When Fatma Al-Mohannadi founded De Trove jewelry, it was the fruition of a teenage dream.
“I always had a passion for drawing jewelry, and I thought maybe I should just start my own line,” Ms. Al-Mohannadi, 35, said during a recent interview at her boutique in Doha’s Pearl neighborhood. “So I pursued my passion and launched my first line in 2018.”
That initial collection, called Almahfa, reflected her goal of making jewelry that celebrated Qatari culture and history but with designs that could be worn throughout the day. In Qatar, traditional jewelry such as necklaces, bracelets and face masks, called battoulahs, can be extremely heavy and uncomfortable for extended wear.
“My first idea was to mix the heritage and culture of this region, but with a less heavy gold,” she explained. “That way women can wear it as much as they want.”
Ms. Al-Mohannadi also noted that some traditional short necklaces — around 30 centimeters, or about 12 inches, long — were obscured by abayas, the long gowns worn here by Muslim women. “My collection includes long necklaces so that women can wear them with an abaya, but outside of the abaya,” she said. “It’s not too heavy, so it won’t scratch. And it looks modern and not too heavy. It’s elegant.”
“In Qatari fashion,” Shaikha Hamad, a Qatari designer of traditional women’s clothing, wrote in an email, “a trend has emerged that blends jewelry with abayas and other traditional attire, and Fatma masterfully combines contemporary sophistication with our cultural heritage. I feel like De Trove’s pieces transition from day to evening seamlessly.”
