A landmark exhibition titled: Around the World in Jewellery will be presented by Qatar Museums (QM), in collaboration with L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, from October 27 to December 26 at M7, Qatar’s epicentre for innovation and entrepreneurship in fashion and design.
Photo by Dmitry Kostyukov
The exhibition explores jewellery as one of humanity’s most enduring impressions of cultural identity and is the largest-ever presentation of jewellery from QM’s collections, complemented by a selection of remarkable creations from the Van Cleef & Arpels patrimonial collection.
Around the World in Jewellery gathers more than 500 pieces of jewellery and art objects, including jewels, artworks, photographs and sculptures from across cultures, geographies, and historical periods, some of which are being presented to the public for the first time. These pieces reflect the remarkable holdings of the National Collection of Qatar, the National Museum of Qatar, the Museum of Islamic Art and the future Lusail Museum.
Curated by Inezita Gay-Eckel and Paul Paradis, art historians and lecturers at L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts,anddesigned by artist and designer Johanna Grawunder,the exhibitionpresents a sweeping narrative through objects that are deeply personal, social and symbolic. Rather than approaching jewellery purely as an expression of rarity or value, it considers why people adorn themselves and what the objects reveal about the people who made, wore, exchanged, inherited and preserved them.
Photo by Dmitry Kostyukov
Photo by Dmitry Kostyukov
The exhibition is structured around seven themes:
- Sea & Ocean: looking at how the world’s waters have provided both materials and meaning, pearls, shells and coral, for jewellery-makers and wearers across civilisations.
- Nature: surveying the influence of forests, animals, plants and minerals on human adornment.
- Cosmos: focusing on how humanity’s deep interest in the heavens has made its way into jewellery design.
- Body Adornment: illustrating how objects worn across the body express cultural identity.
- Status: highlighting jewellery’s role in reflecting and signalling power, hierarchy, and different notions of prestige
- Customs and Ceremonies, focusing on jewellery’s role in life’s most significant turning points (coming of age, marriage and remembrance).
- Protection: showing how adornments across cultures reflect universal hopes for safety and well-being.
Together, these themes trace the many ways adornment has carried meaning across civilisations, illuminating the diverse roles jewellery has played in human experience.
Families are welcomed to a Children’s Piazza – a thoughtfully designed interactive space for young visitors aged four to 10 – where learning and discovery are fostered through a rich array of engaging, playful activities. Running through the centre of the main exhibition and mirroring its core thematic structure, this is the first exhibition area at M7 dedicated to children.
“Our mission at M7 is to champion creative exploration and deepen the public’s appreciation for design,” said Maha Al Sulaiti, Director of M7.
Photo by Dmitry Kostyukov
Photo by Samar Kassab
“Around the World in Jewellery invites visitors to discover jewellery not simply as adornment, but as a powerful form of storytelling that connects design, heritage and human experience. We are proud to present an exhibition that encourages learning and forges new connections through creativity, cultural legacy and universal human connections that span cultures and time.”
Lise Macdonald, President of L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, added: “Around the World in Jewellery offers a unique opportunity for L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts and M7 to share with the public in Qatar our commitment to research, conservation and transmission of jewellery culture.
“The exceptional jewellery collections of Qatar Museums are exhibited here for the very first time in a unique exhibition which aims to highlight the links between cultures and create dialogues, common understandings yet allowing a diversity of artistic expressions. The exhibition is curated for all audiences, from adults to families, experts to curious minds.
“Visitors can experience, at the very core of the show, a large-scale Children’s Piazza, filled with educational components and learning activities for schoolchildren and families, some of which have also been inspired by traditional Qatari games.Around the World in Jewellery showcases the immense vastness of humanity’s creativity and at the same time the uniqueness of each of the cultures that compose our world.”
Sophie Claudel, Director of L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, MEIAT, said: “Around the World in Jewellery highlights how this art form connects peoples and acts as a powerful statement uniting different identities while transmitting a meaningful dialogue across cultures. We are very proud of this remarkable exhibition. We hope it will have resonance in the Middle East region and beyond.”
Inezita Gay-Eckel and Paul Paradis, curators of the exhibition, added: “Through the vitality, scope and sheer beauty, the jewellery and heritage of the Qatar Museums’ collections offer an infinite source of inspiration and generate a sense of pride and desire to discover.
Photo by Randa Dalloul
Photo by Dmitry Kostyukov
“Through these extraordinary works, Around the World in Jewelleryreveals the universality of adornment, showing how art and beauty transcend any kind of division to offer messages of hope, understanding and peace.”
The exhibition will be accompanied by educational programmes and children’s workshops. A publication produced by L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts and Qatar Museums, in English and Arabic, will extend the exhibition’s research and narrative scope by bringing together contributions from leading curators, historians and specialists to explore exhibition themes in greater depth and highlight exceptional objects from Qatar Museums’ collections within a global context.
Around the World in Jewellery is a legacy programme of the Qatar-France 2020 Year of Culture. The exhibition embodies the initiative’s focus on cross-cultural exchange and extends the spirit of cultural partnership into new opportunities for learning, capacity building, exchange and dialogue. Through new scholarship on Qatar Museums’ collections, the exhibition speaks to the lasting value of Years of Culture in connecting institutions, creatives and audiences across borders.
Around the World in Jewellery is presented with the support of Visit Qatar.
Featured as part of the Qatar Creates Autumn/Winter 2026–27 season, the exhibition joins a wider programme of exhibitions and events that reflect Qatar’s ongoing commitment to cultural exchange, creative dialogue and global connection.