Selim Mouzannar, who was born in 1963, comes from a family of jewelers and suppliers of the Ottoman Empire since the 19th century. As a child, he spent his time in his father’s workshop in the heart of Beirut’shistorical jewelry souks.

After studying mineralogy in France and Belgium, he was hired by a renowned jewelry group to manage its workshops in Saudi Arabia. Afterward, he went to Thailand where he led the life of a stone hunter at ruby mines near the Burmese border. He was once stopped by a local militia at the Cambodian border, a misadventure that would later, upon his return to Lebanon, made of him an activist of non-violence.

The values that define Selim Mouzannar’s creative universe merge with his life.
Selim is passionate about the Ottoman and art deco architecture from Beirut’s past – a fertile blend of oriental culture with traces of the colonial French presence. He has put all his energy into restoring his family home in the old neighborhood of Ashrafieh, where he currently lives.

It is in this crucible that he finds his inspiration. The framed arches of the Beirut collection, the ancient symbols with which he plays in various pieces ...