A glittering exhibition of contemporary British jewellery has opened at Seef Mall showcasing the work of eight acclaimed UK designers.

‘Alchemy: Contemporary jewellery from Britain,’ is being presented by the British Council and has been specially curated for the Middle East.
“When we were thinking about how to extend our design project into the Middle East, we immediately thought of jewellery as there’s such a great history of jewellery design and making here,” said one of the exhibition’s curators, Alison Maloney.
“Our aim is to present eight very different stories of what jewellery can be, and how it is approached by some very different designers,” she said.
The project, which was launched in Oman in February took 12 months to put together and will travel to Saudi, Yemen and the UAE. The Bahrain leg of the exhibition was officially inaugurated by the renowned Arabic poet Abdul Rahman.
One of the designers, Andrew Lamb, 28, from Edinburgh was on hand to discuss his work.
“I’m probably one of the more traditional designers exhibiting here. I work with gold predominantly, and combine silver and platinum into hand-drawn wire to create my pieces.”
“I’ve always really enjoy working with my hands on a small scale. I got into using wire when I was working for the silversmith Adrian Hope. The process of cutting massive sheets of copper into long strips made sparked my interest in working with in that medium,” he said.
Mr Lamb’s work has already won royal approval in the UK. In 2004, he designed a diamond and gold brooch that was presented by the Queen to the winning horse-trainer at Ascot.
The young designer was delighted by the opportunity to display his work in Bahrain.
 “It’s wonderful to be shown here in the Middle East,” he said, “it’s great exposure.”
Communications Manager at the British Council, Anasuya Kesevan, said that while the exhibition is a celebration of art, craft and design, it also aims to challenge conventional parameters of jewellery design through the use of materials, questioning notions of value and identity and scale and adornment. 
She said, “As well as creating an exciting spectacle, it is an ambition of the of this exhibition to make a strong case – legible and germane for countries in the Middle East – for jewellery as one of the creative industries with strong potential for cultural expression and commercial growth.”
The seven other exhibited designers are Solange Azagury-Partridge, Naomi Filmer, Tanvi Kent, Shaun Leane, Lina Peterson, Laura Potter and Scott Wilson. Displayed alongside their work are accompanying descriptions that reveal the processes behind the finished pieces as well as ethos behind each jeweller’s practise.
Although the pieces are not for sale the British Council is happy to pass on the details of the designers.
The exhibition will run at the new expansion area of Seef Mall until April 24.