From his modest studio space in Abu Dhabi, Tariq Riaz is revolutionising jewellery as we know it.
His entry into the world of luxury jewellery came almost by accident. With a background in engineering and robotics, design had always been in his nature, but when his wife was pregnant with their first daughter, his focus switched to a more personal endeavour.
“My wife was complaining throughout the pregnancy that her wedding band did not fit her swollen fingers,” Riaz says. “She brought it up a few times and said ‘you have a background in design, can we do something about it?’ So I started taking the ring to work with me and thinking of answers to the problem.”
Riaz, who moved to the UAE from the US 11 years ago, had an idea to engineer the ring’s design in a way that would allow it to expand and contract as his wife’s finger changed shape, and spent three years travelling the world with his concept, in the hopes of finding someone who could find a way to bring it to life.
It was finally a craftsman in Bali who was able to help Riaz to realise his design and create the first prototype.
“I made that ring and I gave it to my wife, and she still wears it to this day,” he says. “But then I said to her ‘I have a problem now, I don’t think I can go back to doing what I was doing before’."
With an idea that Riaz knew had potential to appeal to jewellery lovers around the world, he immersed himself in the industry, studying gemstones and pearls at the Gemological Institute of America.
“I come with this disclaimer that prior to this, I had absolutely no connections to jewellery,” he says. “No pedigree or family background, none whatsoever. I didn’t know anything about running a jewellery business eight years ago, so I came from a completely fresh standpoint. I started looking at a ring and thought, ‘how would I do this’. My canvas was always from a place of functionality first.”
That canvas has formed the base of all of Riaz’s designs, and allows his pieces to expand between six and nine sizes, making them suitable for almost every finger.
The four mechanisms used to achieve this have been copyrighted by Riaz and his eponymous jewellery label, and have won him 17 major design awards to date, including being named the Cindy Edelstein Memorial Emerging Designer of the Year in 2021.
Riaz has lived in Abu Dhabi for more than a decade, and the UAE has heavily inspired his collections. “All my early collections were inspired by landmarks of the UAE and the nostalgic feelings that are in the history here but that you don’t see,” he says. “For example, I have pieces inspired by the old water jars that people used to leave out for anyone walking by. I used palm trees and dates in my work.”
He also created a special 21-piece fine jewellery collection to celebrate the UAE’s golden jubilee in 2021 based on Al Jahili Fort in Al Ain and Qasr Al Hosn.
“Those pieces were all made in platinum and took three and a half years to make,” he says. “I wanted to show my take on exquisite high-end jewellery and create something that could end up on display somewhere ― it has very strong ties to the history of this region. Each ring has 1,300 to 1,400 diamonds in it. I made it as an homage to my time here.”
Riaz has 14 people working for him in his Abu Dhabi workshop, and plans to double that number by the end of the year. “Everything is done here in Abu Dhabi, from the first line on a piece of paper to the finished product,” he says.
“This is not another way to make money, it’s about what really makes me feel like I am living a purposeful life and this is my purpose and passion at the moment. It wasn’t about a return on investment, it was just something I was having fun doing and I kept going.”
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MEYDAN RESULTS
6.30pm Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer).
7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Galaxy Road, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Al Modayar, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
Winner Lady Parma, Connor Beasley, Satish Seemar
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner Zaajer, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
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Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
World Sevens Series standing after Dubai
1. South Africa
2. New Zealand
3. England
4. Fiji
5. Australia
6. Samoa
7. Kenya
8. Scotland
9. France
10. Spain
11. Argentina
12. Canada
13. Wales
14. Uganda
15. United States
16. Russia
