"If one studies the history of mankind closely one discovers that our contemporary attitude to diamonds or other such precious gems, comes in fact from the earliest attitudes towards power and the expression of it,"

Nabil explains, delighted to elaborate. "First there was the stick by which one man asserted his authority over another. This gave way to the sceptre; to which were added the feathers and hides from the spoils of hunting, making them symbols of the power and strength of those who had acquired them. Much later the diamond was added to the sceptre, and so began the association as I see it between precious stones - diamonds in particular, and the outward display or demonstration of power; particularly in a financial sense today.

"What fascinates me about diamonds is that they exude a very real sense of power for the individual who possess them (perhaps because of their intrinsic worth)" he continues. "As a jeweller you in turn pass this power on to the next person, and so it goes on, sometimes from generation to generation. There is an eternal power related to stones such as diamonds because they will outlive us all. There is an immortality attached to the entire procedure of buying or acquiring the biggest and best quality stones available. It's as though you are passing on a piece of yourself to the next generation."

The Tabbah tradition for dealing in some of the most magnificent precious stones goes back over two centuries, to 1862 when Y. Tabbah opened his first jewellery store in Lebanon. The roots of the family, and its involvement in dealing with quality products however, stem back a further four hundred years and the opening up of trade-links between Asia Minor, Europe and the Far East. Initially, involved in the highly specialised craft of silk weaving, the forefathers of today's Tabbah empire expanded into the engraving of precious metals when France became the recognised centre of silk weaving.

"Not many people realise this, but originally we are from Greece," says Nabil. "My ancestors actually settled in Turkey around 1625, and it was then that the family name was changed to Tabbah; a name which actually means a Printer. The name came about because as a family our concern was mainly in the printing of silk, and it made sense that they should have adopted this name at that time. Later the family moved again, this time to Lebanon. It was here that we first began what is now our major business; making exquisite jewellery from the very best materials available."

Exquisite certainly, inexpensive rarely. One major Tabbah acquisition, an undisclosed stone bought at the Basel Jewellery Fair sold recently for $A 18 million. Price however, is not a factor that would have high priority amongst the typical Tabbah customer; customers which over the years have included all the Royal families of the Middle East, Princess Noura Bint Faycal of the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia, Princess Caroline of Monaco, and a host of the world's most distinguished and successful industrialists, financiers and politicians. According to Nabil Tabbah, quality is the single most important concern of his clients.

"We have a policy of not discussing our clients," explains Nabil with maximum discretion. "This is because they have the right to their privacy, and also because when I design a piece specifically for them I do it for them. It is their personality I am responding to when I look at the stone and conceive of the final product. In this way I can tell you that we have clients who are generations old; that is their grandparents, and in some cases their great grandparents have been coming to us perhaps from the time we opened."

It says something about the timelessness of the Tabbah style that even after two generations clients have been known to come back to them to have a particular creation reset in the original design, or ever so slightly variated.

"There is never a point at which one stops developing or refining a design or style," says Nabil confidently. "Our aim has always been to give the client something of value that will not date quickly because it is too fashionable or because it no longer serves a useful purpose. One does not learn taste, all one learn is design. For me the designs I create say Tabbah and people respond to this in their individual manner. That is the beauty of working with precious stones, and jewellery in general, that there is an emotional element attached to every purchase a client makes. Every purchase is therefore different, and every client will bring a different appreciation and understanding to your designs. The Americans buy something because they like what the are shown. Those from the Middle East buy because they know the value of the piece. And those from the Far East tend to buy for show. Knowing this then helps you deal with different clients, and in its own way keeps you fresh in terms of your creativity."

While the stone or stones Nabil is working with at the particular time influence to a degree, the style of the design possible, he stresses that for him creative inspiration comes from an understanding of the client. It is in discussions with the individual client that Nabil says he gets the feel for the motivation that instigated the decision to buy Tabbah. A man buying a Tabbah creation for a women might do so for reasons as varied as a desire toe express his love, to wishing to flaunt to the rest of the world his personal financial success. A women buying Tabbah on the other hand, usually does so in his opinion because she has an intrinsic love of the stone or setting. But, Nabil further points out, whatever the motivation to buy Tabbah, the purchase of it is itself an expression of the highest and most refined sensibilities for luxury and opulence.

"I had a male client return to me once and tell me that he was so pleased with my designs for his jewellery, that he wanted me to personally design the interior of his jet," grins Nabil. "He wanted me to incorporate precious stones and mother-of-earl into the design, which included gold taps throughout. It was amazing! Then there was the gentleman who had me decorate his daughter's bridal gown with diamonds, pearls and coral. One other time I can remember being asked to design stationery which I then had to monogram with precious stones.

"Our style is what matters to the people who know us. Our style, our ability to get the task done on time, and the reputation we have established world-wide for being quality," Nabil continues. "We believe for instance that when someone touches one of our pieces it must feel sensuous. It has to draw you to it, make you want to reach out and touch it, play with it. Our style is simple rather than complex, and has to do with what I call a purity of form, where lines flow and there is an emphasis on smoothness.

"Because of our reputation for only dealing in the best stones, people now come to us when they have an exceptional stone to sell or set," he adds. " in my opinion the stone must always be out of the ordinary, particularly when we talk about personalised designs; because a client who comes to me to ask that I design a piece especially for them must themselves be an extraordinary person.

"As Jewellers I would maintain that we at Tabbah are haute couture in jewellery," Nabil continues, " mean this in the sense that we design for many clients directly - according to their personalities. In fact, it is my preference to design a piece for a specific individual. I get enormous satisfaction from enhancing a person's personality with one of my creations. I will talk with and get to know each client before I go away for a few days to think my ideas through. When I return to them with my proposal, I find that more often that not my estimation of their tastes and expectations as expressed in my design have been accurate."

Beginning at the comparatively humble level of one carat diamonds, Tabbah pride themselves on having collected some of the more remarkable precious stones ever made available to dealers or jewellers. Two such memorable acquisitions were a 235 and a 250 carat diamond respectively, both of which will soon doubtless find their way into further Tabbah creations of note. The key to buying the right stone at the right price, according to Nabil lies in understanding your market, your potential clients and the product you are dealing with. In his own words, one has "to be big enough to hold a large inventory of stones, and strong enough to resist panic selling during times of economic downturn or crisis. Such a test of strength faced the company in 1975 when war broke out in Lebanon and family's manufacturing enterprise was destroyed in the ensuing battles.

"When difficulties in Lebanon became too much we moved to Monte Carlo," says Nabil of that rather turbulent period in their colourful history. But not before losing 150 of their specialised craftsmen and artisans in the process, leaving the firm greatly depleted of skilled artists at a time when demand for Tabbah jewellery was at an unprecedented high. Although difficult, the family persevered, and within a few short years had again relocated; this time to their present headquarters in Geneva.

"Geneva is a major centre for exchange of ideas and so on between East and West, and therefore suits us very well," Nabil explains. "Trade in stones is very big business here. In fact, I would say that most of the business done in jewellery world-wide is done right here. And it is interesting to note that in the past we didn't have to consider marketing to the same degree that we do today. It is very important now for jewellers and the like to be informed about all manners of things, in particular, fashion and lifestyles that people lead all over the world. Our products have to appeal to a wider group of people how more than ever before. And here I refer perhaps more to our general lines rather than our haute joaillerie, where the emphasis is still on individuality of design."

Perhaps it is this attitude which goes part of the way toward explaining the establishment in 1987 of Tabbah International, a company set up in collaboration with Andrew Mejias - himself a distinguished watchmaker, and based in Fribourg Switzerland. Together, Nabil and Andrew Mejias have expanded the Tabbah interests to include watches and writing instruments worthy of carrying the name Tabbah.

Beautifully refined and enormously elegant, the latest array of Tabbah products betray none of the centuries-old traditions for incorporating contemporary design with timelessness. Gold watches enhanced with delicate trimmings of precious stones or stylishly etched faces; fountain pens enriched by smooth lines, softly contoured nibs and intricately worked shells, stunning link earrings with matching necklaces made of alternating diamonds and sapphires that catch even the most subdued light. These are the creations of which Nabil Tabbah speaks when he says smiling with obvious satisfaction, "Our pieces are unique because we are not constricted by any one style. We have great flexibility, and this allows Tabbah to be continually open to further development and interpretation.

When people come through our door, they know that the quality of our products is not negotiable."