellers Dima and Tania Nawbar, it traces its roots to a gold-souk workshop founded in 1881. The Birds Of A Feather ring starts at Dhs23,000. Tania Nawbar said that the sisters’ relationship comes before the business.
Charmaleena. Already mentioned, it fits the same pattern, with two sisters sharing the creative direction.
Henna in gold
In Qatar, Noudar was founded in 2012 by Noor Alfardan. Its Enchanted Henna collection is made in 18K gold with diamonds and natural pearls, and it is sold exclusively through Alfardan Jewellery. The collection was unveiled at the Doha Jewellery & Watch Exhibition 2026, before the period covered here, and is useful as context for a wider trend.
Henna patterns are a long-standing celebration art across the Gulf and North Africa, and Noor Alfardan told Harper’s Bazaar Arabia that henna has always been an expression of femininity, of celebration, of identity and of the deeply personal. Translating those lines into gold is a natural step for a jeweller working in that tradition.
Why it matters
The common thread in these stories is not a single style. Majesta looks to Africa, Charmaleena to Saudi identity, L’Atelier Nawbar to a workshop with 140 years of history behind it and Noudar to henna. What they share is a founder-led structure, work in gold and natural stones, and, increasingly, a place on international stages.
For readers in the Gulf, there are practical points. Their pieces speak to local rituals and occasions. A Riyadh flagship would give Charmaleena a place where customers can see the full range in person, a useful step for customers who want to see a piece before choosing it.
The caveats are simple. The Majesta wearer details rest on Grazia Middle East alone, the Charmaleena flagship has no confirmed date, and the prices are as reported by Harper’s Bazaar Arabia. Within those limits, the season shows a clear direction: the jewels now being photographed on the world’s front rows were made, in part, by houses founded in the Arab world.
Sources: Grazia Middle East, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, Hypebae