In the early 1990s, the Dubai-based Spanish craftsman Pedro de Aranda was called upon to create a sculpture of a solid-gold falcon for Sheikh Zayed, the founding President of the UAE. De Aranda rendered the piece in his Paris workshop and brought it over to Abu Dhabi. A few months later, the then president of France was gifted the bird when he visited the UAE, and it made its way back to Paris. “And that is why I never create the same piece twice,” says de Aranda. “Because you just never know where it might end up.”
The 65-year-old gemmologist and designer is the founder of Prologue, a family-run enterprise that has been creating one-off objets d’art for almost a quarter of a century. Yet Prologue is not a name everyone is familiar with. A deliberate decision, says de Aranda, because: “We don’t have a store, we don’t advertise and we keep a very low profile. Most of our clients are members of royal families, so we have to follow certain protocols and precautions. Also, when we make something for a client, they are also essentially buying the design of the piece.”
The sculptures that de Aranda creates are upon request, and crafted from the finest gemstones and precious metals. From a falcon taking flight (pictured) and horses in the desert to oud receptacles, the objects are replete with Arabian motifs. “In this part of the world, collectibles reflect heritage; they are things our clients want to display prominently in their homes or offer to guests. An Eiffel tower model won’t work in the UAE, and why should it?”
However, de Aranda adds that trends are changing among the younger generation. “They have more international tastes. They want less gilt, for example.”
The designer confesses that sometimes a client’s vision may clash with his “old-fashioned views”. For a recent project, a perfume case, de Aranda was told not to use any yellow gold or black. The warmth of yellow gold lends radiance, he says, while bronze looks less dull when tarnished with black. “The final product did not look complete to me, it lacked oomph,” he says. “However, the client was happy with it; it was exactly what she wanted to display in her home.”
While de Aranda handles the design side of things, his wife Corine – who was the managing director of Chaumet – handles administrative and sales operations, and his oldest son, Carlos, is putting expansion plans in place. “Before, we only did one-of-a-kind pieces on order. But my son is bringing in bigger orders – which government agencies need for, say, graduation ceremonies for the Dubai Police or Army, or to give dignitaries for National Day. However, sometimes they may not realise why the materials we use and the quality of our finishing costs as much as it does. We are not interested in competing with mass-produced Chinese products.”
And then there are collectors for whom money matters little. When de Aranda created a miniature Ferrari in gold for a member of Brunei’s royal family, engineered to perfection and complete with a gemstone-encrusted remote control, a young child present at the palace promptly took over the control. The next thing de Aranda saw was the car flying over the balustrade and landing in the swimming pool below. He still got paid in full, of course.
In addition to orders, de Aranda creates 40 objects of his own every year. Currently, he is working on Life Behind X-Rays, a large-scale piece that resembles an English club, with a bridge table, pool table and bar, but all the characters are skeletons. Each detail is crafted with precious stones and polished to perfection, including the minuscule bottles that are carved in stone with citrines, tourmalines and crystal.
Prologue is headquartered in Dubai, but also has a workshop in Thailand, where a team of 30 craftsmen and graphic designers work on the pieces, some of which take up to two years to complete.
Read this and more stories in Luxury magazine, out with The National on Thursday, May 11.
pmunyal@thenational.ae
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
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Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
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THE BIO
Family: I have three siblings, one older brother (age 25) and two younger sisters, 20 and 13
Favourite book: Asking for my favourite book has to be one of the hardest questions. However a current favourite would be Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
Favourite place to travel to: Any walkable city. I also love nature and wildlife
What do you love eating or cooking: I’m constantly in the kitchen. Ever since I changed the way I eat I enjoy choosing and creating what goes into my body. However, nothing can top home cooked food from my parents.
Favorite place to go in the UAE: A quiet beach.