Newsfeed
There are brand launches, and then there are homecomings. For Mejuri, the cult fine-jewellery label that built its global reputation on “everyday luxury”, its arrival in Kuwait feels very much like the latter.
The Avenues saw the brand’s first Middle Eastern store open its doors last week, celebrated with a heartfelt welcome from CEO and Co-Founder, Noura Sakkijha – a moment that marked not just a geographical expansion, but a deeply personal milestone.
“It’s honestly emotional,” she tells GRAZIA during our conversation in Kuwait City. “It feels like I took the family legacy and brought it back in a different way.”
That legacy runs deep.
Born and raised in Jordan, Noura grew up in a family of third-generation jewellers, a heritage rich in craftsmanship and traditional techniques. But her path took a different shape. With a background in engineering studies, an MBA in Canada, and a quiet frustration at the lack of fine jewellery that women could buy for themselves – not gifted on anniversaries, not locked behind velvet cases, not aspirational in a distant, exclusive way, but everyday.
“There was fine jewellery that was super high-end and occasion-driven, and then there was costume,” she explains. “The space in the middle was relatively open, and that’s where we started. We wanted to redefine fine jewellery and shift the narrative from gifting to self-purchase.”
Ten years later, Mejuri has become exactly that: a next-generation global brand with 56 stores across the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, a thriving three-million-strong community, and a design language rooted in minimalism, modernity and – in a quietly powerful way – the Middle East. “We preserved the craftsmanship and the traditional techniques,” she says, “but modernised the way we go to market. We made jewellery a part of your everyday.”
If the community built the brand, well, it’s also the community also pushed it into physical retail.
“People used to show up at our office wanting to touch and feel the jewellery,” Noura explains. “It’s a sensory experience.” That sentiment became the blueprint for every Mejuri store: no glass cases, no velvet ropes, just open displays where customers can play, stack, style and mix – from sterling silver to 14k gold to diamonds and lab-grown stones.
“I always describe Mejuri as your friend who knows more about jewellery,” she adds. “It’s warm, it’s modern, it’s elevated, but it’s approachable.”
All of which makes Kuwait the perfect entry point into the region. “The Middle East values beauty, design, craftsmanship and hospitality,” Noura notes. “It feels aligned with our DNA.”
The partnership with Kuwait-based Alyasra Group made the location feel natural, but the decision came from something deeper. Momentum from the brand’s community.
“When we start to see demand, we pay attention. And the Middle East was growing,” Noura highlights.
What she hopes the Kuwait customer will feel is simple: welcome. “Whether you’re buying a $50 piece or a $5,000 one, you deserve to feel special,” she says. “We’re not transactional, we’re building relationships [with our customers and community].”
As for what’s next? Expansion across the GCC, and the ambition to become “one of the top fine-jewellery brands for the next generation.” For Noura, though, the moment is already significant.
“When I come back here and speak Arabic, it feels like home,” she smiles. “To celebrate our roots, in a new way, it’s really something.”
