The Art of Timekeeping: The Philosophy and Evolution of Qannati Objet d’Art

In January 2019, I received a message on Instagram from Mahmood Qannati asking me to open my little black book of contacts and help him find a master of three-dimensional jewellery miniatures. It was not like the traditional requests I get from jewellers, so it intrigued me and made me want to dig deeper into the subject. So, I offered Mahmood my consultancy services, and we worked on finessing his ‘out of the box’ brand concept for several months. Once the idea was finalised, we invited renowned jewellery designer Frédéric Mané to create designs for the Qannati universe inspired by history, sport, space, architecture and other themes I will discuss in this article. Now, four years after Mahmood had his first spark of inspiration, his brand has officially launched. I want to share with you why this unique brand has a special place in my heart.

The power of Instagram never ceases to amaze me. When I received a fateful message from Mahmood Qannati, I had no idea it would lead to the debut of Qannati high-concept objet d’art and timepieces. As we discussed his thoughts in those early days, Mahmood showed me images of the sinking Titanic and a space station on the moon… not something we would typically associate with high jewellery! In each of our conversations, I was struck by Mahmood’s passion for his concept and the imaginative creativity of his ideas. I became equally invested in seeing the project come to fruition and hoped to witness first-hand the disruptive potential of his objets d’art. 

Now, in the images contained here, you can see the universe of Qannati in full colour! 

Firstly, let me introduce the creatives at the centre of the brand. First, there’s Mahmood Qannati, an entrepreneur and marketing professional born and raised in Bahrain. He calls me jokingly ‘the Godmother of Qannati’ because I helped him from the beginning, even before he formally founded Qannati Objet d’Art in Place Vendome, Paris, in 2018. In those early days, Frédéric Mané also joined the team and offered his gift for inventive designs, which he presented through powerful hand-drawn sketches. Finally, Frédéric welcomed a third creative to the fold, Jothi-Seroj, a master jeweller and sculptor who can translate ideas into three-dimensional sculptures using alchemy and a host of precious and unconventional materials. With all the puzzle pieces in place, the brand was born and officially launched in July 2022 during Haute Couture Week. 

The brand engages in art, jewellery and horology, depicting the perfect marriage of history, mythology, technology, luxury and design.