“While items like clothes and handbags are usually worn for the pleasure of others – to impress a man or a girlfriend, for example – jewellery should be more personal, worn to delight ourselves.”
The pursuit of personal, positive and empowering jewellery is what compelled Sheikha Intisar to design INTISARS, an exclusive collection of 50 rings, necklaces and bracelets handcrafted in Venice with brilliant 18 karat gold and ethically sourced diamonds and gemstones.
“For many years I travelled to jewellery fairs looking for gifts for my four daughters… something that would reflect my unconditional love for them. But I never found the perfect piece,” she explains. “Wearing obvious designer jewels is passé, and like most women, they aren’t into ‘bling bling’. I desired jewellery that reflects their personalities, our story and our heritage.”
Sheikha Intisar is also an entrepreneur, philanthropist and a promoter of positive wellbeing through her charitable organization Alnowair and media company Lulua Publishing. “I am a firm believer in the power of positive energy, which I try to reflect in everything I do. So I thought, why can’t jewellery be designed to give its wearer a ‘feel good’ factor too?”
Sheikha Intisars Me-oh-Me Collection of ornate signet rings and necklaces features a unique mantra engraved on the underside of each amulet. Employing a painstaking watchmaking technique that allows a pendant to flip and click seamlessly into place, the mantra can be turned over and displayed, or left in place close to one’s skin. “In the early 90s experiments were conducted that demonstrated the physical effect of words on the crystalline structure of water. I figured, as the human body is up to 60% water, why not place positive words against the skin to absorb the good energy?”
Bold messages – So Astounding, So Courageous, So Exquisite, So Happy, So Luminous, So Exceptional and So Loving – are scripted in Arabic calligraphy like a secret note for the wearer, communicating its meaning directly to the skin.
“It’s a true act of self-love and expression,” explains Sheikha Intisar.
While Me-oh-Me reflects the love of me, the Aqqal Collection is for the love of him.
An Aqqal is the woollen rope used to secure an Arab man’s headpiece, set like a crown atop his head. It’s a traditional symbol not just of manhood, but also of peace and harmony, and is at times presented to others as a form of respect, value and love.
“This headdress is the inspiration for my bracelet, designed to encircle your wrist and remind you of your beloved,” says Sheikh Intisar.
A small clasp in the rose, white or yellow gold bracelet reveals a hidden compartment. “It’s a repository for perfume spheres where a man’s scent can be stored and kept close to the wearer.”
Underscoring its exclusivity, INSITARS is currently available only through private salons and presentations. An additional three collections are in the works for release in the fall, reflecting the love of homeland, family and, of course, the INSITAR brand.
